Oath of Vayuptras - Multiverse concludes

First of all I want to apologize to everyone reading this for the delay in posting the review. I couldn't gather enough thoughts to write a review for the book 3 of Shiva trilogy mainly due to being extremely busy with my profession. Anyway, here goes.

Continuing from where it left in Book 2 (Obviously...), Shiva continues his quest in recognizing and then deciding to eliminate the Evil. Story line is a bit flat as there is next to no character development as almost whole main cast had already been introduced in Book 1 & 2. Book 2 carries the story further and Shiva discovers that Evil may not always be evil in entirety. What is good for one can be evil for other. Also, one has to look at the broader picture to decide whether it is good or bad for society in general.

Major part of the story is wasted in overtly details about the what is going inside Shiva's mind. Honestly, I skipped a couple of score of pages and did not miss anything; and that is saying something. One thing that has been used very well though is time compression. Normally, chapters do not jump over longer durations of time but this one did and how.

Shiva and Sati, despite being the central characters are irritable and display inscrutable behaviour. Cover comes in the form of Ganesha who then explains the situation to readers by means of asking questions to other characters. By then, however, the reader has been taken through the mind numbing action.

It is no comparison to any other series that I have read so far. However, I had distinct feeling of nothingness when I finished other series like, Robert Langdon or Harry Potter which for some reason Shiva trilogy did not leave me with. I finished the series and am OK with it ending up.

Secret of Nagas - Multiverse continues

After reading book one of Shiva trilogy, The Immortals of Meluha, I was very excited to dive into the second part. Since I had ordered the set of two, there was almost zero wait time before jumping into it.

The book continues the promising story and narrative into the better part of novel. Author has successfully compiled the mythological events into an action/adventure storyline. At times it gets so realistic and logical that one starts feeling that all the stories he has heard till now were senseless.

Introduction of new characters is seamless and author has done a commendable job. Introduction of elephant headed Ganesha and deformed Naga queen is handled exceptionally well. Novel carries on smoothly till the middle and then suddenly the narrative hits a low point. Shiva's involvement with Vasudevas & his fixation with Brihspati irritates at times. Shiva seems very attached to Brihaspati and further devastated by his death. The development of any such close relationship was neither displayed nor developed during the course of two books. Hence, at times reader fails to relate to Shiva's anger towards suspected murderers and his anger towards Naga clan.

Another annoying part of this section of the story is that there is not a single major character except Parvateshawar(who by now also believes in prophecy), who sees Shiva as who he really is, that is a Mortal like everyone. I simply can't accept the fact there is absolutely zero resistance to Neelkanth.

Last chapter in book one was titled "Question of Questions" and book two it "Secret of All Secrets". I guess the final chapter in Book three would be "Answer of All Answers".:-D

Verdict: Although the Magical multiverse continues, not as entertaining and gripping as Book one. A surprising twist awaits you in the last chapter that will keep you wondering about the motives of many characters and waiting for third book. Anyways, you have to read through it to get to the other end of the story where the book three awaits.