Amish Tripathi
Part 2 of the Shiva Trilogy. Shiva continues his journey from Meluha into Swadeep, after managing to broker a peaceful arrangement between the Suryavanshis and Chandravanshis. He then shifts his focus to what he considers a common threat, and a fount of evil – the Nagas. His search for the Nagas takes him into the Chandravanshi kingdoms and brings him in touch with various populaces who have ties with the Nagas. As the book progresses, events force Shiva to reconsider his belief in the Vasudevs as well as his stance on the Nagas, and towards the end, he begins his journey into the land south of the Narmada – the abode of the Nagas.
The book sees the birth of Karthik, Shiva’s son, as well as the introduction of other popular Hindu mythology characters – Ganesh, Kali, Parashuram etc. The author, as with the first book, tries to find a logical explanation to the mythological portrayals, though he does take a lot of creative liberties. Book 2 also ends with revelations and a set of questions which most likely will be answered in The Oath of the Vayuputras.
I felt that the prose and the style had definitely improved from the first volume, though I still found the rampant use of modern day phrases and expressions by mythological characters a put off. Once again, the narrative is paced well, and there is no dearth of imagination. I’ll definitely be waiting for the third volume and the ‘master puppeteer’.
I bought this book as soon as i had 35 pages left to complete the first part, “The Immortals of Meluha”. This book has an equally interesting plot and the narration has been kept in par as well. We never lose interest and there is not even a single dull or a boring moment. Every chapter unveils a suspense and that keep us engaged.