Christopher C. Doyle has been writing breathless page-turners combining history, myth and science since The Mahabharata Secret in 2013. The Secret of the Druids (Westland) is the second book of The Mahabharata Quest series. The book follows Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul and Britain, a mysterious warrior queen, Semiramis, a powerful weapon that a shadowy, influential organisation called the Order will do anything to acquire and a Task Force from India that is the only thing standing between the Order and its sinister objective.
Talking about what spurred his interest in writing historical thrillers, Christopher says over the phone, “There were quite a few factors. I was interested in The Mahabharata . The thought process started 20 years ago, which culminated in what I write. In 2006, when my daughter, Shaynaya was seven, she wanted more complicated stories and there are so many possibilities in our myths.”
The book describes druids as the Brahmins of the west. “I did a lot of research including reading books written in the 18th century on druids,” says the 50-year-old author. “Comparisons and connections between druids and Vedic people were being speculated on as far back as the 17th century. I also came across references to these connections in the writings of the ancient Greek and Roman writers writing between 300 BC and 100 AD. Based on the facts, I was able to put together the connections between druids and Vedic people in the book.”
Talking about the rise of the historical thriller, Christopher goes further back before Dan Brown, Matthew Reilly and Andy McDermott to say,
“Clive Cussler probably invented the genre! While I wouldn’t quite say that I write in the historical genre, since my books have a blend of science, mythology and history, I feel that there are a lot of unsolved mysteries and unanswered questions in history. The mysteries surrounding Caesar’s invasions of Britain in the midst of his campaign to conquer Gaul, for example, which I have tackled in The Secret of the Druids , provide a great foundation for a credible, yet fictional, explanation. These mysteries and questions, I believe, intrigue today’s readers.”
The Delhi-based author chooses the scientific rather than the theological route to explain myths. “I tend to keep away from religion. I see no place for it in my books. Controversies do not help sell books.”
Like many thrill-a-minute historical adventures, the Stonehenge has a starring role in The Secret of the Druids . “There has been a fascination for the Stonehenge for a long time. Nobody knows why it was built, by who, when or how. Stone cannot be dated. In the book, the conversation between Alice and Vijay regarding the dating of Stonehenge and other megalithic sites mirrors a very real conversation I had with an archaeologist when I was trying to understand the merits of dating stone monuments.”
Christopher says he was not very comfortable with the accepted version of the legend of the Nine, supposedly a secret brotherhood set up by Emperor Ashok who wrote nine books on various topics. “It didn’t make much sense to me so I decided to create my version of it when I wrote The Mahabharata Secret , in which Ashoka created the secret brotherhood to hide away a discovery if it were to fall into the wrong hands would spell the destruction of humankind.”
An alumnus of St. Stephen’s College in Delhi and IIM Calcutta, Christopher puts in rigorous research into his novels. “There is a lot of reading involved. I read about a 100 books for The Secret of the Druids . I read extensively about the science. The concept or theory might be fiction but the science is not. I have to understand the science to create the theory. I whet the theory with an expert and then bring in the history.”
A picture speaks for 1,000 words and Christopher used the services of Priyankar Gupta to illustrate different things from the markings on a stone in a prehistoric site, the interiors of Mine Howe and exteriors of Cairnpapple Hill, to the right-angled triangle connecting three megalithic sites and the coins of Inverness hoard.
When asked how many more books are planned in the series, Christopher says, “Two or three more. I don’t want to flog a dead horse or stretch the story. On the other hand, I do not want to put a cap either. As long as my readers feel there is a story to be told, I would oblige.”
