Sunday, September 4, 2011

Review: The Secret Of The Nagas

review

The Secret Of The Nagas
Amish Tripathi
Westland
396 pages
Rs 295
ISBN 9789380658797
Paperback

About the book
Today, He is a God.
4000 years ago, He was just a man.

The hunt is on. The sinister Naga warrior has killed his friend Brahaspati and now stalks his wife Sati. Shiva, the Tibetan immigrant who is the prophesied destroyer of evil, will not rest till he finds his demonic adversary. His vengeance and the path to evil will lead him to the door
of the Nagas, the serpent people. Of that he is certain.  The evidence of the malevolent rise of evil is everywhere. A kingdom is dying as it is held to ransom for a miracle drug. A crown prince is murdered. The Vasudevs – Shiva’s philosopher guides – betray his unquestioning faith as they take the aid of the dark side. Even the perfect empire, Meluha is riddled with a
terrible secret in Maika, the city of births. Unknown to Shiva, a master puppeteer is playing a grand game. In a journey that will take him across the length and breadth of ancient India, Shiva searches for the truth in
a land of deadly mysteries – only to find that nothing is what it seems.
Fierce battles will be fought. Surprising alliances will be forged. Unbelievable secrets will be revealed in this second book of the Shiva Trilogy, the sequel to the #1 national bestseller, The Immortals of Meluha.


Reviews:
Full review here DNA

Amish Tripathi’s Immortals Of Meluha evoked two distinct reactions from this reviewer: lots of eye-rolling at the amateur writing, but also an irrepressible urge to keep turning the pages.

So when the second book in the Shiva Trilogy, The Secret Of The Nagas, arrived in all its glossy, muscle-rippling, fang-baring glory, much the same was expected. And Amish, as he likes to be called, delivers spectacularly — on both counts.

We’re thrust into the narrative, mid-action, exactly from where the first book ended. And the breathless pace of the action hardly ever lets up. Shiva, the Tibetan warrior, and his wife Sati chase the mysteriously-hooded Nagas all across ancient India to find their secret.

There are more twists and turns than in a Gordian knot, and at least two revelations of the ‘Luke-I-am-your-father’ variety.

The Secret Of The Nagas is impressive in its conception. But it is executed poorly. And it really rankles, because there is so much scope for flair, adventure and wonder in the world Tripathi has imagined.

Take this description of a sun rise on the Ganga: “The sun had just risen over the Ganga, tinting it a stunning orange.” It evokes a particularly unimaginative scribble by a six-year-old at best. When Shiva enters the impenetrable city of Branga, this is how Tripathi describes the buildings and temples. “…their buildings were superbly built and maintained, while their temples were lofty and grand.”

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