- Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: Orbit; paperback / softback edition (6 Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1841491985
- ISBN-13: 978-1841491981
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.4 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
458,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #28 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Hinduism > Mythology
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Product Description
Review
'Banker spins a good yarn, full of colour and atmosphere and authentic touches' STARBURST 'A thundering good story ... Banker does a wonderful job of bringing this great classic to modern readers' Dave Duncan 'Banker creates a marvellous landscape of princes, demons, mages, and lovers. I love good fantasy, and this one-of-a-kind epic charmed and delighted me' Kate Elliott, author of THE GATHERING STORM
Product Description
The invasion has begun and the bestial demon hordes roar towards Ayodhya. If Ayodhya falls, then all mortal-kind will fall. But Rama cannot return home to defend his family. He must journey to Mithila - a city lying directly in the path of destruction. There, a small band of heroes plan a valiant stand against the advancing armies of darkness. It seems a futile quest. Lanka's forces are near boundless and have swept all before them. Even if Rama can unearth a hidden dev-astra - a powerful artefact of the gods - his chances of victory remain slight. For at the head of the demon tide rides Rama's nemesis, a terrible and ruthless slayer of souls - the demonlord Ravana. The original Ramayana was written in Sanskrit by a reformed thief-turned-sage named Valmiki, possibly as long ago as 2,000 B.C. For more information on Ashok K. Banker, visit our website at www orbitbooks.co.uk
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
At last there is a fantasy author of Asian origin that is being published in the U.K. by Orbit.
The author is writing his version of one of India's most famous religious scriptures - The Ramayana. Fortunately this three thousand year old story has been split into seven books to make it digestable, and so far the first two, Prince Of Ayodhya, and Siege of Mithila are on par with the best fantasy epics of our generation.
I encourage all fans of science fiction and fantasy, ancient Indian history and the origins of Hinduism to read the author's version which has been adapted for our times but still incorporates the tradition and mysticism of ancient India.
Personally I look forward to part three, Demon Lord Of Chitrakut more than the new Robert Jordan, George R Martin, David Gemmell or Guy Gavriel Kay offerings.(Something I never expected to admit!)
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The imagery and attention to detail are very vivid. There are times when one can almost feel the 'press of the cold Kosala steel' or the 'soft flow of the Sarayu'. This is where the elegance and the beauty of the novel lies. The Ramayana is irresistable fantasy material and that is exactly how Banker has rewritten it: a fast paced yarn that has you turning pages to see what happens next. By retelling the story in this format Banker is introducing the Ramayana to a set of readers who otherwise would have never read it. Dont read Prince of Ayodhya or Siege of Mithila as something that Valmiki wrote ages ago. If you do that, it will certainly seem blasphemous. Read it for what it is: an absorbing epic fantasy which uses characters and ideas from the Ramayana. While people might consider what Banker has done completely incorrect, I find myself eager to read the whole series as well as Banker's Mahabharata.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I feel an undying debt of gratitude to Ashok K. Banker for writing such atremendous retelling of the Ramayana. I had my Upananayan Samskara lastyear (age 15) and I seached high and low for English copies of theRamayana, Mahabharata and Upanishads. However, all I could find werepoorly written, terribly abridged copies of the Mahabharata, and a 15 hourmovie of the Ramayana. Frankly, I was dissapointed. Then, one day, nearlya year after my Upanayan, my sister brought home a copy of Prince ofAyodhya. "Just read the first page," she says to me... and I was blownaway." Just like The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, and Dune byFrank Herbert, this version of the Ramayana thrilled and excited me. I wasfascinated by EVERY chapter... I never got bored. Just as some mightidolize Gandalf or Frodo's courage, I found myself straining to glow bluewith the flow of my own Brahman and follow the path of virtue. I'm justwriting to let other readers know that there is an entire generation ofIndians who live abroad, and undoubtably the generations after this one,and are starving for a taste of Indian mythology. Mr Banker's writingsatisfies a hunger that nothing else does. It pains me that I can recitethe events of the Trojan War and the Odyssey, but I can't explain to myfriends what a Rakshasa is. I tore through this book... even the nightbefore my chemistry exam, I couldn't put it down. :-D I'm alreadyimpatient for the second installment! In other words, I want Ashok K.Banker to do keep doing an excellent job. Mr Banker, if you must look toNRI's for support, then look there, but PLEASE continue your work with theRamayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad-Gita (among others of course).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
PLEASE READ THE INDIAN EDITIONS INSTEAD
f you are reading my Ramayana series, then I gently urge and request you to please not buy the UK or US editions, even if they're available at bargain prices. Read more
Published on 14 July 2007 by Ashok Banker
Excellent sequel
I was fortunate to get the second book too at the same time, and I finished both the books in the next 10 hours on the train back to Thrissur, without a break. Read more
Published on 24 April 2006 by kanjisheik
The best just got better!
The Ramayana literally translated means "The Journey of Rama", with respect to AKB's Ramayana, it's a journey that we the readers too get to experience in all its epic... Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2006 by Vivek27
A great re-telling
I haven't read any of the Ramayana stories in many, many years and the last time I read them was in comic-strip form about 15 years ago. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2005
The Ramayana - Indian Legends and Power Personified
The Ramayana - Prince of Ayodhya is a very well written book in the modern world about the Greatest of all Epics of Traditional India. Read more
Published on 12 July 2005 by "siddharthg6"
How to ruin a truly great story
Simply take one of the greatest epics ever told, then watch Lord of the Rings before re-writing it.
Instead of a new take on an original tale, we get Ravan referred to as the... Read more
Published on 18 April 2004 by J. Dorrell
Not as good as Prince
Not as good as Prince of Ayodhya. The action lags often, the ending is very abrupt, and the characters of Rama and particularly Laxman seem to actually lose texture. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2004 by A. Doshi
Brilliant follow through!
“Prince of Ayodhya” was an impressive start to the retelling of the timeless Ramayana by Ashok K Banker and in “The Siege of Mithila” he continues his... Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2004 by Sabarish
A worthy successor
What a treat this was! For anyone who enjoyed the first book in this interpretation of the Ramayana I urge you to get hold of 'Siege of Mithila' as fast as you can. Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2003 by Binidj
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