NEW DELHI, April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — HarperCollins is delighted to announce its acquisition of the keenly anticipated new book by bestselling author, Ashwin Sanghi – India’s master storyteller with more than a million copies of his books sold in print in English and other Indian languages. HarperCollins India will publish his next novel (Book no. 7), The Magicians of Mazda, in the chart-topping Bharat Series on 21st May this year, followed by the other titles in the series in June and July 2022.
The Magicians of Mazda, an epic saga in the author’s signature style of merging fact with fiction, promises to be a roller-coaster read for fans of the author and mythological thrillers. It is a testament to the author’s unending spool of imagination deftly woven with deep insights and research into a fast-paced plot that travels through time and history, taking the reader along on a thrilling ride.
About the book:
A fleet of boats dock at the port of Sanjan in Gujarat in 720 CE. They carry eighteen thousand frightened souls fleeing the cruelty of Iran’s Umayyad Caliphate. Chanting Sanskrit-like prayers, the high priest consecrates a sacred fire to thank their god, Ahura Mazda, leading them to a new home and hope. He uses a mysterious substance to spark the flame, but few know of its miraculous properties or provenance.
Centuries later, Parsi scientist Jim Dastoor is abducted from his Seattle laboratory and whisked away to Tehran. The Ayatollah believes Jim is the key to uncovering the ancient relic known as the Athravan Star and his men will do anything to possess it, even murder.
From the ancient ruins of Persepolis to the Taliban camps of Afghanistan, from the womb of an Udvada fire temple to the icy mountains of Kashmir, from the dreadful coffin cells of Tehran to the deathly calm of Diu’s Tower of Silence, Jim and his historian wife, Linda, are sucked into a terrifying chase across vividly changing landscapes.
Deftly navigating between time and geography, The Magicians of Mazda travels backwards, through the epochs of Islamic jihad, Macedonian revenge, Achaemenid glory, messianic birth, Aryan schism—to the Vedic fount from where it began.
This is Ashwin Sanghi’s most gripping and provocative novel yet.
Author, Ashwin Sanghi, says, “I am delighted that my Bharat Series—including the previous six titles as well as my latest, The Magicians of Mazda—has found a new home at HarperCollins India. Ananth Padmanabhan, Udayan Mitra and Swati Daftuar are fantastic people to work with and I am grateful to them for having pulled out all the stops to get this book out to my readers in record time.”
Ananth Padmanabhan, CEO, HarperCollins India, says, “I am a big fan of Ashwin’s writing, and we are very delighted that HarperCollins will now be the home for Ashwin’s stupendous Bharat Series. Ashwin is India’s foremost writer of adventure and has entertained millions of readers with his incredible storytelling and imagination, spanning time and geography. The Magicians of Mazda is a roller coaster that yet again sets the bar very high!”
Swati Daftuar, Executive Editor, HarperCollins India, says, “We are so very pleased to welcome Ashwin to HarperCollins India. With every book in the Bharat Series, he brings us something quite fantastic – and his latest, The Magicians of Mazda, is really his best yet. The careful research behind every book, the thrill and pace of a taut, beautifully crafted adventure – all of it proves without doubt that he truly is a master storyteller.”
PRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR
“The one thing that Ashwin is so good at is being able to compare the times and being able to tell you by way of example that human nature has remained constant down the ages.” – Kajol Devgan, Actor
“Got hooked on to Ashwin’s books from Chanakya’s Chant onwards… since then I have been a fan.” – Sonali Bendre, Actor
“Thank you, Ashwin Sanghi, for this amazing wealth of books… part of my treasure.” – Anupam Kher, Actor
“Somebody whose work I respect, someone whose work I follow.” – Gul Panag, Actress and commentator
“India’s answer to Dan Brown!” – The Hindu
“Ashwin Sanghi spins his yarns well and leaves you breathless at every cliffhanger. No wonder his books are bestsellers!” – Hindustan Times
“Sanghi manages to blur the line between fact and fiction and give a whole new perspective to history and the Vedic Age.” – DNA
“Sanghi has got the sure-fire formula right.” – Times of India
ABOUT THE BHARAT SERIES
The Bharat Series by Ashwin Sanghi comprise of six path-breaking thrillers, which have sold over a million copies, that blend the ancient with the modern, myth with history, spirituality with science, philosophy with theology and politics with anthropology:
The Rozabal Line
Chanakya’s Chant
The Krishna Key
The Sialkot Saga
Keepers of the Kalachakra
The Vault of Vishnu
PRAISE FOR THE BHARAT SERIES
”Sanghi’s flair for religion, history and politics is clearly visible as he takes the reader across the world spanning different decades. A mixture of comparative religion, dangerous secrets, and a thrilling plot makes for an esoteric read.” – The Statesman about The Rozabal Line (2008)
”The Rozabal Line by Ashwin Sanghi is a kickass thriller that forces you to re-examine our histories, our faiths.” – Pritish Nandy
”I’m utterly enthralled. A delightfully interesting and gripping read. The historical research is deeply impressive …” – Shashi Tharoor about Chanakya’s Chant (2010)
”A gripping, fast-paced read, the novel is a true thriller in the tradition set by Dan Brown.” – People Magazine about Chanakya’s Chant (2010)
”An alternative interpretation of the Vedic Age that will be relished by conspiracy buffs and addicts of thrillers alike.” – The Hindu about The Krishna Key (2012)
”Just finished The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi. Rocking story and incredible research. Loved it!” – Amish Tripathi
”The Sialkot Saga moves at a breakneck pace hurtling through time and space uncovering ancient secrets and burying modern ones.” – The Hindu
”The book spreads across decades and centuries, till it reaches present day India and will sure have both historic and thriller readers in for a treat.” – The Times of India about The Sialkot Saga (2016)
”The book can’t be put down till all pieces of the jigsaw puzzle are put together.” – The Financial Express about Keepers of the Kalachakra (2018)
”Science and spirituality collide in Ashwin Sanghi’s latest thriller.” – India Today about Keepers of the Kalachakra (2018)
“The Vault of Vishnu, like all of Ashwin’s books, is a heady mix of history, myth, science and thrills.” – The Hindu
”A very interesting and intriguing thriller, thanks to the author’s storytelling gift and painstaking research on Hindu metaphysics.” – The New Indian Express about The Vault of Vishnu (2020)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ashwin Sanghi is among India’s highest-selling English fiction authors. He has written several bestsellers in the Bharat Series (The Rozabal Line, Chanakya’s Chant, The Krishna Key, The Sialkot Saga, Keepers of the Kalachakra, The Vault of Vishnu) and two New York Times bestselling crime thrillers with James Patterson, Private India (sold in the US as City on Fire) and Private Delhi (sold in the US as Count to Ten). He has also co-authored several non-fiction titles in the 13 Steps Series on Luck, Wealth, Marks, Health and Parenting.
He was educated at Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai, and St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He holds an MBA from Yale University. Ashwin has been included by Forbes India in their Celebrity 100 and by The New Indian Express in their Culture Power List. He is also a winner of several awards including the Crossword Popular Choice Award 2012, Atta Galatta Popular Choice Award 2018, WBR Iconic Achievers Award 2018, Lit-O-Fest Literature Legend Award 2018, Kalinga Popular Choice Award 2021.
Connect with Ashwin via www.sanghi.in
For reviews, excerpts, interviews and more information, please contact: shabnam.srivastava@harpercollins.co.in
About HarperCollins India
HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live! Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India is now the recipient of five Publisher of the Year Awards – In 2021 and 2015 at the Publishing Next Industry Awards, and in 2021, 2018 and 2016 at Tata Literature Live. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers.
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