Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

“Failure is not an option. Failure is fatal.”

I’ll admit, when books are longer than 400 pages, it turns me off a bit. But this one seemed to have so much packed into it according to the synopsis, so I took a chance on it! I’ll admit, it’s a heavy read and you need to concentrate, but it’s such a wild ride and a brilliant genre mash up, if you like that kinda thing! So happy to be sharing my review for A Day of Brahma!

About the book

India’s national security advisor has been found murdered in a bizarre ritualistic fashion. Around the same time, their newest nuclear-armed submarine has disappeared in the dead of the night, without a trace. A legendary investigator Moses Raju and a former journalist Nitya Iyer are drawn into an urgent investigation by the Indian government. As they begin to unravel the mystery, Moses sees the involvement of a medieval religious cult – Kapalikas in the murder and their design to carry out four more high-profile killings.

They soon discover that eight mysterious superpowers – Siddhis, have been manifested and let loose upon the world. Through a group of women fanatically devoted to an enigmatic and highly secretive spiritual leader known as Mata. Her fervent conviction to harness the powers she has unleashed combined with advanced human genetic engineering and nuclear weapons, are part of her grand design – aided by the Kapalikas.

A design that includes the bloodline of the lord himself and demands the complete annihilation of life on earth. As Moses and Nitya race against time to save the world from an impending catastrophe, they must navigate highly treacherous waters.

The beginning

What was instantly clear to me when I started reading this was that this author can write! The prologue was unexpectedly chilling and had my imagination firing off all sort of theories straight away. Expect destruction and devastation from the start… it’s full on! It was really easy to visualise all of this thanks to the author’s great description. I did find that there was a lot of religious terminology sprinkled in from the start, and often, all this went over my head if I didn’t Google certain words. If, like me, you’re not big on religion in your books, you’re going to struggle a bit with this one. I knew I would struggle with these parts personally, so I was hoping the rest of the thriller elements would keep me invested enough to carry on to the end, and thankfully, this was the case! The story begins with a national emergency. Characters being whisked away without a clue what was happening or why they were forced to leave. I enjoyed how Moses, an investigator, and Nitya, a journalist, are dragged into an investigation they weren’t prepared for. Things were about to get heavy!

“The day had already begun with a haunting tragedy. Now she was being flown halfway across the world – for what?”

It turns out there is quite a big problem… A submarine is missing, one fully armed with missiles and nuclear warheads. How does something of this size and something so lethal in the wrong hands go missing? And worryingly, where the hell is it? I enjoyed reading from opposing sides and alternating POVs. It gave the book such depth and keeps us readers in the loop with everything going on. And the action scenes! The author really ramps up the tension at times with graphic and fast-flowing action with incredible description which really complemented the storyline. Even though there were scenes that went over my head sometimes, it was the scenes like these that kept me invested, the scenes I could really visualise and see playing out like a movie in my head. At this point, there was so much more to this whole scenario than just a missing sub. There’s a murder, some leftover clues, so many questions with very few answers. But this is what just made it all so intriguing. I loved the crime scene investigations, as well as every discussion between characters as they piece things together.

The middle

With more deaths predicted and as more is explained, I eventually began to feel better acquainted with some of the religious terminology which was a relief, I must say! I began to enjoy the spiritual layer in these crimes, which gave things quite a chilling edge when you take a step back and look at the bigger picture. There were many scenes which felt complex yet juicy, and I especially loved how Nitya’s role in all this became clearer, where before it was rather uncertain. There is one particular scene that stuck with me for how sudden and dangerous it was; an ambush by two masked men, an abduction, constant action and almost no time to breathe as it was so suspenseful! I was really liking how Moses and Nitya grow closer, their time together and what they’ve experienced so far was obviously changing some feelings. I thought the pacing of this relationship development was perfect and I couldn’t wait to explore it further. It also became clear that there were some pretty badass characters! (Watch out for Aanchal…) I couldn’t believe the things we’d witnessed so far!

