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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An interesting take on a age old tale. Amish doesn't disappoint
The plot is Extraordinary. Protagonist Lord Ram has been portrayed as an excellent Human who adamantly takes a staunch stand on his principles persuades us to try the same.Describing the layouts and edifices are marvellous. Over all, foray with the book is enjoyable.
It would have been exponentially readable if few words have been exempted and replaced with which apt better. To be particular, Prince Ram's had a sisterly relation with a character who is a Doctor, which left a grin in my imagination, standing with Ram with his traditional clothes next to a person with a white apron. And few places they use the word Hospital, which created incongruence in my imagination such as ancient people in a modern hospital.
It would have been exponentially readable if few words have been exempted and replaced with which apt better. To be particular, Prince Ram's had a sisterly relation with a character who is a Doctor, which left a grin in my imagination, standing with Ram with his traditional clothes next to a person with a white apron. And few places they use the word Hospital, which created incongruence in my imagination such as ancient people in a modern hospital.
'All right!' said Lakshman. 'Enough of this philosophical stuff; you will make my head explode!' p. 211
Although I really loved Amish's 'The Shiva Trilogy', this initial volume of his retelling of the Ramayana is neither as fast-paced, nor as inherently exciting. One of Amish's strengths has always been translating age-old concepts and stories into modern idioms more acceptable to a contemporary audience. In this however, he goes overboard with the philosophical underpinnings, making several sections a hard slog. Despite this, it is still a good read, and I will look forward to the subsequent volumes.... as this ends with the abduction of Sita, I'll presume this will be another trilogy; I may wait till he finishes it and read the whole thing at once, however.
Although I really loved Amish's 'The Shiva Trilogy', this initial volume of his retelling of the Ramayana is neither as fast-paced, nor as inherently exciting. One of Amish's strengths has always been translating age-old concepts and stories into modern idioms more acceptable to a contemporary audience. In this however, he goes overboard with the philosophical underpinnings, making several sections a hard slog. Despite this, it is still a good read, and I will look forward to the subsequent volumes.... as this ends with the abduction of Sita, I'll presume this will be another trilogy; I may wait till he finishes it and read the whole thing at once, however.
Van Akshay gekregen. Gelezen in Agra en op het vliegtuig.
This is the first book of the Ram(ayan) trilogy. I picked it, expecting it to be a completely new fiction based on a classic mythology, and was ready to handle the new take on the story. But I was disappointed. And not because I already know the original story to some extent, nor because I was already used to the style of the Shiva Trilogy.
This book was disappointing because it felt like the author was desperately trying to write it exactly like the Shiva Trilogy. While I liked how the main characters of Ram, Laxman, Bharat and Sita have been recreated: Laxman and even Bharat have more wit and practicality in them, Sita is a brave warrior princess and Ram is too honest and straightforward for anyone's good. Characters like Jatayu and Manthara were beautifully introduced in new yet convincing roles which retained their roles and signigficance in the overall story of Ram's life.
And yet, despite all these literary the book failed to entertain me. One reason was that the author has inserted long passages on ideology (through dialogues between Ram and Sita, Ram and his siblings etc.) Besides the length, the messages themselves seem fake because they're contemporary. The whole thing ends up looking like a mix of a wannabe Yuval Noah Harrari and Valmiki!
All is not lost though. The story itself is good, had Amish not ruined it with those preachy, lengthy philosophies and idealogies. And that's why I give it 2 stars instead of 1. There're interconnections from the Shiva trilogy, and my limited knoweldge on Hindui mythology caused me to get confused between Vayuputras, Malayaputras, Nagas and other groups of people mentioned in the book. But there introduction and interconnections were entertaining enough.
If only Amish had focused on building the story and the connections, instead of using it as a prop for preachy ideology, it would have been a really good book in it's own way.
I would recommend it only to people who've read the Shiva Trilogy, and don't have anything better to read at hand, and only because of the story. If possible, skip those philosophical passages.
