Immortals of Meluha - A review

Immortals of Meluha
- Amish Tripathi
- Review by Naga

For the content that has actually been fit into the story, this is an agonizingly long read. The concept is novel with characters pulled from the Indian religious mythologies of Lord Ram and Lord Shiva but the characterizations fall short in matching expectations. For example, the narrative is supposed to belong to the times when human lived in tribes, were ruled by kings  and sort of had a not very modern life style. But the main characters, especially Shiva who is a barbarian confounds  medical experts talking science, uses slang as seen in modern India. 

Few concepts have cavities very deep to make for unfixable teeth. Children are taken into government protection at birth and are classified into 4 castes based on qualifications at age of 15(is this Harry Potter? Are the castes four houses in Hogwarts?) - the presumption being all children brought up the same and hence given the same conditions for growth. Do they forget the role of karma, genetic make up of an individual which plays a part in his fate?

How could a tribe using some medicinal tonic for centuries not know of its potential until Shiva shows it to them? How can a liquid be anti-aging(that's right, it sucks oxidants from within the body and stops the body from aging) and not killer of other physical ailments?

I am glad this is finished - this book is the first in the set of a trilogy - although I have the rest of them in my library, I doubt if i am eager to continue this saga them anytime soon.  But i am sure this makes for a good fantasy movie - not so much credible as  a book even if it is only fiction. 

Shiva is a leader to a clan with around 200 members living and thriving in peace on the foothills of Himalayas. Their abode is also called Kailash. They are lured by rulers of neighboring kingdom Meluha with promises of hard earned work and protection. Making the tough journey across the mountains, they reach a place that resembles a paradise on earth. Shiva soon realizes that they have been tricked into..what?! (a good fortune actually!) Instead of having to lead the life of daily workers, Meluhans give Shiva the title of 'Neelakanth' who has come to save them. According to their legend, an outsider who drinks ambrosia(which they have invented and manufacture in scientific labs, have used for centuries and no joke, didn't ever bother to look up its properties!) and whose throat turns livid blue is the one chosen to lead them to victory against an enemy clan. The story drags( I skipped most of it, don't even want to get into the parts I understood) on and on..it turns out the enemy clan has the same belief about neelakanth and Shiva is supposed to be the same leader for both..but oh,oh he killed many on the other side in a war..how could this happen?why did he fail them? so much guilt, how to handle it.. and that's when a sage tells him he is here to define evil..not fight it. What ever that means - what nonsense - the story ends to continue in second book..which as mentioned before not going to pick up now. I need some peace and sanity.