“He turned to Nitya and pleaded. I’ve lost everyone in this world who means anything to me. I cannot afford to lose you too.“

Every character felt wonderfully varied and brought so much to the story. Some felt more terrifying than others, especially when metamorphosis happens! It was pretty terrifying to read and very bloody strange. But there was something about it that made me unable to look away! It was getting to the point where I was expecting the weird and wonderful, like nothing was off limits. That’s the beauty of fiction I guess! And it all worked surprisingly well with the thriller elements, the murder, the whole intense mystery. I do have to say though that it’s not the easiest of reads; you need to be fully concentrating at all times, otherwise it’s easy to fall off track, so this one definitely took me longer than it usually does to get through. There were a few chapters/scenes I had to read through more than once, but it is worth sticking with. It’s one hell of a journey with intense danger on the horizon, an uncertain future. I liked how the different perspectives came together, the build up of everything to come was really something else.

The end

Weirdly, by this point, I kind of began to look forward the body transformations, the scenes of mythology, talks of satanist cults. It slowly became fascinating to me, even though some of it still confused the hell out of me 😅 From the dreamlike visions to the gory scenes that were brilliantly described, the book flowed nicely into incredibly dangerous territory, and this is where I felt I could really enjoy things to the fullest. Aside from the mystery and the thriller elements to this book, I felt the author experimented with other genres pretty well! There is romance, there are some light horror elements too which I thought the author nailed! The guillotine?! I felt so engrossed in these scenes by the end and there were many times I feared for the safety of these characters. There is loss (and plenty of it) but I found myself holding on a tiny glimmer of hope, especially for the main characters I’d grown fond of. I couldn’t help thinking of the victims up to now, and just how things could still get worse in the ending chapters. This part of the book was so unpredictable… but it wasn’t over yet.

“Lord, what fools these mortals be.”

There was so much more destruction in those final scenes, all of this just delaying the inevitable. It did really become clear to me at this point that there were way too many characters for my liking, and I felt very overwhelmed with them all, even more so as the story came to a close. But there were absolutely plenty of, “Oh my god!” moments for sure! The ending give us plenty to think about while also tying up multiple loose ends, and we learn crucial information about Moses here that would change so much… I can sense another book coming, and even though so much is explored in this book, I know the author still has so much inside him about these characters and this story that needs to be written and shared! I’m certainly ready for something lighter after this book, but it’s kinda helped the weird reading slump I was in by trying something very different to anything I’ve read before. If you like a genre mash up in your books, if you’ve tried this specific book or you’ve read a mythological techno-thriller before, let me know your recs. I’m always looking for something a bit different to try!

Overall thoughts

A Day of Brahma was a reading experience I’ve never had, and an experience I’ll likely never have again. It’s an epic blend of genres and it is wild, let me tell you. I’m not entirely sure how to sum it up, but I’ll have a good go. If you like mythology, thriller, mystery, action and a dash of romance, then this is probably going to be a bit of you. It’s got every single one of those genres and they all work in harmony to create a story you’re unlikely to forget in a hurry.

After a brutal and bizarre murder and the disappearance of a fully armed submarine, it’s clear there’s a national emergency, and two people are pulled into this mind-bending investigation by the government. Moses, a legendary investigator, and Nitya, a journalist, go through the unthinkable as they try and fathom out this whole mystery, with more death, destruction and pure horror following them wherever they go. And this is where it gets strange… because there are cults. There are spiritual beings with powers you’d only see in your nightmares, metamorphosis, deadly weapons, and the possibility that life on Earth will be no more. Yep. It’s chaotic. It is heavily religious which I did struggle with a lot, but it was thrilling, it was unpredictable and I’m still trying to get over it all, to be honest! A decent pick if you want something VERY different.

You can grab your own copy of A Day of Brahma right now on Amazon! Make sure you’re following the author over on Instagram for more updates.

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