From the start of the novel the hook is a murder, after which events take you travelling through modern-day Iraq to Pakistan via Oman/Bahrain. This novel just oozes the amount of time spent in research and presents a thoughtful approach to the lives and times mentioned. Information about everything from the sealed clay tablets used for communication, the description about the bead manufacturing process are authentic and, educate us about the different tools and crafts widely used at the time.

The characters, and there is a large cast of characters in this book, are very well written and actually based on research in the time period covered by the novel. But, while being believable, they became a little muted at times. The Sumerian language that they speak has been found in cuneiform script, again an indication of how much research this Author conducted.

However, despite the start of the story being very interesting, with readers becoming involved in exploring the new world around them along with what’s happening, the narrative becomes very difficult to follow as it wanders from one city to another and the cast of characters keep changing. In one portion of the novel the Author uses a language which doesn't appear to be authentic to the setting in which it is used.

After the promising start that this novel had, it takes a slight turn and commences on what can only be described as a hilly ride. It picks up, and completely gains your interest again, only to drop down a few pages later. All this culminates in an ending which, after reading the rest of the novel, seems a little bit rushed and far too convenient for me, with all loose ends being tied up nicely.

In the edition I read there was a chapter “How This Prehistoric Novel Was Written” at the end. I feel this may have been better placed at the beginning of the novel, as its explanation of places, location, and names, with respect to our modern day geography, may help future readers to appreciate the writing more. Also in the Kindle edition, the pages are full of hyperlinks to this information, and I found that to be a little annoying; if I hit one in error to have my page suddenly change to something else.

This novel is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, with a definite and obvious lack of vulgarity and violence which I didn't find believable given the time period. It is not a fast paced novel as one would expect in a murder, and it didn't evoke the emotions it could have, given the location and topics covered.

I applaud the intensive research the Author did when putting this sweeping novel together and also the way he successfully integrated fiction and non-fiction. However, when it came to the bottom line, unfortunately it didn't deliver for me. I would recommend this to other lovers of the historical genre, so they can read something a little bit different from the usual offerings.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/review-trade-winds-to-meluhha-va...



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. ( )

I received a free copy from the author for my honest review. At first I was a bit intimidated once I saw the large cast of characters. I honestly wondered if I would be able to keep track of them all. In the beginning it’s a bit confusing but as you read on you see the characters beautifully interwoven. There’s a great mix of action, adventure and romance. I felt really bad for Samasin, as he was really unfortunate, anything bad that happens, happened to him. He was fated for death even! All in all, this was a wonderful story, rich in culture and adventure. It reminded me of the adventure classics of old, like 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Treasure Island, or Robinsons Crusoe. If you like adventure mixed with cultural history, you’ll love Trade Winds To Meluhha. ( )

From the start of the novel the hook is a murder, after which events take you travelling through modern-day Iraq to Pakistan via Oman/Bahrain. This novel just oozes the amount of time spent in research and presents a thoughtful approach to the lives and times mentioned. Information about everything from the sealed clay tablets used for communication, the description about the bead manufacturing process are authentic and, educate us about the different tools and crafts widely used at the time.

The characters, and there is a large cast of characters in this book, are very well written and actually based on research in the time period covered by the novel. But, while being believable, they became a little muted at times. The Sumerian language that they speak has been found in cuneiform script, again an indication of how much research this Author conducted.

However, despite the start of the story being very interesting, with readers becoming involved in exploring the new world around them along with what’s happening, the narrative becomes very difficult to follow as it wanders from one city to another and the cast of characters keep changing. In one portion of the novel the Author uses a language which doesn't appear to be authentic to the setting in which it is used.

After the promising start that this novel had, it takes a slight turn and commences on what can only be described as a hilly ride. It picks up, and completely gains your interest again, only to drop down a few pages later. All this culminates in an ending which, after reading the rest of the novel, seems a little bit rushed and far too convenient for me, with all loose ends being tied up nicely.

In the edition I read there was a chapter “How This Prehistoric Novel Was Written” at the end. I feel this may have been better placed at the beginning of the novel, as its explanation of places, location, and names, with respect to our modern day geography, may help future readers to appreciate the writing more. Also in the Kindle edition, the pages are full of hyperlinks to this information, and I found that to be a little annoying; if I hit one in error to have my page suddenly change to something else.

