War Of Lanka (Ram Chandra Series #4)
Author: Amish Tripathi
Genre: Mythological Fiction
Published by HarperCollins India
Pages: 500
MRP: Rs. 499/-
There are many books which have fictionalised religious mythological events; a prime example being the Robert Langdon books by Dan Brown, or the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. I have tried to the best of my ability to read this book as an unbiased reader. Hence, as a disclaimer, this review is not focusing on the authenticity of the story, or its plausibility; but shall cover its merit based on reading factors which will be jotted henceforth.
Until this point, the author professed on parallel storytelling and has built up the characters of Ram, Sita, and Raavan in their own books. War on Lanka, the fourth book in The Ramchandra Series finally picks up the pace after Sita’s kidnapping. We revert back and forth among the main characters; the events being told by them in a first-person perspective. Ram gathers his army, as Sita and Raavan engage in extended conversations which will make almost complete sense even if you haven’t read the last book. Raavan, with his brother Kumbhakarna and his son Indrajit, prepare Lanka for the defences, and the entire story culminates in a foreseeable battle between Ram and Raavan. Those who have read the actual Ramayana know what the storyline is, and how it proceeds.
The only positive there is to gain here is by not really reading the content of this book, and trying to empathize with the author with regards to the grand scheme of events he has planned in telling this story and tying it to the events of The Shiva Trilogy. One can appreciate the branching of the storylines, and perhaps may have fun in connecting the dots with the occasional easter egg.
But you may not get far. The writing is a sloppy mess. This book quickly becomes extremely irritating to read. It feels as if the author forgets the magnanimity of his characters, and continuously devolves them into oblivion. There is no sense of grandeur in the writing, a vacuous flow of script, excessively descriptive details that gets into the way of the actual storytelling, and perhaps most astoundingly, the tremendously vapid and cringey dialogues. It is clearly visible where the author is getting the inspiration for writing extended dialogues, because the whole book feels like conversations occurring between 13-year-old American teens. While it can be understood that according to the premise, the characters are all mortal, and not divine. Yet, I challenge you to not wince irately after reading dialogues like “’Bingo!’ said Ram. “ or “……said Lakshman “This is next level, brother!””
A steady stream of slangs, and a complete lack of a feeling of epic in this so-called epic just makes reading this book an unnecessarily arduous task. Even after reading the entire book (twice, for the sake of an honest review), there remains no sense of satisfaction, or anticipation; the book makes absolutely no impact.
Till this point, I have covered the book purely on the basis of its content when taken out of context. To all those reading this review, if you have seen or read The Ramayana, it would be kinder to yourself if you give this one a bye. The events and characters have been distorted to an atrocious level; it is highly probable that you might give yourself a minor headache while reading this. If you enjoy that sort of feeling, get this book, pronto!
Ratings
1. Plot : 2/5
2. Language/Writing Style : -1/5
3. Character Development: 2/5
4. Adaptation : -5/5
5. Enjoyment Factor : 1/5
KEETABIKEEDA Rating: F**k this sh*t, and buy a real book.
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