Happy to find you here!
Haven’t tried mythological fiction yet, then you are in the right place. The Immortals Of Meluha by Amish Tripathi is the first book of the Shiva Trilogy. This book is set in ancient India i.e. during the Indus Valley Civilization. In the Immortals of Meluha, India was divided into two empires- the Meluhan Empire (the Heaven on the Earth) whose natives were Suryavanshis and Swadeep had Chandravanshis as its natives. Suryavanshis felt that Chandravanshis are evil and their savior would be the Neelkanth. Shiva, the chief Tibetan warrior enters the story and he might just be the savior and the destroyer of evil.
The fast-paced book touched many aspects like how Somras ensures immortality, how Shiva became the Neelkanth, how Nandi became Shiva’s most trustworthy companion, how the symbol Om originated and what evil could exactly be! So, this is how the adventures begin, Shiva lives up to the legend and acquires the title of Mahadev! Shiva starts his journey to find evil. He saves a lot of lives, fights a war, falls in love with Sati and heads towards fighting against evil.
“If the entire society was conscious of its duties, nobody would need to fight for their individual rights. Since everybodys’ rights would be automatically taken care of through someone else’s duties.”
― Amish Tripathi, The Immortals of Meluha
There are certain things that kept me hinged, however, some put me off.
Why couldn’t I put this book down?
1. The world-building in the book is breathtaking. Amish Tripathi has explained every little detail of the cities, their infrastructure, the legislature and even the roads. Hence the visualization was amazing.
2. The simple yet intriguing plot kept me hooked. The author distinguishably explains why things are happening in a certain way. Numerous mythological contexts are also explained vividly. Thus even if you don’t know anything about Hindu mythology, you can definitely read Immortals of Meluha.
3. The storyline is perfectly paced. It is slow as well as fast wherever it needs to be.
4. The suspense is worth the wait. The plot unfolds step by step and we get to know a lot of secrets. Somehow, I always wanted to know more.
5. The names of the characters are the same as those in Hindu mythology which makes the story more believable.
Just little disappointments
1. There was a repetition of a lot of phrases and expressions of different emotions in a very monotonous way.
2. I found that the character development was a bit weak. The protagonists have been glorified a lot without any actual proof. Thus the relationships also seem poorly developed.
The Immortals of Meluha in a nutshell
The book is worth the hype. I got an opportunity to reimagine all the mythological characters as ordinary human beings. The logic behind every belief was explained vividly. The occasional appearance of the hooded Naga increased my curiosity constantly. I suggest not to compare the characters with the mythology as this will help you dive into the plot.
“A person’s ethics and character are not tested in good times. It is only in bad times that a person shows how steadfast he is to his dharma.”
― Amish Tripathi, The Immortals of Meluha
There are some amazing quotes in this book as well that hold relevance even today.
My favourite lines from this book were the ones where Shiva says “Har Har Mahadev”- all of us are gods.
“A man becomes a Mahadev, only when he fights for good. A Mahadev is not born from his mother’s womb. He is forged in the heat of battle when he wages a war to destroy evil. Har Har Mahadev – All of us are Mahadev.”
If you want to try mythological fiction then The Immortals of Meluha is the book for you. It has suspense, a love story and an amazing plot. The revelation towards the end will make you want to read the second book as well. If you have read this book then do let me know about your reviews as well.
See you back soon!
Happy reading!
Follow on Twitter
