Maybe one shouldn’t start this story immediately after Sivagamiyin Sabatham. There was not much plot or passion in the story as right from the beginning we know that Narasimma Varma himself supports Parthiban’s dream. The love sequence between Kundavi Devi(not to confuse with our PS kundavi) and Vikrama seems artificial and repetitive. Unlike SS, there is not much passion and emotions and unlike PS, there is not some very complex plot. It is shown that Narasimma Varma is the Sivanadiyaar right from the beginning and there is no suspense element because of it and the characters’ dilemma about the identity of the character is tiring. The only social element of the time portrayed is the emergence of human sacrifice. The villain is our same old Naganandhi from SS and there is no suspense in that regard either. There is not much internal conflict that the characters suffer which makes SS and PS so beautiful. The description of places is picturesque at times. I was disappointed and angry to know that Narasimma varma’s wife died soon after Vatapi war and yet Sivagami (who is mentioned in only one chapter) did not marry the king and the author kills her off soon too – but so many characters like even Sivagami’s aunt are still alive. This seems to be a stereotypical device to eliminate the character so that the plot here need not involve her. The character of Siruthondar (our Paranjothi from SS) comes as a character without much role. I started reading this mostly to know the fate of the characters in SS and to relive the setting and the times of SS. Other than Naganandhi and Narasimma varma himself (who now resembles his father Mahendran in almost all manners like disguises, cleverness etc), no other character from SS plays important role here. I guess after reading PS and SS, this fades a bit in comparison and did not leave be dazed like the other books did.
p.s: I have started reading Alai Osai and am loving it so far. Will post review once I am done.
