A review by rbharath
War of Lanka by Amish Tripathi

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I like Amish’s writing since I find him well intentioned in approach – attempting to retell mythology while preserving the ethos of the original. I have also seen a few of his talks and found them sincere and insightful. I found the Shiva trilogy imaginative, though the last book was a disappointment. We do need to allow for the fact that this retelling is more challenging – as it can be compared directly with mainstream versions of the Ramayana. There are some fundamental conceptual issues in this book (covered in the later part of my review) which makes it a far from impressive retelling. 

I thought the series started off well with the Scion of Ikshvaku. While I felt Sita fell short, I liked how Raavan’s character was developed (though I was not entirely comfortable with the attempt to be kinder to him). This book in my opinion goes too far in that respect (building on Raavan’s fascination of Vedavati in the previous book). This book covers the period from after Sita’s abduction till the end of the war in Lanka. For Indians, and especially Hindus, the story of the Ramayana is deeply ingrained in our psyche. The overall structure thankfully follows the mainline versions. The plot and motivations of the characters though has significant changes – rivalry between Sage Vashishta & Vishwamitra is especially crucial to the story. Similarly, Hanuman’s trip to Lanka and the relationship between Vali and Sugreev have many changes. I missed the charm associated with Hanuman’s tail on fire. I also felt there was not enough of Lord Ram’s values and persona in the book. Unfortunately, a few of the changes have poor underlying premises, especially the build-up to the war. 

Wars create heroes but wars cannot be fought for that purpose. Both Ramayana & Mahabharata are unambiguous that the wars they describe were to upload Dharma, when all attempts to ward off war had failed. This is poorly stated and instead the war comes across as a clever plan with others falling in line. 

I did like how Amish carried forward the Naga concept of the previous trilogy. There are also some worthwhile philosophical musings but are poorly elaborated lacking depth. Eg: He mentions “All people are good”, etc are lies stated to avoid debate.  This is worthy of note as the path to wisdom and right conduct is an individual quest, often with many successes and setbacks, but is easily mostly mistaken as being a collective effort due to groupism. It also needs to be stated though that Indian philosophy is clear that divinity is all pervading and can be uncovered by anyone if they set their minds to it by clearing their accumulated ingrained delusions. 

Overall, a disappointing continuation but there are nevertheless, flashes of good imagination.