Book Blurb
A thrilling saga of loyalty, deceit, love and war. Seventeenth century Malabar. Law and order lay in shambles as the Portuguese terrorize the locals. Native kings troop in separate camps for and against the foreign invaders. The rift is so deep that Samoothiri of Calicut, the sworn enemy of the Kochi kingdom, has finally decided to join forces with Kochi to fight the outsiders. In a dramatic turn of events, the heir to the Kochi throne, Kerala Varma and his brother, Veera Kerala Varma, go into exile in guise of sanyasis to escape the Portuguese. During their journey, Veera Kerala Verma falls in love with Unnimaya, the gorgeous niece of the army chief of Chempakassery Raja, a major Portuguese ally. Another storm is brewing in the horizon. The Dutch, seizing the opportunity to topple the Portuguese rule, plan to partner with Kerala Varma and Samoothiri. Will they succeed. Who will rule Kochi next. Will Veera Kerala Varma’s and Unnimaya’s love triumph above duty.
The more I read the book, more I was convinced that inspiration behind Anuraadha is same that was behind Munshi & Kalki. The way story unfolded with characters, it will take you on a historical movie. My personal favorite characters are Prince's brother Veera Kerela Verma & his lover Unnimaya. Lovers' story & struggle gives entertainment/softness to the book. Wherein war, strategies & conspiracy gives an element of engagement & interest. On top of that sketched prepared by artist Namboodiri for various character also let you visualize how they would look like. (Again same in Munshi's original edition has many characters' sketches)
The only problem I faced was following character & locations' name, it took me 50% of the book to follow without checking important character page.
Ratings
- Cover - 5/5
- Content - 4/5
- Characters - 4/5
- Overall - 4.5/5
Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads
We have heard positive review about the prequel of this book "The Saga of Black Gold", we have already added this book in our wishlist.
