Chaturanga by Anand Neelakantan : Book Review

Title : Chaturanga

Author : Anand Neelakantan

Genre : Historical Fiction ; Fantasy

Pages : 300

Blurb

Political intrigue is astir in the land of Mahishmathi. After the failed coup staged by the Vaithalikas, Sivagami finds herself elevated to the position of bhoomipathi, from where she can more ably pursue her burning goal to avenge her father’s death. Meanwhile, there is a tussle between the two sons of the Maharaja of Mahishmathi for the crown. And behind the scenes, a wily, skilled player of the political game moves the pieces to topple the king, Somadeva.

Will the maharaja—usually able to match wits with the best of them—prevail? Or will one of his many enemies finally be able to best him at this game of Chaturanga?

Review

Chaturanga is the second book in the highly anticipated Bahubali : Before the Beginning series. The second book starts right from where the first book ended and just like the first book, The Rise of Sivagami, the second book is also an ultimate page turner which will keep the readers engaged till the very end.

The beginning of the book was absolutely heart-breaking and very emotional. Getting past the first few chapters will make the readers hearts rip apart. It was certainly too emotional to handle. In this book, the author had exclusively told about Sivagami’s parents and how brutal the Kingdom of Mahishmati acted towards her family. This will make you rethink about everything you have known about the mighty Mahishmati.

Chaturanga was comparatively a very short read than the first book, the readers will be able to finish the book in a jiffy. Because it was well written, engaging and entertaining. This books will make the readers see a totally different side of all the characters in the book. The transformation of these characters was thunderously wonderful, one cannot simply stop gasping while getting to know about each character’s inner core.

This book was kind of confusing, that sense, the readers cannot make out which character is good and which character is evil. Because the author had spectacularly justified why a character behaves and does a things in a certain way. And remarkably one such character was Pattaraya, he is the most evilest character in book but his point of view will shatter the readers perspective about him.

The character of the King Somadeva will also profoundly astonishing because at certain sequences you will feel like damn he is the King in this game of Chaturanga. Though he is smiling and calm all the time but he is so brave, calculative, cunning and definitely a master. And as I told you before, Pattaraya is also one such personality. These two characters can aptly be called as Evil Intelligence. In fact, most of the characters in this trilogy will jolt you with their evil thought process and their determination in achieving their goals.

So, definitely this book will solve most of the mysteries that existed in the first book and also paved path to raise the curiosity of the readers for the finale of the trilogy. The only problem with the book was, there seems to be a couple of minor plot holes here and there, which wasn’t actually very obvious but nonetheless it was quite confusing at times. Certain scenes in the book was rushed upon, it would have been really more interesting if the author had extensively explained them. It felt like it was cut short abruptly.

This book shows a very tender side of Sivagami which was completely hidden behind her hardcore strong facade. And at the same time, the author had also focused on how a teenage girl had turned into this strong personality. The character of Sivagami was more interesting and gripping in this book than the previous one.

The author had not only focused on the Kingdom of Mahishmati but also a couple of other kingdoms. He had comprehensively said how different they are all from one another which was interesting and anew. This diversity in the plot, characters, values and practices was highly commendable.

The climax was seriously very good and nice. Anand Neelakantan knows how to end a book with a hiked curiosity which will make the readers crave for the release of the next book. And the thing is, in the climax, you could most precisely see Bahubali’s resembles in Sivagami’s character. In fact, while reading that part you will feel like Sivagami has brought up Bahubali with the same thoughts and values as her and he had learnt it well unlike Bhallaladeva. This realization made the climax even more fascinating. And the writing style of Anand Neelakantan was as amazing as ever. His flawless narrative style will hook even a non-reader’s attention completely from page one.

My Views

So, the character I was watching out for while starting this book was Shivappa but to my disappointment, he wasn’t as good and valiant as he used to be, in this book. He was quite cranky and I don’t really blame him. But to appease that short coming, Sivagami’s character was marvelous and also Mahadeva has become an efficient star in this book. He was this one character who was kind, soft and good, without a tinge of bad motives and selfishness, that made him stand out. I’m looking out for this guy to become a great King and I’m pinning all my hopes on him, for the betterment of Mahishmati.

For me, personally it was a pretty emotional journey, particularly the beginning. And it took me sometime to make peace with these issues and proceed with the reading. But once I got back to it, I don’t know how the 300 pages have gone.

The readability level of Anand Neelakantan’s writing style is one of my most favorite things about his books. As usual he had pretty hard things to be told in an extremely straightforward manner and that’s the second thing I like about him. And I’m proud to call myself his fan.

Now I can’t wait for the release of the third book, I dearly hope it will be release sooner than the time taken for the release of the second book.

My rating for this book would be 4 out of 5 stars

I would recommend this book to all the Bahubali movie Franchise lovers. If you had enjoyed the movies then obviously you will love the book the same. Even if you are not a reader, you should read this trilogy. And it is written in such a way even a beginner could read enthusiastically. There are high chances you might even end up getting addicted reading, who knows ?

Here is the Link to the Book Review of Book 1- The Rise of Sivagami

Do read this book and tell me how you feel about it!!

Happy Reading Folks!!

~ Meenu

Read the Chaturanga by Anand Neelakantan, the second book in the Bahubali : Before the Beginning trilogy, to know about the secrets hidden in the Mighty Kingdom of Mahishmati!!!

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