The Oath of the Vayuputras (Book Review)

Amish Tripathi, The Oath of the Vayuputras, Westland Limited, 2013, ISBN 978-93-82618-34-8, pp. 575, Rs. 350.

Having read the first two books of this trilogy, I was eagerly waiting for the final book to conclude what had been a thoroughly exciting and thrilling adventure. On accidentally stumbling across this book, my first reaction was joy. I took up the book with eagerness and began flipping through the pages but by the time I had reached the fiftieth page, I knew that this was not the same Amish who had produced the two previous thrillers. Despite the lavish praise bestowed on the book and the author, I couldn’t help but feel that it was all misplaced.

The story is supposed to take up the narration where it left off in the previous section but I didn’t pick it up immediately, probably because it’s been about three years since I read ‘The Secret of the Nagas’. The time lapse probably had a large effect on my reading experience but after reading the first two books I was left with a thirst for more. After reading this one, I wished I hadn’t taken it up at all. The story lacks the dynamism of the previous books and tiresome pages have been written containing nothing more than endless lines of dialogue that add little to the story and more to the fatigue one’s eyes experience as one turns the pages.

Amish’s talent for writing must be appreciated and so also his inventiveness and imagination with regard to the numerous characters. More than once I had to take a break from reading and recollect who’s who, but Amish narrates the tale well and gives you the feeling that you are there.

The book’s theme is the battle between Good and Evil and it makes itself obvious on nearly every page but in my reckoning a poor job was done with the actual action. The build up and the aftermath seemed to overshadow the battle itself and perhaps for good reason because the battle itself was hardly a battle but a lame attempt at one.

I was disappointed with the book. I expected more. I had prejudiced my mind after the first two books to expect something fantastic, gripping and awesome but after I had turned the last page I had an insipid taste in my mouth and a knot of regret in my stomach. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to reading other novels by Amish. Despite the book, I felt a certain sense of pride about the author and his achievements. I sincerely hope that other Indian author’s create a stir on the international platform.