The Thirteenth Day by Aditya Iyengar

Description: It is the tenth night of the great war between the Pandavas and Kauravas. Bhishma, the venerable patriarch of the families, lies fatally wounded on the plains of Kurukshetra. On his deathbed, he offers Radheya, his nemesis, a chance to rule the Kuru kingdom by capturing Yudhishthira.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mythology, Indian Literature.

Rating: 4/5

Book Review: The book describes the three days and nights of the Kurukshetra war from the point of view of Bhishma Pitamah, Yudhishthir eldest of Pandavas, Abhimanyu son of Arjun and Radheya, or Karana son of Kunti.

The book is not mystically written. It was like reading just another war story. Lord Krishna was denoted as Krishna, Arjun's charioteer, which would hurt my Hindu sentiments otherwise but this book was purely Historical and not mythical. Focused on how Abhimanyu was defeated, how brilliant yet dangerously Radheya planned the Chakravyuha on the thirteenth day, and how Yudhisthira accepted his lack of war expertise and want for peace.

I wish there was more of what happened next in relation to Abhimannyu's fall in this same book. however very much looking forward to reading other books by Aditya Iyenger.