Review: Empire by Devi Yesodharan

Empire by Devi Yesodharan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am getting hooked to historical fiction genre , all thanks to books like Empire. Empire is the story of the Chola king who expanded his empire to cover all of the eastern coastline and reached to other countries too. The book takes that as the historical period and narrates the events in life of Yavani , a Greek female soldier given to the Chola king as terms of peace treaty. That's how her training begins as a Chola soldier. It is the story how she becomes the royal garud of the king and her duties. From the very first chapter till the last scene , the author left no emotion unexplored , no character like lose end , no scene without context. I specially liked the way the street scenes and the events were like visuals I could easily imagine. The language is so simple and detailed and the little nuisances of the central characters are etched in details. The end though, was a little abrupt and I felt incomplete , as in i wanted a welcome for Yavani, what happened to the traitors on land etc etc . But overall, the book was spot on with its emotional connect.

I have not researched the historical accuracy much so people who have interest in history should read it without a bias. Enjoy the story of a woman soldier trying to fit in a foreign land and a profession that she is envied for by even men.

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