Book Review: Legend of Suheldev
Author: Amish Tripathi & The Immortal Writers’ Centre
“Darkness does not win because it
is strong. It wins because the lamps stop fighting.”
Before we get on with the review
let me start by stating that this book was not written exclusively by Amish
Tripathi. According to the forward provided by him, in his own words, “I cannot write faster than a book every
one-and-a-half to two years. And at that pace, I will die before I write down
all the story ideas that Lord Shiva has already blessed me with. Hence, the
idea of a Writers’ Centre. It was a suggestion from my team, and it made
eminent sense to me. I work with a team of writers, to whom I relate the
complete story, and the research material to be read. They then write the first
draft, which I then work upon. So the genesis of the story and the final
writing is done by me, while the team writes the first draft.” Amish
Tripathi is one of the famous Indian author who had penned the successful Shiva
Trilogy and the Ram Chandra Series.
“ahimsa parmo dharma. That
non-violence is the greatest dharma. But they also say dharma hinsa thathaiv
cha.’ Violence that protects dharma is justified.”
The plot of the story revolves
around Suheldev, the prince of Shravasti who is the unforgotten hero that saved
India against the formidable invading Turks. It is 11th Century,
Mahmud of Ghazni and his barbaric Turkic hordes had started to invade India
from the northern region. The invaders caused mayhem in the name of war, plundering,
killing, raping and pillaging. Against the savage Turks, the old codes of
chivalry were in vain. While the entire Indian lands and kingdoms lie divided
in the name of caste, the invading army took advantage of it. But the moment
they crossed a line by destroying a Shiva temple in Somnath, a warrior rose to
defend the entire nation bringing together people irrespective of caste, creed
and religion to fight against the enemy of India.
“Becoming a leader is not about
being able to fight or argue or make speeches. It’s actually about realising
what must be done for the greater good. And doing it, regardless of the
personal costs …”
Amish has written, like his other
novels, a fictitious tale which was based on true events recounting the story
of the lionhearted warrior and the Battle of Bahraich. With such a plot nothing
could go wrong. A convincing narrative and we get hold of ourselves a
bestseller. But there seems to be too many hurdles. Let’s talk about the
negatives first. ‘Legend of Suheldev’ would have been a fine read, provided if
a reader is reading Amish’s books for the first time. Unfortunately that may
not be the case for many. One can easily draw massive comparisons of the
narrative to that of his Shiva Trilogy and Ram Chandra Series. The style of narrative
seems kind of stale after six books. The plot is of 11th Century and
keeping that in mind a reader can’t just have a modern way of narration, even
the direct quotes from the characters seemed like people reenacting the scenes
in 21st century with 21st century’s tone. Secondly, the central
character, Suheldev, almost disappears from the narrative halfway through the
book. I agree that an author needs to give equal importance to all its
characters. But when you start off a book with such a strong buildup of a
character, you need to maintain that till the end, also provided the title of
the book is the central character. Anyone loves a little mystery infused in a
plot. We all enjoyed a little mystery in the Shiva Trilogy, well to be honest it
seemed fresh at that time. With ‘Legend of Suheldev’ the mystery quotient is so
depressingly low that every little twist can be predicted pages and pages
before. I agree historical fiction and history essays have a very thin line separating
them, if you aren’t careful then your fiction book can read like a monotonous
essay.
Let’s get to the good part. The
good thing is that someone is actually writing about forgotten heroes and their
sacrifices and their stories deserves to be read by all. At this age courage
and sacrifice has lost its meaning and such stories of the past can very well
educate the chaotic minds of people now a days. The author(s) have maintain a
very impressive tone throughout the book about the integrity of Indians
irrespective of individual faith, beliefs and religion, something that has been
missing from the common masses from quite some time. On literary level this book
could have done wonders with a set of good writers.
“Come to India as devotees, and
our motherland will open her heart for you. Dare to come as invaders, and we
will burn every single one of you.”
Legend of Suheldev is still a
must read not because it’s an Amish book but because of the underlying tale of
the true events. From a literary point of view it’s passable.
A two and a half stars for Legend
of Suheldev.
★★½
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