Shiva and Mahadev are different ??

Book:           Oath of vayuputras
Author:        Amish Tripathi
Genre:         Mythology/fiction

Publication: Westland
Pages:         565

X-FACTOR:   Mythology with a twist.

My Rating:   3.6 out of 5

 

THE STORY:

The immortals of Meluha, The Secrets of the Nagas and now the third (last) part of a well-received tale of Shiva, known as Oath of Vayuputras, Amish is having a dream run of his life (perhaps of all 7 lives). After getting criticized about the sloppy story and editing, Amish have tried to rectify all the flaws and I am sure that the editor must have worked very hard on it as well.

If you have not read the first two parts of this book then I will strongly recommend you to read it first, otherwise, this novel will be more like a History Book. Shiva- the protagonist starts in this novel as a hero of all. He discovers that Somras has to be destroyed eventually and seeks help from other allies and kingdoms. He leads the attack against the fiercest enemy and meets with many foes and friends in the course of doing it.

The plot of the story has been started from exactly where it was left in the last novel. The endless secrets which had been introduced in previous two parts like what is evil, why is it and how it can be stopped, have been answered and answered very briefly. When compared to last edition, this one has better language and crisp style. The secrets and twists are well directed and interesting. It binds the reader to the book and compels to forget about meals, tea and Facebook for a while. The author twists the actual mythology for his story and modifies the characters for the sake of making it more interesting, which overall is good. Usually in the books having more than 500 pages, some sub-stories run along with the main plot, but this novel has only one and good plot.

On the other hand, too much of explanation and experiments with the characters may not suit most of the readers. The secrets have been revealed very early in the story which reduces the interest. Hardcore followers of Indian mythology may get disappointed and unhappy about the experiments done with some actual characters of Indian mythology (like Mahadev and Shiva are two different people in the novel). At some places the book reads as a History book more than a novel. The climax of the stories is bad (it is a strong word, I know). It seems that it had been written particularly for the movie which is based upon this (by Karan Johar and perhaps starred by Hritik).

Overall, it is a nice read with good mixture of Science, Fiction, Mythology and History. The story is smooth and well written. The language is not completely grammar-free but still easy to read.

THE WRITING:

A very crisp and yet descriptive writing has become Amish’s trademark. It has a touch of history and science. There are not many hiccups in the story. The author keeps the same style which he opted in last two novels, which is simple and beautiful.

There are few setbacks and flaws in the story and writing, like, the reference of Bhagwat Geeta has been taken but the backdrop of the story is pre-Krishna. When compared to the last two novels and the first half of this novel, the ending has been hurriedly written. It looks as if something missing or incomplete. But the overall writing remains new and distinctive.

THE CONCLUSION:

After reading first two parts of the story, the expectations with this one was huge. People rushed to the bookstores to purchase this one as soon as they came to know about the release. Unfortunately, like several other sequels, this one as well, is not able to satisfy the hopes and crashes in no men’s land. Neither good nor bad is something which comes in my mind. However, apart from miserable ending, the novel can be used as an answer book for first two novels in this series and there are instances where a reader can enjoy and cherish the writing. Though, as Shiva could not cross the line and become god, likewise, Amish remains a good writer and misses the exceptionally good writer’s spot.

I will recommend this novel to all who have read the first two parts and all who want to read something unconventional and want to know more about the history and Mythology (beware of hypothetical incidents and characters though).