Book Review - The Secret of the Nagas

Finally I picked up this much-awaited sequel to the book ‘The Immortals of Meluha’ and, boy, I wasn’t disappointed. The sequel arrived after I had almost forgotten the plot of its predecessor, but the thrill and adventure, as well as the unique plotline made it all rush back into my brain’s core.

The book begins where the previous installment ends – Shiva and Sati chasing their assailant. The adventure that starts at the first page, ends only in the last page, with adrenaline oozing out of every page, with some high-packed action. What if Lord Shiva was once just a normal, mortal human being but was later exalted to the status of a God due to his deeds and destiny? The trilogy attempts to weave an interesting story based on this idea and the author has done a fairly good job, considering that this is his maiden attempt in writing a book of this magnitude.

The story takes Shiva, his family and friends across the country in search of the evil – or are they – Nagas and their kingdom. With so many unexpected twists in the plot, if I say anything more, I might spoil the fun of reading the book. A book like this deserves to be completed in one sitting. The book is a must-read if you are looking for razzmatazz plotline with a lot of action and adventure to pass your time. But don’t expect anything beyond that. Of course, the author gives us a glimpse of his philosophical quests in some pages and they are worth delving into. In fact, I picked up a wise thought – no one is completely evil. It is all about perspective.

The book has some sloppy sides though. The anachronism over the presence of a liger – I am not certain that any ligers were around in the period 4000 BC, the people using some of the modern day swearwords and such minor issues. Also, many a while, he breaks the suspense well in advance. He ends up giving more than enough hint so that when he reveals the identity of a character, you don’t find any suspense or thrill at all.

Also, Anandamayi’s advances to Parvateshwar aren’t lovely but lewd. The purity of the love that binds Shiva and Sati is entirely missing in their ‘love’ affair and this woman ends up acting like the modern day heroines who think that the only way to make a hero love them is to shed their clothes. Unsavory!

But compared to the fun of the author’s idea of bringing some contemporary persona in the book – like Bappi Raj, who reminds you of Bappi Lahari, with his heavily built physique and obscenely adorning jewelry – and his commendable play around words and legends, you won’t find these glitches in anyway impeding.

Overall, a good book to spend time with. I am now awaiting the final installment in this trilogy!