The Kings Dilipa and Daksha are shown in poor light too, their characters questioned and tables turned. The Vasudevs make their appearances throughout the book and their characters are shown in grey light this time. There is also much reference of the engineering marvels of the Brangas and some complex explanation which was very difficult to follow. Like a multi-layered suspense Bollywood movie (It’s still a Bollywood movie) you learn of why peacocks are being killed relentlessly, how the medicine to save Shiva’s son came from the Nagas and why Parshuram-a Brahmin turned bandit-beheaded his own mother. As he is looking for evil, events starts to unfold slowly. Blessed with a son, Kartik, Shiva is a more measured man with a sole purpose. While Shiva is looking for the Nagas, his family and entourage has now become bigger. And when you get on to the ride (it is a ride, I can’t help but admit) you are told of the plague that looms over a kingdom, you are taken to different parts of India as Shiva searches for the Nagas, and you are now in Kashi where the base of the story is. So, you rely on your curiosity to find out what is the deal with the Nagas and carry on reading. Honestly, there comes a point where Amish has lost you. The book takes off slowly, trying to meander through stories of Princess Anandmayi luring the celibate General Parvateshwar and of the Branga tribe. In this part of the trilogy, Shiva is on his quest to vanquish the Nagas to avenge the death of his ‘brother’ Brahaspati and also because he has been told incessantly how the Nagas are the root of evil and they must be destroyed.

The second book does not take off where the first left us, which is quite a relief actually.

Pick it up if you haven’t read TIOM there is no fun in that though Amish claims in the foreword that this book can stand on its own. Don’t The Secret of the Nagas (Photo credit: Wikipedia) When you pick the book after reading The Immortals of Meluha (TIOM), you can’t wait to know what happened to Sati. The Secret of the Nagas has a legacy to live up to. But enough about bad story tellers who claim to be writers. That is something Chetan Bhagat never tried to work on. In this book, there is glaring evidence that the man has tried to improve his writing for which I must applaud him. In the first book, it was established Amish is a banker who is a good story-teller. The Secret of the Nagas, the second book in the Shiva Trilogy, is Amish’s second attempt at writing, among many other things.

What happens when you self-publish a piece of text which grabs eye-balls of millions and then you have the onus of delivering a book? You are careful with the language you use.

Secret of nagas audiobook