Review- The Immortals Of Meluha by Amish Tripathi

Goodreads Summary:

1900 BC. In what 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. This 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?

REVIEW:

I had been seeing Immortals Of Meluha (IoM)  in the number 1 spot of the National Bestsellers section at bookstores but I never even bothered to pick it up and read the summary because from the looks of it, it didn't seem like something I'd normally read. Then author Amish Tripathi came to my city to launch the third and final bool in the Shiva trilogy, The Oath Of The Vayuputras. After listening to him talk and getting my copy of IoM signed, I wanted to read the book but never got to it until a bunch of us Indian bloggers started an Immortals Of Meluha Read-along. We decided to read one chapter of the book per day for the entire month of June but it took me much more time than a single month to finally finish it. 
I will honestly admit that I know nothing about Indian mythology save for a few things here and there. I never really took an interest in it and I prefer it that way. So for me, The Immortals Of Meluha, the story of Lord Shiva, was a learning experience. I have no idea about the original story but author Amish's take on it was quite good, but trust me, I didn't understand much of it. 

Maybe it was my lack of attention while reading, maybe it was the slow pace at which I was going with the book or maybe it was just me. I don't know what to say about the story because it had me confused and I was very bored to flip back and get my facts straight. But like I said, this book has at least given me some information about Indian mythology. 
Now as for the characters, I did find many interesting characters here and there. Shiva was shown as a great man whom I admired. He is truly a hero and I love his humble and kind nature. He is very sweet. Even though everyone is in awe of the Neelkanth, Shiva still remains grounded. I was very eager to know what Sati had done to be deemed a Vikarma and I liked getting to know more about that. I like how Sati is fierce, strong and for her time and age, very brave and independent. The chemistry between Sati and Shiva is very visible. It's obvious the two have feelings for each other and they made for a great couple. 

It's too early to have a concrete opinion on the Naga King. Maybe, just maybe that is why the second book is called The Secret Of The Nagas. Only time will tell us, but I know for a fact that the Nagas will be good guys. 

Author Amish's writing was quite good but it was very "today" for a book set in 1900 BC. And that was because the author wanted to connect with the youth and make Shiva look like us normal beings. I would have loved a more literal style of writing. 

Overall, The Immortals Of Meluha was an interesting take and fans of mythology will enjoy it. Unfortunately for me, although a highly enlightening experience and a very interesting read, it was a bit dragged and the time I took to finish it says how hard it was to get into it. The book ended on a cliffhanger and it was such that although I want to know what happens next, the sheer time investment these book need has me worried about it. But I must say that I am proud of myself for having read this bestseller even when I was highly tempted to give up and sat through it, so yay me! 

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