Book Review : ‘Warrior' by Olivier Lafont

‘Warrior’ is Batman from ‘Dark Knight’ but he is also ‘The Master’ from a few episodes of the TV series, ‘Dr Who’ on nowadays, and also, a bit of Percy Jackson from the books by Rick Riordan.

But, he takes on the version of Saam, a son of Lord Shiva from one of our own stories of mythology in ‘Warrior’. Are we done, now?  No, actually not, but let’s move on to the plot by Olivier Lafont. I would end up giving Wikipedia, a run for its money, if I happened to mention each and everyone of the characters or fantasises, mentioned. :)

The basic story is all about saving the earth, and Saam sets out on this adventure, accompanied by his half-brother, Ara and a few others. The plot begins in Mumbai and then hops across the nation, then of course, you have all the times, worlds and dimensions to deal with. It is a fantasy but with a touch of reality, due to way Lafont deals with his characters.  

The locations and the characters have been dealt with naturally, and there is nowhere, that the story seems out of place, if you are in the mood for a book, such as this. You have the gods, the locals, the demi-gods, saadhus and even the monsters, all dealt with in various shades, in this book.

The story begins with a blizzard falling over Mumbai and earthquakes to follow it up, signalling the end of the world. It is up to Saam to stop it. Of course, he is quickly followed by his girlfriend Maya, another son of god Vayu, Lalbaal, a rakshas named Fateh and a Hinduism expert plus historian, Fazal.

Olivier Lafont

Saam and his companions are on their way, to find the ‘Kaal Veda’ on the Ship of the Worlds. This ship takes us on a trip to different worlds, touching upon different dimensions. They also meet up with Lt Geoffrey Gordon, who was in the British Indian Army on its Afghan campaigns. The Kaal Veda is the fifth Veda and it contains a secret that has been lost to all mankind.

This is not the end of fantasy, but you are put through characters such geckos, lizards, 12 feet tall rakshasas, and also, Nagraj who I do not have to describe. Nagraj has an underwater library, which is fascinating for us, Readers.

If you have the patience, I would say, try giving this almost ‘fantastic’ book a read. It might get tiresome, thanks to its over-the-top characters and never ending worlds. Though its descriptions start off really well, but there are times, when you might think that there was a little too much of that or this.

If you like fantasy, almost as much as I do, you could give this book a shot. It is like Mahabharata met LOTR with a little bit of Star Wars and everything else, in so many book and movies, which we might have encountered.

But, all credit to the model/ actor plus author, Olivier Lafont. Good one for a debut author. If you want, you might imagine, Lafont as Saam. :)