This book was disappointing because it felt like the author was desperately trying to write it exactly like the Shiva Trilogy. While I liked how the main characters of Ram, Laxman, Bharat and Sita have been recreated: Laxman and even Bharat have more wit and practicality in them, Sita is a brave warrior princess and Ram is too honest and straightforward for anyone's good. Characters like Jatayu and Manthara were beautifully introduced in new yet convincing roles which retained their roles and signigficance in the overall story of Ram's life.
And yet, despite all these literary the book failed to entertain me. One reason was that the author has inserted long passages on ideology (through dialogues between Ram and Sita, Ram and his siblings etc.) Besides the length, the messages themselves seem fake because they're contemporary. The whole thing ends up looking like a mix of a wannabe Yuval Noah Harrari and Valmiki!
All is not lost though. The story itself is good, had Amish not ruined it with those preachy, lengthy philosophies and idealogies. And that's why I give it 2 stars instead of 1. There're interconnections from the Shiva trilogy, and my limited knoweldge on Hindui mythology caused me to get confused between Vayuputras, Malayaputras, Nagas and other groups of people mentioned in the book. But there introduction and interconnections were entertaining enough.
If only Amish had focused on building the story and the connections, instead of using it as a prop for preachy ideology, it would have been a really good book in it's own way.
I would recommend it only to people who've read the Shiva Trilogy, and don't have anything better to read at hand, and only because of the story. If possible, skip those philosophical passages.
I sighed even as I picked up the book having imperceptibly tensed up my upper back, forearms and triceps. I frowned. I came across a lot of clichés. My inscrutable face did not betray the sea of emotions underneath caused by the forced slapstick humour made by similar sounding artificial characters. On reading bollywood tropes being blindly repurposed in a pre-historic drama, I closed the book and gyrated it at the tip of my right pointing finger, which had been used by my ancestors for pointing at stuff, before throwing it away. I frowned. The lack of proper editing was clear as was the blatant shoehorned commentary. Touché, Amish... touché.
Loved the way he puts all the pieces of the puzzle. Roshni 's character lets us corelate Ramayana to the present day. Wish it was possible in real. Eagerly awaiting the next book in the series
The book is set in same universe as that of the Meluha trilogy. And like Meluha trilogy, this novel has to be read without constant comparison to Ramayana as we have come to know. Treat this story how you treat any other characters that are loosely based on popular mythology. If done well, this can be an interesting trilogy, even better than Meluha perhaps.
Amish delivers his own (not entirely original) brand of philosophy as he explains Gods and their roles in the world. It would have given the story a depth had he taken that thought process throughout the novel instead of sprinkling it here and there when necessary.
The continuing use of modern colloquial terms can be awfully off putting. Amish writes "angvastram" and "India" in the same breath. Even though I was expecting to encounter words and phrases from modern times, it didn't become any less jarring. Maybe that's why the book is such an easy read. The story more or less remains the same; Amish doesn't change any major story arc from Ramayana but he gives different nuances to the character. Though the characters and their agency seem to be vastly different from the story we know, their actions and decision always fall in line with the plot.
Its an easy read for a boring or a lazy day. The book reads itself and you are kinda riding along with the fast paced narration. Have to give credit to Amish for that!
Amish delivers his own (not entirely original) brand of philosophy as he explains Gods and their roles in the world. It would have given the story a depth had he taken that thought process throughout the novel instead of sprinkling it here and there when necessary.
The continuing use of modern colloquial terms can be awfully off putting. Amish writes "angvastram" and "India" in the same breath. Even though I was expecting to encounter words and phrases from modern times, it didn't become any less jarring. Maybe that's why the book is such an easy read. The story more or less remains the same; Amish doesn't change any major story arc from Ramayana but he gives different nuances to the character. Though the characters and their agency seem to be vastly different from the story we know, their actions and decision always fall in line with the plot.
Its an easy read for a boring or a lazy day. The book reads itself and you are kinda riding along with the fast paced narration. Have to give credit to Amish for that!