This is Book 1 of the Shiva trilogy. It was released early this year. It is now claimed to be a #1 national bestseller and why not? I got to know about the book only recently through my sister. I was intrigued by what she told me and I did quite a bit of googling about the book. I read its reviews and visited the authors website. It talked about a modern day Shiva. I became all the more curious and decided to purchase the book.
I was captivated almost immediately from the very first chapter onwards. The author Amish Tripathi, an IIM graduate finance professional. This is his debut book and 'what a debut!!!'. He's bang on target and he's here to stay. The book is a definite page turner. The story takes you back to the era 1900 BC and the pacy adventure ride begins through Meluha (modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus Valley Civilisation), a near perfect empire ruled by Suryavanshi's. They are at peril and can only hope for one man to save them. Will Shiva-the tribal immigrant from Tibet be their hero or their saviour?
The author immerses you into the world of Meluha. As I read through the chapters I could envisage the people and places during that time. There is anger, there is love, there is sympathy and there is remorse-a range of emotions fills your heart. A very good mix of mythology, fact and fantasy. Amish has been able to merge the three essence to perfection. It is indeed a very bold attempt by Amish to bring out such a story about Shiva. The usage of everyday english makes Shiva all the more human than a god. The Hindu purists would have other opinions about the portrayal of Shiva and other characters in the book. But this is not a religious book or history the author is trying to convey. It is Shiva through Amish's eye.I could relate one section of the book to the movie 'Matrix'. Here Shiva is the chosen one and he realizes it when he is able to see through the people and himself. The other fantasy novel that I loved is 'Lord of the rings trilogy' and this one too captured my interest. This book is by no means the same as in the content but just about the epic, the land, the empire, the hooded terrorist, the wars etc. This could be one of the reasons I loved the book.
I would recommend this book to all who like mythology and stories around it. The book is thoroughly enjoyable and he ends book 1 in a juncture that you wished book 2 was released already.
Grab a copy and indulge yourself. You won't regret it :-)
