Through this book, Shubha Vilas, does not simply tell us the story of Ramayana again, with his own words; but he tries to unravel and reinvent what remains unexplored, beyond the lines of the text!

I came in terms with many aspects of Ramayana, which I was not aware of.

The quality of research done is apt and as required, with certain scenes having intricate detailing; allowing readers to create visuals of the situations.

There are several events described in the book which never came across my mind when reading or watching Ramayana before.

What differentiates this book from all that I knew or learnt about Ramayana is that it is indeed narrated in simple words with deep meanings.

I felt the author has done an extensive and epic research of the subject and has argued well to present to the readers the basic reasoning and explanations for the actions and inactions of each and every character in the story

The book fills you with the power of positivity and truth and encourages us to venture beyond one’s comfort zone in the pursuit of contentment in life.

This complicated family drama provides deep insights on how human relationships work and how they fail.

You would be amazed with the details of the story and I can bet there would be a number of things you would come to know about the Ramayana that you didn’t know before.

If one follows the lines mentioned in the novel, I am sure, the journey of life will be crystal clear with peace and joy. It’s an excellent novel for these modern times.

One commendable aspect of the book is that it portrays Sita to be as important as Rama. She is his courageous companion who braves all difficulties to support her husband in his time of trouble.

I would like to congratulate the author for re-writing Ramayana in such a coherent and lucid fashion. This book does not weigh you down with dreary details. On the other hand, it lets you enjoy the brilliance of the epic.

With Valmiki’s Ramayana as its guiding light, Shattered Dreams deftly entwines poetic beauty from the Kamba Ramayana and Ramacharitramanas, as well as folk philosophy from the Loka Pramana tales, to demonstrate how the ancient epic holds immediate relevance to modern life.

The life of the characters in the books takes us towards optimism and ensures an individual to take up decisions and orders by stepping out of the comfort zone and taking a step closer towards the contentment in life.

This book keeps you hooked up, every page of the book teaches us a lesson. A Lesson that everyone should apply in their life. Every time you read the same chapter, you will get a different meaning out of it.

The prose is smooth, the storytelling is vivid and the descriptions are spot-on. You can actually go back to that time and see the characters right through the eyes of your mind.

Despite knowing the story of Ramayana by heart, what hooked me to the book is its beautiful and lucid narration. The dialogues are exceptionally beautiful. Some scenes are so beautifully described that it fills you up with reverence and wonder.

Coronation and exile of Rama depicts the same for Rama, Dashratha, Kaushlaya, Sita etc. And same thing can be said about Keikayi when Bharat refused to be king and marched towards Jungle to bring Rama back to Ayodhya.

The author has taken reference from Ramayana and Ramcharit Manas both, but what he has done different is he has discovered the finer details of characters and events, which were less expressed in the previous books

The author has kept Valmiki's Ramayana as the guiding light, and very poetically entwined Shattered Dreams with Kamba Ramayana, Ramcharitamanas and Loka Purana tales to establish how the ancient epic still holds relevance in modern life.

With each and every narration, the author has included the justification in each and every action. Though we have read many versions, this book deals with the philosophical part of Ramayana.

A book full of beautiful messages and the story of the charismatic Prince Rama is bound to make your bookshelf’s value go high. A must read.

The story of Ramayana is not new for us. But the way writer has narrated the events and other stories is what keeps the reader engrossed throughout the book. There are many more smaller stories which are interwoven in the book.

I give Shattered Dreams a strong rating of 8 on 10 for the priceless insights into every situation, the beautiful language and the intricately drawn scenes (through words) throughout the book.

There are a few books which can be read multiple times and every time you read it, you get to learn something new. For me, this is one such book.

I feel this is a really good book to start your journey towards Indian mythology. The book can be used to read the old story in today's language.

The Game of Life - Book 2 is an interesting read for anyone who is looking out for understanding the wisdom concealed within the stories of the epic, Valmiki's Ramayana. It provides a deep insight into the characters mind and also does a brilliant job in recreating the scene in the reader's mind.

But, the most interesting aspect of this version of Ramayana is the authors' take on the various characteristics and behaviour of the courtiers, Dasaratha, Rama, Lakshman etc which frankly, I found very fascinating.

This book explores the spiritual and motivational thoughts on life, truth and every aspect of life. This book not only enlightens us about the epic story, but also the different aspect of life through its spiritual quotes. The footnotes and various explanations are enhancing the glory of this book.

The romance of Rama and Sita are very well portrayed. The true meaning of marriage is where the husband and wife desire the same thing

Through tales of Rama’s unwavering and enigmatic persona, the book teaches us how to handle reversals positively; through Bharata’s actions, it teaches us to handle temptation; and through Sita’s courage, to explore beyond our comfort zone. This complicated family drama provides deep insights on how human relationships work and how they fail.

There are interesting little folk tales embedded which makes it a fascinating read and also there are footnotes on each page which correlates the Ramayana situation on that page to our modern life.

It is indeed an interesting take on Ramayana to make it accessible to younger generation with occasionally sprinkled wisdom in the footnotes.

The Shattered Dreams” talks about the virtues of a leader, the attributes that makes him the leader of his clan and more than which marks him as an enlightened soul.

The use of notes to elucidate the principles put forth by Lord Rama are indeed helpful and give an interesting prespective into the teachings that are present in the original story.

In this first part of review I am just mentioning those awesome quotes that I have collected from the book. These quotes show deep understanding of life and provides us much needed philosophical guidance to live a better life

Reading Ramayana: The Game of Life by author Shubha Vilas opened completely new avenues to my interpretation of Ramayana, which has such invaluable lessons not only for our personal and social lives but also for our professional lives.

This complicated family drama provides deep insights on how human relationships work and how they fail.

I appreciate the humongous effort of the author to research the whole of Ramayan – it’s an epic task and takes more than a lifetime.