Rozabal Line, The - Ashwin Sanghi

Well, it feels good to see that an Indian Author is coming up with a book which on the lines of authors like Dan Brown. The Plot related to Jesus, surely generates the hype, at least for the people of have like The Da Vinci Code. The Story covers almost every continent, century, religion and philosophy.

The events were so varied and were described with such clarity, the linking with our history and the mysteries of the ancient texts were so vivid, one needs to ponder over every word. It seems possible that Jesus had spent his last days in India.

The eternal existence of the soul and the common origin of all religions is quite believable and acceptable. Kudos to Ashwin for presenting the complex nature of the soul in such a simple and systematic manner. One tends to get carried along because the entire book is based on the age old principal of' as you sow, so you reap'.

It is a good read if you can keep track of the skeletal story and look past the over feed of charecters and information

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This is the first book of the Indian author and this book reminded me of Dan Brown novels. Like Dan Brown novels, this book shows that an amazing lot of research has gone into its making.

The author brings together facts from culture, religion and history to create a story which seems so strongly based on facts that it does not seem to be fiction.

This one tracks the bloodline of Jesus Christ. The flow is systematic, pace is good and the writing is simple and easy to read. It is a good read if you take it with a pinch of salt.

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The book travels from time to time, introduces new characters very hard to remember the names. We hardly understand what the character's doing.

Ashwin Sanghi has tried to add too much content and story line to a small book resulting in too much and unwarranted twists and suspense.

Authors keeps moving from one stage of history to another, although its great work of fiction as to how he has managed to thread all those pieces into a story.Somewhere down the line, I left this as overdone as well.

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The book starts with a haphazard plot which may make you confused of whether we are going forward or backwards. However, the timelines in the book are absolutely bang on.

This is altogether a nicely crafted. Makes you glued to the book for sometime but after reading half of the book it gets easy to predict the plot although the ending is quite interesting and unpredictable. Sanghi weaves an intricate plot once u start reading this book u cannot put it down until we finish it. The interconnection of past events to the present events is just mind boggling. it's thrilling and exciting and at the same time builds up the suspense.

The great thing about this book is you never realize how much you have read, a good sign for a person who can draw pictures of the pagan rituals, jesus in history and Illuminati.

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I liked his other 2 books.so I ordered this one as well.

The Rozabal Line' may seem a little complex at first having too many characters and constantly switching between the past and the present. Ashwin has woven different Mythological stories with contemporary world very flawlessly. His research carries a authority of a Historian and his writing a mark of excellence. Very griping Story and very well presented.

Overall a good book.

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After reading Chanakya's chant I wanted to read more book of Aswhin Sanghi. What I like most about Ashwin Sanghi is the extensive research he does while writing a book.

Highly researched book. Author is boldly presenting many hidden things for the public. In fact I was doing research in few things he has already dealt with. Many secret documents, facts and belief are unearthed though in a fiction book. Presentation is in a moviescript style similar to Da Vinci Code. Hope one day this will become a movie. This book should get more visibility.

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After reading Ashwin Sanghi's Chanakyas Chant I was so impressed with him that I decided to read his other novels as well.

Ashwin Sanghi has attempted to bring out a list of well researched facts about religious history and produced in the form of fiction so that people read. In every page you'll learn a fact from history that will make you gasp in wonder.

Sanghi has this beautiful habit of concluding his books with a pleasing philosophy- which goes on to prove the unity in the fundamentals of all religion. This philosophy removes the tension present in the story and acts as a sort of a midas touch to the book.

Overall a great read.

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The book is a unique piece of extensive research and the plot is very strong, but it could have been made simpler. At some places the book is very confusing, as there are too many characters involved. It's about whether Jesus lived in India, or not, and one can roam almost entire world in this book, but the actual meaning of'Rozabal-Line' clarifies in the last few chapters.

Have read all the 3 books of ashwin sanghi, Krishna key, chanakya chants and now this. Amazing detailing and fact churns.!

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We can consider Ashwin Sanghi as India's Dan Brown who took Brown's first book and extrapolated a story that revolved very much around The Da Vinci Code's plot. As in DVC, this is also based around a Christ conspiracy revealing a secret so big that it requires the Vatican to take serious measures. Although the effort, research, and details are highly impressive, Sanghi's style and the continuous shift in location and situation all over the book totally throws you off the map.

If you do manage to make it through the book, it is possible that you would not remember at least 50% of the information he has provided.

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1st. I read "Chanakya's Chant". Why? @deepak27 tempting review. Verdict: Okay, a good read, time-pass. 3/5.
2nd. I read "The Rozabal Line". Why? inspired by an Indian author! and the synopsis over net. And my Verdict: Just Wait.

