Author: Amish Tripathi
Publisher: Westland
Year: 2011
ISBN: 9789380658742
Rating: 
Read book reviews from other readers
The story is set in Meluha, a nearly perfect land of Suryavanshis which is at war over their sacred river 'Saraswati' with the baleful and savage Chandravanshis, who have a secret alliance with a cursed and disfigured group called Nagas, masters of martial arts. Shiva, a young Tibetan tribal arrives in Meluha soon to discover that he is the legendary 'Neelkanth' who is envisaged to be their savior. Hauled suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love and expectations, Shiva resolves to lead the Suryavanshi retaliation.
The story is neither very fluent nor gripping and is more indicative of a Hindi movie script with very filmy characters, with an over simplistic plot and cheesy dialogues .It trips forward without any amazement or twists that you cannot pick well before. Shiva smokes for serenity, dances for fun and is filled with young lust. He falls in love with Sati immediately, trails behind her and does all frivolous things to impress her. This pulp-hero-cum-rock-star image of Shiva feels extremely jarring and cliché. Excessive use of words expletives (yes, 'idiot' included) in his dialogues to make Shiva look human sounded inappropriate. Rather it is Shiva’s insecurities and inner conflicts that actually make the readers feel that he is human.
The other characters are flat and not well developed. Some scream their lungs out clamoring to Shiva to take up their cause (repeatedly, mind you!) which gets to you after a while.
While certain descriptions, sub plots and brief introductions to history were mesmerizing and I took a particular liking in the philosophy of evil, that what is considered evil or wrong by some may not be perceived in the similar way by others. However, the concept of Somaras and inhuman idea of newly born babies being taken away from their mothers soon after their birth sounded harebrained and such have never been in existence in Indian society and culture, ever!
The book however, can be most certainly credited with attracting the attention of the clueless Indian youth to their culture and mythology. Perhaps the catchiest part of the book? Its cover page!
Latest posts by Tanya Singh (see all)
- Review: Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi - June 15, 2013
- Review: Inferno by Dan Brown - May 28, 2013
- Mother’s Day Special: Mum’s the Word for our Authors! - May 12, 2013
11 Comments
This novel is such a hit across world!! Is this novel really worth a 2 star
This is how the writer of review felt about the book, how many stars would you like to give this book?
American Pie movies are also a hit across the world!
Writer seems to not have enough grasp over mythology. Somras is real thing as you can search on Wikipedia or watch in the documentary “story of India” by BBC. Also inhuman idea is also an idea, every book progress with imagination. I believe due to lack of interest in such subject, author did not like this book much. Otherwise I believe ts a good book- . 4.5/5.
@9b8e0376ec6779fb18d88e418effe82f:disqus You are absolutely right, rating is pretty subjective. Did you like all the 3 books of the series? Which one you liked the best?
2013 Reader’s Choice Literary Awards - Bookish
Review: The Complete Mahabharata – Bhishma Parva, Volume V by Anjuli Kaul
Review: The Secret of the Nagas by Amish Tripathi - Bookish
The books like these are only useful to conceal and distort the truth. Writers should have the sense to avoid using such a wild, incorrect and foolish imagination especially in godly and divine subjects.
The truth about Lord Siva can be very well find in siva puranam and skanda puranam.
‘Puranam’ is the basement stone and these types of books are only good for spreading lies.
The author never said this is the truth.This book is a figment of imagination. Readers should have the sense and ability to classify what is true what isn’t, what should be believed and what should be read, enjoyed and appreciated.
Imagining Lord Shiva as a human and particularly one who smokes weed and uses slangs was quite difficult but after a while I got used to it.
Also there are some versions that claim that Lord Shiva smokes Ganja though I don’t knw how much truth there is to it.
The idea of Somras, technology and the caste hierarchy depicted in this novel seemed somewhat unrealistic and non-existent in our society respectively but apt since, this is a fictional fantasy novel. For all I know Amish could have mentioned metros and flying humans and I wouldn’t question him! It is a fantasy!
Shiva is ardhanarishwar…Sati is a part of him…He is incomplete without her. So I personally thought the way he pursued Sati in the novel was fine and not a part of some cheesy bollywood script. And I don’t recall ever reading or being told that Shiva danced only when he was angry. Comparing this novel to hyperbolic, cliched and idiotic bollywood movies is very unfair and a grave injustice to this book. I agree that the book had flaws but I found it to be a great read. It is certainly not something you can turn to, for gaining knowledge of our mythology but it was innovative and refreshing.
Amish Tripathy never claimed that this is the actual mythology or our history. I didn’t find much in this novel that could hurt our religious sentiments. I think the writer of this review was quite hard on the author. But then again this is all quite subjective, isn’t it? 🙂