The Oath of the Vayuputras by Amish Tripathi

The Oath of the Vayuputras by Amish Tripathi
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Utterly Disappointed !!!!!!!

I cant believe this book was written by the same author as the other two books in the series. Everything that was good in the previous instalments of the series suddenly disappears. I was very excited to read this book and despite the fact that it is more than 550 pages , I was confident to complete it in a day or two but it took me more than a week . The reason why I disliked this book are as under.

1. The book was way lengthier than it should have been. There was a lot of detailing of the infrastructures , cities , gardens , science , philosophy , war strategies and what not. The author went on pages describing un-necessary things making the pace of the book dead slow and boring. we get it , the civilisation back then was very developed but boasting too much on there great infrastructure and science make it unrealistic. At least 200 pages could have easily been trimmed.

2. Too Dramatic. This book suddenly turned from being a brilliant story and script to a typically Bollywood movie. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I just wanted to get it over with . I don't want to put in any spoiler here but the readers will definitely understand what I am referring to .

3. The entire point of maintaining truth and dharma was compromised. Wasn't that the foundation of the plot, to be true and to fight injustice. To keep up to the dharma. How in the world did the climax justify this.

I will just quote few lines from the first book

" What if Lord Shiva was not a figment of a rich imagination , but a person of flesh and blood? Like you and me. A man who rose to become god like because of his karma."

I guess the author forgot this.

I rate this book as 1* . Don't waste your time on this even if you are done with the other two. Imagine the end of your own , I bet it will be definitely better then the actual one.

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The Secret of the Nagas by Amish Tripathi

The Secret of the Nagas by Amish Tripathi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading the first book of the trilogy , my hopes were high for the second instalment and it lived up to its expectations . Amaish have already created the image of the Meluha Empire in his first book and now was the time to describe the rest of India and how it differed from Meluha. This was done with utter perfection.

Throughout the plot there was a sense of suspense which will not let one lay down the book. The pace of the book was really good as always. The plot that Amish have started to build in the first book will be finally shaped and a clear picture would start to emerged at the end and yet will keep the readers curious on what happens next .

The link between the real word and the world created by the Author is very strong. Amish have used the real places and many legends in his story that allows the readers to connect easily. One can actually understand the voyage taken by Shiva and his entourage and not get confused as a lot of time and pages are spent on describing the journey .

Overall I will definitely recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through it . I just have one thing to say here is that I liked the first book better than this , but it could be only because of the high expectation I had for this. Eagerly waiting for the next and the final book in the Trilogy .

I rate this book a strong 4 * and a must read.

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ESS (Empty Sun Street) by Barsha Sahoo

ESS by Barsha Sahoo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I started this book for light reading after checking the synopses. I was amassed how quickly I was absorbed in it. This was a story of a teenage girl and her life around her best friend/love of her life. Although the story revolves around an imaginary american town, writer is actually from India. I am not particularly a fan of teen adult books from Indian writer , as I feel it gets somewhat creepy and cringe most of the times, but not this one.

I liked how the thoughts of the protagonist was shows in different phases of her life. When she was a teen , the narration was like coming from a tanager and when she grew up so did the writing . the author played beautifully with the timeline of the plot jumping from past to present . Many times we see that these things get confusing, but Barsha have done a splendid work here. She was successfully able to manage to keep the hold of the plot. in the later part I sometimes was lost but the climax makes the picture crystal clear . The hint of suspense added a right amount of excitement and was not over done.

I would definitely recommend this book for others. The writing style is also very fresh and new. I really enjoyed reading it.

I rate this book a 4*.

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The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi

The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was one of the most recommended book that I ever came across , and now I understand why . There are two types of comments for this book. People either loved it or hated it. There were no mixed reactions .I too was not very sure about how the Indian mythological fantasy will be represented, and how will it stand when compared to that of the classic fantasies like Lord of the Rings. But it did a splendid job. I am glad I read it , and I loved it. It took me some time to get registered with the personification of lord Shiva, but after getting used to it , I thoroughly enjoyed the plot.

