Summer is here and the heat outside confines us to our homes. Schools and colleges are closed and it’s too hot for any rigorous physical activity. In such a situation, books come to our rescue. Here are five must-read trilogies that will keep you going through the summer.
The Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathi is a piece of fiction based on the fundamental concept that all Hindu Gods were once human beings and that is was their deeds as humans that deemed them as Gods. The series is mostly distorted Indian Mythology with fantastic imaginative conceptualization. The Immortals of Meluha is the first novel of the Shiva trilogy series. The story is set in the land of Meluha and starts with the appearance of the Tibetan tribal Shiva,with a trident, rudraksh beads and battle scars. The second installment, The Secret of the Nagas, starts off precisely from where the prequel ended, is followed by the much awaited finale of the series, The Oath of the Vayuputras. The trilogy is a hit with the youth and had me raving about it for months after I read it.
His Dark Materials is an epic trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights (1995), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). I read these books when I was in the IXth grade and I’m sure if I re-read them now they’d mean much more to me than they did then. The story follows the coming of age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they meander through a succession of parallel universes. The novel captures the seriousness of adolescence into a lucid narrative. The story involves fantasy elements and alludes to ideas from physics, philosophy, theology, history, quantum physics and cosmology. A film was released based on Northern Lights, titled The Golden Compass by New Line Cinema , in 2007. The series is a must read for all those keen for some magic and adventure in their books.
The Millennium series consists of three bestselling novels, originally written in Swedish, by the late Stieg Larsson (1954—2004). The two central characters in the saga are Lisbeth Salander, a woman in her twenties with a photographic memory and poor social skills, and Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist and publisher of a magazine called Millennium. Larsson planned the series as having ten installments, but owing to his sudden death, only three were completed and published. They are: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2005), The Girl Who Played with Fire (2006) and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest (2007). I was gifted the first book in the trilogy by a friend but I somehow could not get past the first 50 pages or so, ergo, tread with care when it comes to this one because it does not suit the tastes of every reader. I, on the other hand, plan to give this one another chance, this summer.
The Ibis trilogy is as of yet an incomplete work of historical fiction by Amitav Ghosh. The first two novels in the series – Sea of Poppies (2008) and River of Smoke (2011) have been published and are on my must-read list this summer. The story is placed in the first half of the 19th century and deals with the trade of opium between India and China by the East India Company and the trafficking of coolies to Mauritius. The Trilogy gets its names from the ship Ibis, on board which most of the chief characters meet for the first time. The Trilogy has been well-acclaimed. The Sea of Poppies was shortlisted for the 2008 Booker Prize, while the River of Smoke made it to the long list of the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2011. Amitav Ghosh not long ago tweeted that the title of Book III of the Ibis Trilogy would be Flood of Fire and it will be published in the spring of 2015.
Fifty Shades Trilogy is a 2011 trilogy of erotic romance novel by the British author Erika Leonard, better known by the pen name E. L. James. It follows the deepening bond between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business industrialist, Christian Grey. It is famous for its explicitly erotic scenes revolving around sadism/masochism (BDSM) and ever since it’s been published, it’s been flying off the racks. Universal Pictures and Focus Features will be releasing a film adaptation on the 14th February, 2015. Read this one only if you fancy some erotica!