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A review by soniek
Ram: Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish
2.0
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.