Le Carre's Smiley and the other trilogy.

The reading this year comprised mainly of fiction books. Couple of trilogies and a few other novels.

This year I completed the Karla Trilogy from John Le Carre after reading the Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. While Honourable Schoolboy was a good book, I thought Smiley's People was fantastic.
As fantastic as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Indeed the best book I have read in years.

I loved the insanity in the cunning that Smiley and Karla create against each other. I loved the fact that Smiley acknowledges that he and Karla are no more than each other's alter ago. Most of it, I loved the climax. Never expected it to be so stunning. Never was it so predictable either.

John Le Carre sits in an overlap of fiction thriller writer who imagines a lot about the espionage world and a literary master who knows the people about whom he writes. What a treat!

The other trilogy was the very readable Shiva Trilogy. I enjoyed Immortals of Meluha, the first part very much. The other two were alright. What impressed me was the amazing imagination shown by the debutante author Amish.Writing sure is a difficult art, writing with so much imagination on a topic which is so well known to Indians, is much more difficult. Amish stands out. And I hope we get to see movies made from his books. And I hope that the movie has good production values....

A review of The Shiva Trilogy

Did I enjoy it? Yes

Did it drag? Yes, at times.
Did the author put enough effort to create a good story? Absolutely!

The Shiva Trilogy is a brilliant effort by the author Amish. He has accomplished what many many potential undiscovered authors have in their hearts.

We are of the generation who saw Ramayan and Mahabharat on TV. We have also seen epics like the Lord of the Rings (also many have read it) as well as Saving Private Ryan on the big screen. We have also been sad that though India has such amazing mythology and religious literature, we don't have something that can appeal to today's generation.

Here we have Amish, taking that additional step and penning down in what is a remarakable mixture of mythology, religion, science fiction and boundless imagination. We need to felicitate Amish as much as we can for these reasons. And for the fact that this will encourage many others to write more creatively.

Coming to the 3 books.

The first book Immortals of Meluha creates the story of Shiva, a Tibetan who comes to India and takes up the mantle of searching for Evil. The second, Secret of Nagas, takes him further in the search and opens his mind on what is Evil and what is not. The third, Oath of Vayuputras, is where the denouement of the events happen.

The first book is excellent in pacing, the right mix of Bollywood masala and character development. The second one drags. The Nagas are a great revelation. But the story keeps beating around the bush. The third part was criticised by many of my friends and relatives, but I enjoyed it. I found it over the top at times, but the climax was a good climax.

Overall I am impressed by how much imagination Amish has applied in creating this story. The description of cities, the war techniques, weapons are all engrossing. He does take extreme creative liberties. And he is inspired by Hollywood epics. the one thing that Amish should look at

It also leaves enough hints on what Amish is planning to write. I await that to happen!