Far Beyond the Dead End – A Book Review

They called it the mound of dead.

In other words, Mohenjo-Daro!

But beneath those layers of ruin, once flourished a town pulsating with life.

There lived Koli with her enigmatic charm, Sindhu with an eyeful of dreams, Girad with his raging passion, the decrepit priest prophesying the doom and many others. They loved, hated and chased their fixations in manic rage.

A series of mysterious deaths ensued from such frenetic hunt for lust, riches and glory.

Yet, the inexorable game of destruction did not cease to play, until they ventured Far Beyond the Dead End only to be discovered under a heap of rubble four thousand years later.

~ Synopsis from goodreads

This is a long-pending book review from my side. I finished this book more than two weeks ago, and already the details are looking a little hazy to me.

What I remember though is this being a love triangle sort of story with a little crime tacked on to it. The story is set in the ancient civilization of Mohenjo-Daro sometime around 2600BC.

This setting alone makes the book very unique as I’ve never read historical fiction set in such ancient times. My knowledge of the time period is also scanty so I enjoyed the setting and world building without thinking too much about the accuracy. I can say though that nothing jumped out at me as seeming out of place in ancient times.

The story is also pretty good with a lot of suspense in it and the writing is crisp and gripping.

I did get a little grouchy at the bad attitudes of the men towards the woman, Koli. The way they thought and spoke about Koli was totally objectifying and crude, and a little less of it would make the book more palatable towards women readers. The plot also would have fared better with a little less of the sexual language and a little more genuine character building.

What I did like and appreciate very much was the brevity of the story. There wasn’t any unnecessary story-stretching in this book in the name of world-building, the length of the book was just perfect for the story it had to tell and I was left feeling very satisfied at the end.

Overall, excellent world-building and unique setting, good story and suspense. Definitely worth a read.

Huge thanks to Srishti Publishers & Distributors for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.