Chaturanga (Before the beginning of Bahubali #2) by Anand Neelakantan

Book Name: Chaturanga (Before the beginning of Bahubali #2)

Author: Anand Neelakantan

Published by: Westland Publication

After a prolonged wait for more than a couple of years, “Chaturangha”, the second book in the Bahubali series got released. To be honest I was looking forward to the release of the book. Without much ado lets dive in to the book. The first part of the series, we had a glimpse of the coup that was carried out by the Vaithalikas and a brief introduction to the different characters with whom we were already familiar. 

The second part contains a brief recall of the first book and a brief introduction to different characters. At the very beginning we see Shivagami battling with Thimma much to the entertainment of the crowd. Subsequently we learn about her rise to the title of bhoomipathi and how she plans on taking revenge for her family.  Glimpses of the cruel acts of Bijjaladeva are described along with the scenarios where he disguises his acts. 

The book has miserably failed to create suspense and is not such a page turner as its predecessor. Unlike its first part where every character had justified its place in the story, here certain characters failed to do so. One among them is the character of Shivappa as his actions have got no direct or indirect impact on the flow of the story line. At the beginning of the story he was dug out from his grave and at the end he is assumed dead. One thing that attracted me was the fact unlike the movies where Mahismati kingdom was shown as an ideal one, the reality of a kingdom has been shown in the book.  All said, this can book can be read once if you are a fan of the Bahubali series and if you are willing to find a link between the first book and the next in line.

Rating: 3.4/5