Author in Question: Ashwin Sanghi. This novel was written as the author name Shawn Haigins (anagram of Ashwin Sanghi! Remember Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code). He is an enterpreneur by profession, educated at Cathedral & John Connan School, and St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. Masters from Yale, and PhD from Wales. Lives in India with wife and son. Website: https://ashwinsanghi.com (Details as per Author's Note in Book)

Book in Question: It was published in 2007, being the first book of the author, and the plot very much inspired from the all-time greatest thriller "Da Vinci Code" of Dan Brown, but remains different altogether, since that was more of a thriller, blended beautifully with facts (as per the author), and this one, was less on a thrilling-moving story, and more on many facts. A total of 31 chapters alongwith references regarding various statements at the end about the source completed in 362 Pages, published by Westland. The book costs me Rs.146 at Flipkart.

The Plot?: At one side, there is Church, and at the other side, there is Illuminati, Church wants to hide facts about Jesus being a normal man, and his lineage afterwards, and illuminati wanted just the opposite, even by hiring Terrorists, and bombing a nuclear device in Pakistan. But the truth is not so simple, it is tangled, and the characters are merged in between, like Father Vincent Sinclair, his psychic aunt Martha, RAW chief Prithviraj, a japanese killer woman on loose, Swakilki, and the head of all nuisance, the head of Opus Dei Alberto Valerio, his aide Father Thomas Manning, and the terrorist head Ghalib.

Positives?: 1. The wonderful imagination of author and more importantly, the clubbing of all the facts, and stories, either taklen from some source, fact or non-fact, and blending it beautifully with some of his own imagination, combining Jesus to India, and Hinduism.

1. Wonderfully researched information, even giving the references of original source, from where the plot is derived.

   
   




2. Being the first book of the author, I must say, great effort on the author's part, readability is quite good, and by use of fact, the reader started thinking IS IT REAL? That is the win for author. The story spawns over many countries, starting at Kashmir, India and ending at Katra, India.

   
   

Negatives?: 1. The book is less on story part, always dealing on facts and dangling between the fact that is it a fact or a fiction. More on stats about Jesus travel to India, and his blood line after him.

1. It is a bit confusing from the start, so many characters introduced at a time, and you take some time to grasp what is going on. If you're not a good reader, you may drop the book in the beginning itself.

Verdict?: Well, its a 4/5 from me on well-researched, well-woven story, and reading about Jesus may-be-bloodline, in India, raise more interest, I dont know the fact but as per the sources referred, it may be the case that he/Jews of Yerusalem travelled to India, and settled in Kashmir. We know one thing for sure, that Jews, Christianity, and Islam born from the same source, but this book even combined Buddhism, Hinduism, Pagan, and Zoroastrian to the same source of evolution, each religion raises from one common God. Read this book, if you liked Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, not good like it, but something is there for sure. I completed 362 pages in 14 days, you can beat me, for sure.

GRuchirG.

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An author named Dan Brown wrote a novel called The Da Vinci Code. The novel had an innovative plot and was so well-written that it became one of the all-time best sellers and catapulted Dan Brown to International fame.

Ashwin Sanghvi is an Indian author who has written this novel, which is clearly inspired by Da Vinci Code. While Da Vinci Code was about Mary Magdalene and her relationship with Jesus, this novel is centred around the life of the apostle of peace, Jesus Christ.

Da Vinci Code was a highly controversial book, which explored the theme of the marriage of Jesus with Mary Magdalene and the novel was all about the search for the Holy Grail and its link to Mary Magdalene.

In The Rozabal Line, Sanghvi resurrects a theory which states that Jesus travelled to India and spent his last days in Kashmir. In fact, Rozabal is believed to the resting place for Jesus and contains the grave where Jesus was buried. Sanghvi uses this theme and mixes it up with Indian divinity concept and even explores a theory that Jesus was inspired by Buddhism!! As you can imagine, this kind of a mixture is a heady concoction and offers a great opportunity for an author to write a masterpiece.

But unfortunately, Sanghvi disappoints and a golden opportunity for him to become another Dan Brown is lost. If this book had been as successful as Da Vinci Code, then all Indians would have been proud of an Internationally acclaimed Indian author. In fact, Sanghvi released this book in the US, under the pseudonym of Shawn Haigins, to impress foreign readers.

