Review: The Immortals of Meluha ~ by Amish

“Any philosophy, no matter how perfect, works only for a finite period.”

The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi is the perfect example of how one unique idea can be perfectly executed into a masterpiece. The story starts off with introducing shiva, not as a god but as a human, a barbarian who lives in the uncivilized regions of the Himalayas, and the story continues to follow him as he struggles to find his own identity when he is proclaimed a messiah by the people of Meluha.

The book is a perfect blend of Indian mythology and modern-day thriller, each page is a revelation as to how the author has perfectly reanalyzed the ancient myth and shown it to us in a very exciting and unexplored manner. The book tells us the story of how Shiva, the most powerful god in the Hindu pantheon, was originally a human, a man who had been forced to accept a legacy; he had no idea what to do with. The story is set in 1900 BC in Meluha, what modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus valley civilization. The troubled inhabitants of Meluha await a hero, a hero mentioned in the legends as the one who will come and vanquish all evil. The apparently uncultured and rough Tibetan immigrant Shiva is proclaimed a legend overnight due to a very unique chemical reaction of the Somras with his neck; turning his neck into a incandescent blue (one of the many ingenious ways Amish has turned ancient mythology into something that can be explained by modern science). Drawn into a never-ending cascade of adventures, Shiva struggles to find his own identity in a century old legend.

One of the distinctive qualities that I found in the book was, how Amish used logic to explain the centuries old myths and folklore; be it the plot, the characters and even the location of the story. Every single detail was carefully planned out and was delicately connected to a Indian mythological story. Every page was full of surprise and a nail biter. The action scenes were marvelous you could practically see them fighting in front of you and the touch of romance in the fast-paced novel was brilliant addition to keep the readers hooked. Although the subtlety of jokes or some plots may be wasted on people not familiar with Hindu folklore and Hindu Pantheon, overall it was a perfect and immaculately written book, with every plot line carefully planed out in an insightful manner.

Another unique feature that definitely caught my eye was how detailed each and every character and every situation and environment was; everything was comprehensive and exhaustive so that the reader could get a more immersive reading. I am a huge fan of detailing and this book just hit the right spot. I was so satisfied to finally read this book because it has been forever since they have changed the European approach to fantasy books, and it was very pleasing to see a fantasy-mythological book that was well written and was set in ancient India. This book is a definite reading for those who loved the books by Rick Riordan and J.R.R Tolkien, because this was the perfect blend of both. This book is the very definition of a page turner and I have completely fallen in love with the authors choice of genre and lucid style of writing.

Happy Reading!!!