Book Review: THE OATH OF THE VAYUPUTRAS by Amish

The Oath of the Vayuputras is the third and last book of The Shiva Trilogy series by Amish Tripathi.

Flipkart says:

The Oath of the Vayuputras is the final book of The Shiva Trilogy. In the earlier books of the trilogy, Shiva finds out that the Nagas are not his enemies and joins hands with them to reach the root of all evil. This book will have answers to ‘the Neelkanth’s’ questions about his fate, the choices he made previously and karma.

Further, in the concluding book of the trilogy, Shiva reaches Panchavati, the capital of the Nagas, where he will come face-to-face with his greatest enemy. Will he win the battle over his wicked enemies, who are out to destroy him and his legacy?

The Oath of the Vayuputras will also reveal the reason of Shiva’s close friend Brahaspati’s disappearance and reappearance at the end of the second book, The Secret of the Nagas. The relationship between Daksha - the king of Meluha and the mysterious temple priests will also be exposed in this last part of the trilogy. Shiva seeks help from the Vayuputras in the quest to conquer all evil.

The great warrior will encounter the real intentions of some characters he deemed to be close to him. Some new characters will add that extra vitality to the entire plot, especially Shiva’s greatest enemy whose name sends shivers down the spines of many great warriors.

An interesting journey of a warrior who is turned into a God by his followers because of his deeds and war against the evil, this book is sure to have its readers’ full attention. A good read which will make one reflect on their actions, this book like the two earlier books of the trilogy focuses on philosophy, religion and the never ending battle between the good and the evil.

MY PERCEPTION

I had bought the book about 45 days ago. I started reading it almost immediately. To begin with, it took me a while to recall the characters – apart from Shiva and his family, of course – and get my teeth into the book.

It was mighty slow going as the story turned out to be quite lethargic. I had not quite expected this considering that I almost rushed through reading The Immortals of Meluha and The Secret of the Nagas.

The first two books were too interesting and absorbing for words. I had to read the first few chapters of The Oath of the Vayuputras over a few weeks. Then the magic unfolded suddenly. The story got back on track and became appealing once again.

From that point on, the book moved fast and despite the blood and gore of war, I was hooked to the book till the end. Congratulations Amish! You have made history. Truly amazing work - The Shiva Trilogy!

The Lament of the Blue Lord is the chapter that truly touched my heart. I love you Shiva!

Book Review: THE SECRETS OF THE NAGAS by Amish

The mind did work that maybe the author had been first time lucky and that I should not expect as much from this sequel. Well, I had my mind changed for me...

This is the second book in The Shiva Trilogy, the first one being The Immortals of Meluha. This is also the second book written by the author, Amish.

What is the book about? (This is from the website www.shivatrilogy.com)

Shiva’s hunt for the Naga who killed his friend Brahaspati and targeted his wife Sati, takes him down India’s major river networks, searching for traitors and seeking allies in his war against evil. But evil is rising again, more potent than ever. A whole nation is dying. Another, suffering for no fault of its own. Everyone is suspect: new friends, old allies and even his philosopher guides. At every corner, Shiva finds evidence of Naga activity. A crown prince is murdered. A people held to ransom for a miracle drug made only by the Nagas.

Shiva’s journey takes him across the length and breadth of Swadweep, to the land of the Brangas and further south, deep into the Dandak forest. Shiva searches for the truth in a land of deadly mysteries – only to find that nothing is what it seems.

Book 2 of the Shiva trilogy takes up from the point where Shiva is dashing to save Sati at the end of The Immortals of Meluha. Does he succeed? His archenemy seems to be winning every encounter. All Shiva knows for sure is that the Chandravanshis aren’t evil. But then, neither are the Suryavanshis. So who or what is evil? And who is the mysterious Naga that stalks his family? What does he want? What is The Secret of the Nagas?

What’s my take on it?

Amish Tripathi’s first book was The Immortals of Meluha. It was simply superb! What one would tend assume is that:

1. Maybe Amish Tripathi was first time lucky
2. He had said all he had to say in the first book
3. Amish had worked out a special genre by weaving together mythology and history and surprised everyone in his first book. What more could be special in the second one?
4. Yeah, there could be more mystery and more wars – so what will be different in this one?

Well, you have to read the book to find out. I was totally zapped. I went back to my college days (that of course, was eons ago) when I used to stay up late into the night, reading books that I simply could not put down. Somehow, that trend had stopped as I took on more responsibilities as a wife, mother and a full-time employee. After two-and-a-half decades, I stayed up till 3 am to complete the book as I just could not put it down without finishing it.

Before reading the book, I seriously wondered what more the author could have to astonish, amaze or hold one’s interest. It seemed that he had said it all in the first book.

Reading the book made me understand differently. It just shows the wealth of imagination Amish has and his story-telling skills don’t waver at all as he fascinates us with more characters – will not mention names here as the book has been out for barely a week – and incidents that are spellbinding.

It’s amazing the way Amish weaves characters and incidents from mythology along with perfectly acceptable, workable incidents in everyday life in 1900 BC and presents the perfect product, not a thread out of place. Swadweep, Brangaidai, Dandakaranya Forests and Panchavati spring to life in front of our eyes under the author’s able guidance.

I don’t think I should say any more – worried what I might let out to the readers.

I need to mention here that the cover art is beautiful with an abrasive snake held tightly curled around Shiva's left arm. Loved this one!

Way to go Amish! Looking forward to the third and final book of the trilogy and more and more in the future!

Book Review: THE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA by Amish

I could feel the resonance in the core of my being…


What is the book about? 
     ‘THE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA’, the first book of the Shiva trilogy is a No 1 National Bestseller, having sold over 100,000 copies since its launch in March, 2010.
     It is set in 1900 BC, in what the modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus Valley Civilisation. The inhabitants of that period called it the land of Meluha – a near perfect empire created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived.
     The once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe perils as its primary river, the revered Saraswati, is slowly drying to extinction. They also face devastating terrorist attacks from the east, the land of the Chandravanshis. 
     To make matters worse, the Chandravanshis appear to have allied with the Nagas, an ostracised and sinister race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills.
     The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend – ‘when evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge’.
     Is the rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero?
     And does he want to be that hero at all?
     Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?
     The above matter is taken from www.shivatrilogy.com. 


What follows is my take on it: 
     If you are interested in history, mythology and philosophy, you will find the book a totally absorbing reading. If you are not interested in any of the above, you will still find it fascinating.
     Amish aka Amish Tripathi has a fertile imagination clubbed with powerful story-telling skills. The result is simply awesome. 
     As I read the book, I forgot that I was living in the 21st century and felt transported to 1900 BC. I could feel myself walking the streets of the Indus Valley. I fell in love with Shiva and so wanted him to be human and not just an unreachable God. 
     I must congratulate the author on the details that he has imparted during his narration without it appearing to be a lesson in history. The characters - all of them you must have heard of- either from your grandparents, parents or from the pages of mythology or may be even from Amar Chitra Katha. 
     While we had believed them all to belong to some other alien world, they all spring alive in the pages of The Immortals of Meluha. How Amish has managed to give each of them a human persona is to be read to be believed. Imagine Shiva, Sati, Nandi, Veerbhadra, Daksha, Parvateshwar, Brahaspati and many more of them talking and walking the earth! I found the experience just mind-blowing. 
     The description of Swadweep and its residents so reminded me of present day Mumbai. 
     I could not keep the book down while my son and I took turns reading one copy – almost coming to blows over it. ;)
     As the book ends, the author has you begging for more, literally, as the sequel – The Secret of the Nagas – has just got out into the market. 
     Can’t wait to lay my hands on this one!


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