It is difficult to review this book without revealing too much of the plot. But I have tried my best to avoid spoilers:

Plot

The main character of this novel is Vincent Clair, a priest who keeps getting visions of his past life. He sets out to India to find out the story of his past, along with his sister Martha. A feature of this novel is the presence of a large number of sub-plots that include:

a) A terrorist organization called Lakshar-e-Talatshar which is working on a plot to end the world in December 2012. This dark organization reports to a Bin Laden type character.

b) Opus Dei, Illuminati are two mysterious organizations featured in the Da Vinci Code. These organizations play a major role in this novel too, along with new society called Crux Decussata Permuta..

c) A Japanese killer lady is on the rampage, massacring people (the author also gives us insights into her sexual exploits, no doubt to cater to a particular class of readers).

d) The Vatican is depicted in an unflattering way, which is likely to offend a lot of people.

e) Indian Intelligence agency RAW is desperately trying to unravel the terrorist plot.

f) The lineage of Jesus is mentioned in a document and the hero is trying to locate this secret document.

Timeline

The novel is set in 2012, but it includes many anecdotes from history. So the novel moves from 265 BC to 4 BC to 40 AD to 1887 to 1975 to 1985 and so on. In fact, the narration shifts moves from one era to another so fast, that if you are not following closely, you are likely to end up being thoroughly confused.

Research

The author has clearly done some very good research. His research is extensive and the bibliography at the end of the novel reveals his sources. He has taken pains to explore various facets related to the life of Jesus and has studied the works of many authors and researchers. But all his research is done through books and through websites. Dan Brown’s research had taken him to the Vatican, Paris and other places and a result Da Vinci Code is more realistic.

What upset me the most is that Ashwin Sanghvi fails to include Da Vinci Code in the bibliography. Every single concept of this book is heavily inspired by Dan Brown’s work, yet Sanghvi fails to give Brown the credit that is due to him. Probably, Sanghvi is trying to prove that his book is novel!!

Highlights of the novel

Some of the highlights and positive aspects of this novel include:

a) Narration of the various incidents that occur in the life of Christ and its relation to the main character

b) Story is well-developed and the author’s writing style is a good blend of fiction and history and keeps you interested.

c) The author blends the essence of various religions into the novel, which is interesting.

d) The author’s explanations of various symbols is interesting, though the symbols are different, the concept is a rehash of Da Vinci Code

Many cons of this novel

a) One of the major problem with this novel is that it has too many sub-plots and keeps jumping from one era to another. This makes it difficult for the reader to stay in the loop.

b) Some of the elements of the story are clearly offensive to Christianity and I felt that comparison between the life of Jesus and the apostles with the terrorists is not in good taste

c) While the first half of the novel was exciting and made be really happy to read such a good work by an Indian author, the second half was disappointing. Here is where, the novel looks like a cheap copy of Da Vinci Code. And some of the incidents to the end of the novel are too fantastic and unbelievable. Yes, this is fiction, but still things should be believable.

d) My major grouse with this novel is that the author had a chance to do something innovative and noteworthy, instead it ends up as a damp squib and a ordinary copy of Da Vinci Code

Overall opinion and recommendation

Overall the novel is worth a read. It is a good first effort by the author. Despite all its flaws, it makes for decent reading.

If you have read the Da Vinci Code, you will definitely be disappointed by the novel.

But if you have not read the Da Vinci Code, then I recommend that you read this, you will probably like this.

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The Rozabal Line is the ultimate conspiracy theorist's delight.It kicks off with the theory that Yesu (or Jesus) may have fled Judea to study under Buddhist masters in India (the three wise men were Buddhist elders searching for a reincarnation in the manner that Dalai Lamas are searched for). It then goes one step further by building on Holger Kersten's theory that Jesus did not die on the cross and that he was spirited away to safety by Essene monks. This foundation is used to build the storyline which goes something like this: Jesus returned to his spiritual home, India, and possibly married (yes, rather Dan Brown-ish). But this is not the critical element in the story. Fast-forward to the present day and we find a group of thirteen jihadis who are working under the protective umbrella of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Although never stated directly, there are enough similarities between this group in the present day and Jesus and his 12 apostles two thousand years ago. One keeps wondering whether this group could possibly be the present-day descendant bloodline of Jesus.While this group is working towards Armageddon, there is another group that is assisting them and, surprisingly, this is a Opus-dei inspired group called the Crux Decussata Permuta. Apparently, the two greatests religions of the world, Christianity and Islam, had found it easier to cooperate with one another rather than to fight each other. The logic for this is traced back to the first crusades in which Richard the Lionheart was defeated by Salahdin the Great. Add to this cauldron, a Japanese assassin, America's first woman President and a New York based Spiritual Healer, and you now have the final twist in the tale, an unexpected ending that reveals all at Vaishno Devi. The Rozabal Line is one of the most ambitious stories written and the scope of the book can be daunting given the copious quantities of history and religion that are thrown in for good measure. The important thing is to keep in mind is that all of these various elements are treated as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that fit together quite neatly in the end.

To achieve this jigzaw effect using historical pieces, religious pieces, political pieces and imaginary fictional pieces is quite a commendable task.Strongly recommend this book.

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