ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amish Tripathi was born in Mumbai in 1974. After the success of his debut novel, The Immortals of Meluha, he left his career in the financial services sector to become a full-time author.
The Shiva Trilogy went on to become the fastest-selling book series in Indian publishing history. His Ramachandra Series was the second fastest-selling book series in the history of Indian publishing. Amish has also published a nonfiction book titled Immortal India.
Released in June 2020, Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India will soon be adapted into a feature film.
Amish is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta. He was appointed by the Government of India as the Director of the Nehru Center, London in 2019.
SYNOPSIS (WARNING – MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!)
Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India is the heroic story of the legendary Indian king Suheldev, who was the ruler of the kingdom of Shravasti. Suheldev had defeated and slain Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud. Surprisingly, however, his name barely finds a mention in our textbooks.
Amish has retold the story of this brave king of the eleventh century. In this fictional setup, the story begins with the death of Suheldev’s elder brother, Malladev, and the destruction of the Somnath temple by Mahmud of Ghazni.
After an encounter with a Turkish camp, Suheldev and his faithful soldiers eliminate all the Turks. Suheldev goes into hiding to protect their kingdom and to fight back the Turks. Over the next few years, he uses guerrilla warfare tactics to great effect to keep the barbaric Turks at bay. As a result of this, he becomes known as the ‘Bandit Prince’ throughout India.
Suheldev’s devotion to Lord Shiva and his love for his motherland would become an inspiration to millions of Indians. He, along with a band of loyal soldiers, whose numbers kept increasing with the Turks’ atrocities on Indian soil, give more than one befitting reply to Islamic invaders.
WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT LEGEND OF SUHELDEV: THE KING WHO SAVED INDIA
Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India has all the elements of a page-turner. It is charged with suspense, intrigue, romance, and betrayal. The presence of a larger-than-life hero and a villain we love to hate makes for a fun read.
The character development of King Suheldev from an angry teenager to an expert strategist is quite endearing. His personality and moral values are truly inspiring for the readers. The characterization of both Abdul and Aslan also prove to be a perfect fit for the narrative.
As most people are unaware of the history of Suheldev, Amish succeeds in surprising the readers with a host of twists and turns.
Amish has tried to create an idealistic India, one where people of different religions and castes united to oppose the brutal Turks. The theme of unity in diversity is consistent throughout the plot.
WHAT WE DID NOT LIKE ABOUT LEGEND OF SUHELDEV: THE KING WHO SAVED INDIA
Some of the characters and plot lines are way too clichéd. One can almost tell how these characters would behave and what their fate would be. The plot and most of the subplots are short on originality. In fact, some of the subplots are rather similar to the ones used in Amish’s other popular works. The writing is also mediocre at best.
Apart from the two central characters, most of the characters have been fictionalized. Some amazing characters with potentially great story arcs were introduced, but the author has not quite managed to do justice to them. The book also has its fair share of loose ends, which cause more confusion than comprehension.
A fun fact about Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India is that Amish is not the sole author of this work. In fact, a group of writers created the body of this book before Amish edited it and produced the final draft. While this group of authors has been credited under The Immortal Writers’ Center, it almost feels as if a better part of the book has been created by these ghostwriters.
QUOTES
Everybody who is born will die one day, son. It’s what we do in between the matters.
It is true when they say ahimsa parmo dharma. That non-violence is the greatest dharma. But they also say dharma hinsa thathaiv cha. Violence that protects dharma is justified.
Darkness does not win because it is strong. It wins because the lamps stop fighting.
CONCLUSION
Ameya recommends this book to all those readers who are looking for some fun reading. While definitely not one of Amish’s best works, his attempt at bringing forth the forgotten heroes of the Indian subcontinent is indeed praiseworthy.
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