[9] The idea for The Emperor's Riddles was born out of a random Internet search by Nayak after reading the Dan Brown thriller Angels & Demons to find out if there was something similarly esoteric and mysterious hidden in the history of India.

Nayak was intrigued by the Emperor's legend and the imperial secret believed to be still alive and functioning and decided to capture this story.

[10] HT Brunch magazine included the book in its Summer Reading List of 2014, calling it "a celebration of our great Indian civilisation and its scientific genius" and recommending it for those who like "riddles and cool mythological references".

[12] The Hindu described it as a "concoction of mystery, thriller, legend"[3] and a "national bestseller"[13] while The Pioneer lauded how "history is being explored by the new-age writers like never before".

[14] The New Indian Express declared the thriller "a hit with young readers" and said it "opened a completely different avenue for budding writers to experiment with".

[5] While English Vinglish director Gauri Shinde called the book "an acclaimed thriller" via Twitter, the SpectralHues book review said the thriller's "shock twist towards the end makes you feel so ignorant" and that "a Christopher Nolan of the West or our very own Anurag Kashyap can pretty well give it a thought to bring The Emperor’s Riddles to life on screen".

Times of India said that "the pure imagination behind the tale is riveting and the different elements of contemporary India the author includes just makes it more than a mytho-fiction",[16] and Free Press Journal said that the book "slowly (but positively) spreads its poisonous tentacles of a gripping thriller that keeps readers hooked while checking on Google for the mythology references.

[18] The book Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess was published by Penguin Random House and backed by Boney Kapoor.

[8] In July 2020, Nayak announced his first book on Indian mythology titled 100 Tales from the Puranas to be published by Westland Press.