In this The Immortals of Meluha review, I explore how Amish Tripathi reimagines Lord Shiva in a refreshing, modern, and unique way while building a fascinating mythological world of his own.
The book offers a refreshing, modern, and unique take on Lord Shiva, imagining what He might have been like had He been human. The author accomplishes this effortlessly, recreating events and places while building unique situations out of thin air. His exemplary work serves as a reminder to future authors who have wished to attempt something similar but have failed to cross the thin line that separates reality from mythology.
Amish weaves this intricate tale around the life of Lord Shiva, making it exciting and adventurous. He brings together all the characters we know from the Shiva Purana or from the many televised adaptations we have watched, turning it into an “Earth One”-style reimagining. You instantly realise how many different angles there can be to a story and how one can create a unique version of an age-old tale.
Amish’s reinterpretation of Lord Shiva differs significantly from traditional accounts, making for an intriguing reading experience.
Even though you know how the story is ultimately going to play out, you remain invested, eager to immerse yourself in its adventurous world. The author provides creative context and reasoning to make sense of the supernatural elements we had grown up watching. He makes the story his own, yet keeps it distinctive enough to make even non-believers curious about Lord Shiva’s life. Not only does this keep long-time devotees invested, but it also invites a new generation of readers to bite.
Even though the author significantly alters the original story, at no point does he diminish Shiva’s stature, allowing readers to profoundly feel His eminence. He remains faithful to the core essence of the character, making readers want to explore his world further. It is this connection between what you already know and how it unfolds in the book that makes the setting so enthralling. While he removes much of the overt magic, the real magic happens through the walls of his world, and I think that is his USP.
The Immortals of Meluha Review: A New Take on Shiva
I remember reading earlier versions of the book, where Amish seemed overly focused on the minutiae of character movements. Phrases such as “then he turned to face this person” or “he looked at her as she said it” appeared frequently. However, when I read the latest edition, I noticed that much of this had already been polished.
My main concern lies in the fact that, while reading, you realise the author is consciously trying to create a cinematic experience. It is difficult to overlook the possibility that he may have grown up watching a lot of South Indian films. His approach to depicting romance is one obvious example. Towards the end, Sati’s importance seems to diminish somewhat, which feels a little disappointing, as though the writer believed her narrative had already been fulfilled and that there were more important developments to focus on.
That being said, you can also see some twists coming from quite a distance, even though it has not been explicitly revealed in the first instalment. The narrative deliberately attempts to convolute a story in the way many films do.
Other than that, great imagination! It builds its own world, definitely worthy of its own movie franchise, provided a capable producer is willing to throw in enough resources to bring it to life properly.
The first book largely serves as a foundation for future instalments, but it does enough to justify itself by establishing the world and developing its characters. It constantly reminds you that there is much more to come and that even greater events lie ahead.
With its creative, expansive, and beautifully realised world, The Immortals of Meluha will remain an exemplary work by an author whose success helped spark a much-needed revolution in modern Indian publishing. It will undoubtedly remain one of the most intriguing books ever written by an Indian author.
As a The Immortals of Meluha review, this book stands out for its imaginative world-building, compelling reinterpretation of mythology, and strong foundation for the rest of the Shiva Trilogy.
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