This novel is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, with a definite and obvious lack of vulgarity and violence which I didn't find believable given the time period. It is not a fast paced novel as one would expect in a murder, and it didn't evoke the emotions it could have, given the location and topics covered.

I applaud the intensive research the Author did when putting this sweeping novel together and also the way he successfully integrated fiction and non-fiction. However, when it came to the bottom line, unfortunately it didn't deliver for me. I would recommend this to other lovers of the historical genre, so they can read something a little bit different from the usual offerings.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/review-trade-winds-to-meluhha-va...



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. ( )

From the start of the novel the hook is a murder, after which events take you travelling through modern-day Iraq to Pakistan via Oman/Bahrain. This novel just oozes the amount of time spent in research and presents a thoughtful approach to the lives and times mentioned. Information about everything from the sealed clay tablets used for communication, the description about the bead manufacturing process are authentic and, educate us about the different tools and crafts widely used at the time.

The characters, and there is a large cast of characters in this book, are very well written and actually based on research in the time period covered by the novel. But, while being believable, they became a little muted at times. The Sumerian language that they speak has been found in cuneiform script, again an indication of how much research this Author conducted.

However, despite the start of the story being very interesting, with readers becoming involved in exploring the new world around them along with what’s happening, the narrative becomes very difficult to follow as it wanders from one city to another and the cast of characters keep changing. In one portion of the novel the Author uses a language which doesn't appear to be authentic to the setting in which it is used.

After the promising start that this novel had, it takes a slight turn and commences on what can only be described as a hilly ride. It picks up, and completely gains your interest again, only to drop down a few pages later. All this culminates in an ending which, after reading the rest of the novel, seems a little bit rushed and far too convenient for me, with all loose ends being tied up nicely.

In the edition I read there was a chapter “How This Prehistoric Novel Was Written” at the end. I feel this may have been better placed at the beginning of the novel, as its explanation of places, location, and names, with respect to our modern day geography, may help future readers to appreciate the writing more. Also in the Kindle edition, the pages are full of hyperlinks to this information, and I found that to be a little annoying; if I hit one in error to have my page suddenly change to something else.

This novel is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, with a definite and obvious lack of vulgarity and violence which I didn't find believable given the time period. It is not a fast paced novel as one would expect in a murder, and it didn't evoke the emotions it could have, given the location and topics covered.

I applaud the intensive research the Author did when putting this sweeping novel together and also the way he successfully integrated fiction and non-fiction. However, when it came to the bottom line, unfortunately it didn't deliver for me. I would recommend this to other lovers of the historical genre, so they can read something a little bit different from the usual offerings.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/review-trade-winds-to-meluhha-va...



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. ( )

I grew up on adventure stories that spanned continents, with Jules Vernes' In Search of the Castaways and the Mysterious Island being my favorite, and Trade Winds to Meluhha certainly reminded me of the hours I spent imagining distant lands with danger at every step. Mr. Davé did a great job crafting an elaborate story that was not at all straight-forward and although towards the middle all the culprits were perfectly clear the many obstacles in the way of bringing them to justice kept things interesting. There were several sub-plots and adventurous asides that in the end played a role in the main story and I commend Mr. Davé for crafting a novel with this many levels and still managing to keep the pace up without a sluggish moment to create a satisfying resolution that felt natural and logical.
With this many plot lines to keep track of the abundance of characters was taxing at times. Two I had trouble distinguishing altogether, some I wasn't sure were all that necessary, but the main characters were intersting and developed nicely, so I mostly paid attention to them. I liked how they ofthen had secrets that kept me guessing for a while and I enjoyed seeing their transformations as the novel progressed. I think Velli was probably the most changed character by the end of the book and it was fun to see her gradual evolution from a hauty daughter of a wealthy man to a kind and caring lady.
My main issue with this book was the language. It wasn't awkward or inappropriate at any time, but it felt foreign, like a translation that is done without allowing for stylistic differences between two languages. It wasn't a deal-breaker by any means but it did affect my perception. Another factor was that the novel is set in ancient time, two thousand years BC, but a lot of the speech patterns, terminology and idioms used in the book are modern. Combine that with a drug trade and human trafficking and often the novel felt like present day crime drama somehow transported into the time of camels and reed ships. Also, I felt that the whole human trafficking situation was a bit contrived. Had the author stuck with slavery the key developments could have been easily preserved without compromising anything but the story would have felt more time-apropriate and natural.
In the end this is a solid adventure novel with great characters and it made me want to read more in the genre. ( )