India has always been a country of stories and tales. From ancient times telling stories has been an integral part of one’s education. India is also a country of myths and legends and in the last decade or so more and more people are getting interested in mythological fiction books. Amish’s “The Shiva Trilogy” books provided a new take on Lord Shiva and his legend. Here are five more mythological fiction books you shall read if you are fond of this genre.

Asura: The Tale of Vanquished by Anand Neelakantan 

Every Indian is aware of the epic Ramayana and the story of Lord Ram and Raavan. Through his book Asura: The Tale of Vanquished, author Anand Neelakantan told us the story of Ramayana from the perspective of its main antagonist Raavan.

 Asura: The tale of the vanquished takes a very interesting take on the story of Ramayana and author Anand Neelakantan tells the story of the other side i.e. the story of Ramayana from the point of view of Raavan. As they say ‘winners write the history', but with this book, the author tries to tell the story from the perspective of Raavan. It also changes the relationship between Sita and Raavan and gives a logical explanation behind her abduction. A must-read for the lovers of mytho-fiction books.

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

 Mahabharata is an epic tale of the rivalry between brothers and fight for the throne. We all are familiar with its story and with The Palace of Illusions; the author retells the story from Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas and one of the most important characters from the epic.

The Palace of Illusions is the feminist retelling of the epic Mahabharata through the point of view of Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas. In this book, Draupadi is a strong and multilayered character, and she plays an important role in moving the story forward. The book follows the narrative style of ‘ story within the story’ and it gives us a new perspective about every major character of the book including the vilified Kauravas and Karna who is probably the most important character in this book after Draupadi.

 The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi

The Krishna Key is written as a thriller and takes elements from the epic Mahabharata and blends it with today’s time to write a captative book that will hold your interest to the very last page. 

Ashwin Sanghi is always known for creating gripping and interesting stories by merging our ancient tales with modern times. With Krishna Key he tries to write a gripping and thrilling tale where the past and present meet. It follows the story of a poor little rich boy who believes that he is an incarnation of the blue God Lord Krishna but it turns out that he is a psychotic serial killer. Another key character of the book is a historian Ravi Saini who has to race against time to discover the cryptic location of one of the prized possessions of Lord Krishna. This book is a fusion of myth, history and the present times and creates a thrilling story.

The Liberation of Sita by Volga

The Liberation of Sita is an impactful retelling of Ramayana, India’s most popular epic which tells the story of good versus evil along with being a tale of choice, morality, and sacrifice. 

PopuriLalitaKumari popularly known as her pen name Volga is an award-winning author known for writing poems and stories with strong feminist themes. In her book the liberation of Sita, she tells the story from the perspective of Sita with strong feminist undertones. She meets other female characters from the epic like Surnpanakha, Ahalya, Renuka and Urmila and by the end she realizes her true self, her identity, and need for no one including her husband Rama.

Ajaya: The Epic Tale of Kaurava Clan by Anand Neelakantan

The books series Ajaya consists of two books, The Roll of Dice and The Rise of Kali. This book tells the story of Mahabharata from the perspective of Suyodhana, popularly known as Duryodhana, the main antagonist in the original story. 

Ajaya: The Epic Tale of Kaurava Clan tells the story of Mahabharata from Duryodhan’s point of view. In this book Duryodhan is Suyodhana and he is not the cunning, scheming man we saw in the TV serials and the original book by Vyasa. Here Duryodhan is a kind-hearted king who does not believe in cast-based difference and wants to create a society where people rise above petty things like caste, gender inequality, etc. There are always two sides to a story and through this book; we get to see the story of Mahabharata from the perspective of the other side i.e. the Kauravas.