Author – Prithvin Rajendran
Pages: 226
List Price: Rs. 195
Publishing Year: 2011
Official Website: http://prithvinrajendran.com/
First, let me start with why I thought of reading this book.
- The name itself struck me as peculiar – the iron tooth
- Being an Indian mystery/fantasy book had me in a spot
This book is the first book that I read that is written by
an Indian author that is in the Fantasy &
Magic category.
There are several works of fiction by Indian authors
springing up every now and then. If we were to see and analyze most of the
books, they are of the same category as the cult novel – Five Point Someone – by Chetan Bhagat. Most, if not all of the
current generation of the so called, young and aspiring novelists from India
are trying to cash in on the ‘youth’ factor
their books. This not only is killing variety and inturn is seeing a resurgence
of people discarding books and going back t watching movies.
However, this book promises to be different from the so many
other Indian novels out there. If I were to think about this then I will
definitely say that the region in which this book traverses is definitely a
virgin territory. It must have required a lot of conviction and guts to even
think about writing such a novel, let alone the research. Prithvin deserves all
credit and praise for thinking of writing such a book. My 5 on5 to Prithivin on
this part. How this book shaped up is an entirely different story on which I
will shed some light on the next couple of paragraphs.
First Impressions
The first impression one gets while breezing through the
various pages of the novel is that it is indeed one written by a new/firs-time author.
Also highlighted here is the fact that it does seem like a minor rip-off from Harry Potter – series and Lord of the Ring – series.
Intended Audience
& Narration
After going through the entire book, I can safely say that
this book is most likely will not appeal to the adults – 21 and over in age and
might even be written by Prithvin with the intention of writing a book for the
teenagers. Although Prithvin has tried to throw in a literary-classical angle
here by alternating between text and prose/poetry. But, the overall effort is
really not adequate to attract adults who look for more detailing and more flow
between lines and among paragraphs. These two together in my observation make
for a conspicuous slip-up especially from a first time author.
As far as narration is concerned, there is a major flaw.
There are some things like maps, etc which are concise, clear. However, the
description of characters, situations, fights, struggles, forest leave a lot to
be desired.
It is clear from the map, detailing of characters, creatures,
etc. that Prithvin wanted to create an Indian equivalent of Harry potter and
Lord of the Rings which will appeal to the global audience. Thus, the names of
characters, places, etc are not remotely Indian, which indeed gives this book a
global appeal.
Story
The overall story is good.
To me it did seem like jumping from one place to another with little
connection. However, I conceded that this might have been deliberate from the
side of Prithivin. This perhaps is something only Prithvin will be able to shed
light on. From my side, the overall story in terms of suspense, aspiration value
and relatable value to the reader, I would rate this book at 3 on 5.
To sum up, ‘The Iron Tooth’ makes for an ‘ok’ read. It
certainly could have been better, but given the fact that this book explores
unchartered territories in Indian fiction writing, we should give Prithvin a
breather. It should be enjoyable to limited
age group of people. As always, you read and decide! My final verdict: 2 on 5.
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