Book Review – the Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi

Ok, this review is quite late. But, I had to post it, as I read the book only a couple of months ago. This is a book review of the book, “The Immortals of Meluha” by Amish Tripathi. I recently read its sequel, “The Secret of the Nagas”  and, I felt that a review is in order, especially as its been quite some time since I did a review. The third and the final book of the “Shiva Triology” will be published early next year.

First things first. I bought this book a few months ago from Landmark, because i really liked the cover page. I did not expect it to be a good book, mostly because it was written by an Indian author. And, most readers will agree with me, that Indian writers/authors, except for a few, have very bad writing/storytelling/narration skills. The book promised (on the back cover) to be a thrilling read as it had a new story-line with a modern take on, the centuries old myth of Lord Shiva and his rise to power.

The book starts with the journey of Shiva from the Mansarovar mountain ranges to the plains of Meluha – an immortal city, ruled by the Suryavanshi’s, where law and order is a way of life for people. Discipline, rules and laws laid out by the earlier “Dev” – Lord Ram is followed to the T by the citizens of Meluha. They are prosperous, happy and shrewd Kshatriyas who will fight for keeping their King and family out of harm’s reach. However, there is something that is worrying the King, which, as prophesied will end, at the arrival of the Neelkanth – literally meaning “the one with the Blue Throat”.

Naturally, Shiva, who is the protagonist of the story arrives at Meluha, with his tribe, leaving his hometown behind because of hard circumstances and consistent raids by invaders. Staying true to the prophecy, it is revealed in the first few chapters that Shiva is the Neelkanth and he will be the saving grace for a dying Meluhan race and the cause of their worries. What makes these Meluhans immortal and how Shiva tries to save them, forms the basis of the story and takes various twists and turns before addressing another important aspect of the story, which leads to the storyline of the second book of the “Shiva Triology”.

Some characters who shape the book are:

• Lord Shiva – the prophecised Neelkanth, the taker of all worries and the giver of happiness and peace.
• Sati – the ever faithful, strong, and emotional warrior princess of Meluha, later married to Lord Shiva.
• King Daksha – the ruler of Meluha
• General Parvateshwar – the army general of Meluha. One of strong character and  immense battle capabilities
• Bhrahaspati – the trusted aide and best friend of Lord Shiva in Meluha. Also, the chief scientist at Meluha
• Krittika – the loyal aide and friend of Sati

The story is well woven and does not lose pace at any point of time. The battles and the fights between the Suryanvanshi and the Chandravanshi empires has been written very well. I especially liked the chapter in which Shiva enters Sati’s life and tries to woo her. It literally took me back in time and I could visualize the story, as if it was happening then and there. The chapters are very well edited and I found very few editorial mistakes in the book. It is also worth mentioning that the author has written the book with a very unique and different storyline and based it on the lives of Shiva and Sati. The book captures the essence of the olden ways of living but also adds a modern twist to the tale with a vey casual style of writing and does not describe everything endlessly. For a reader like me, endless describing ruins the main plot of the book, and hence, I found it very easy to read, understand and comprehend, every aspect of the book, without the need to put it down and scratch my head.

There are some pitfalls though. The characters have not been etched very well. Lord Shiva – the great Neelkanth, has not been portrayed as someone who can wreak terror for enemies and at the same time, be the savior and giver of his friends. Lord Shiva’s character does not command the presence or the awe, which is necessary for the protagonist of the book. I feel, that a bit more detailing on the character could have helped the author in creating a very charismatic personality of Lord Shiva. Similarly, the character of King Daksha has not been given importance. Sometimes, its easy to forget that there is a character known as “Daksha” in the book. As a person who did not expect to find anything good about the book, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted by the fact that finally, atlast, one young Indian writer has arrived to help put Chetan Bhagat’s insanely rubbish books (which we categorize as bestsellers) at rest. Its high time, that crappy writers like Chetan Bhagat, Meera Nanda, Madhuri Banerjee etc really stuck to writing only newspaper columns and spared us from unreadable books. Amish Tripathi through his Shiva Trilogy has arrived, as a very skilled writer.

All in all, this book is a must read for any avid reader (even if you are an atheist, this wont hurt your sentiments), written in a very simple language and engaging narrative.

Book Rating  – 3.5 out of 5

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Click here to read the review of Book 2 of the “Shiva Trilogy”, – The Secret of The Nagas by Amish Tripathi

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