What Amish have done exceptionally well, is to create the Meluha Empire. The Picture of the people, the culture , the cities was all in front of my eyes as if I was watching a movie. The bits of historical reference and places incorporated with the plot added the extra enthusiasm as it felt like a part of actual history. Amish played very smoothly between Myth , History and Hindu religious beliefs giving importance to each of them and also respecting the credibility.

The plot itself was very engaging. It was utterly impossible to lay down the book. The pace of the book was very stable , nothing was hurried or stretched. It had right amount of innocence, emotions , adventure ,romance and excitement . The wars chapters were also very well written . It had all the ingredients of a perfect fantasy.

The book ended in a very dramatic situation and I cannot wait to start the second book.

Overall I will certainly recommend this book and my rating is 4.5 *

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Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the most popular books that I have read . I had high expectations from this book and it have lived up to it. I really enjoyed my time reading it . Though it was written as early as 1818, almost 200 years from now but the language was not very different from what we have today (unlike some other older books). There were few words every now and then that we don't use now a days , but there frequency was really low.

What really impressed me was of course the writing style . Mary Shelley is an absolute genius when it comes to convey emotions . The story revolves around the protagonist 'Victor' who had many ups and downs throughout the plot of the book . Shelly will make you feel the same way Victor felt in every situation. As a reader you will instantly connect with Victor and will want things to go well for him.You will feel his pain and grief. How Shelley have done this, playing with words is really magical.

This book is generally depicted as horror, and that's why I haven't read it for so long. I am not a big fan of this genre, but I am glad I did now . This was nothing like the other horror novels. It had the right amount of everything. Science-fiction, romance , emotions , tragedy and each aspect was portrayed so perfectly that in no point of time you with feel that things are getting lingered.

The monster here is not the convention one that we see in other horror stories. It will make you feel pity for him and in the same time disguised and angry. The author have done great job to make you see the world in the eyes of the monster and provide a reason for things he did(although not justifying it). His story also holds a big part of the plot.

Shelly drafted this when she was only 18. She wrote this masterpiece as a teenager with such precision and perfection. This is really remarkable. I will recommend everyone to read this book, you will not regret it.

This is now my personal favourite .

I rate this book a full 5 *

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The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Roald Dahl....Not a new name for the books lovers. I haven't read his books earlier but have spent all my childhood watching movies inspired by his stories. I have picked a book set of all the books written by Dahl but was having second thought if I would like reading them as they were for children. I was astonished how much I enjoyed reading it. This is a small book with a simple story. Epic elements of personification of three animals and an enthusiastic kid.

The most significant thing is that it took me back to my childhood days. I had a smile the whole I was reading it. This is a must read for all the children but also adults can enjoy it. I wish I could have read it during my school days .

The way of writing was really good . Fantasy books have a tough work to create a imaginary world for you and have you believe in it. Dahl have done this very effectively . one will easily be transported to another universe where the animals taking was not a big deal.

There was not much of a story , with any twist and turns but this book is for children. We cant expect this to be super exciting . The language was also very basic suitable for a 9 yrs old which servers the intention.

Overall I rate this book a 4*.

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Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book that I have read written by the great scientist Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam . The first book Wings of fire introduced us to an aspiring Scientist and the challenges he faced . His hard work, his love for the country and the dedication for the development of the nation. The technical victory he had with all his team , putting India in the world map. His contribution towards building a strong and determined India. But that was not all.

Turning points showed us that Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was not just a scientist , he was also a visionary. He dreamt of a successful nation. Not just technically developed but overall development which included easy access to basics amenities and all the fundamentals services provided to all without any difficulties.

This book describes the tenure of his presidency and how he Aimed and worked for the plan of a developed nation by the year 2020. He was a great man , no doubt of it but this book made me respect him more for the ideologies he had and how important was the country and the people of India was for him.

This book took a little time for me to read. It is very well written but i think the Wings of fire was a bit more interesting than this.

I rate this book a 4.5 star



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