R.I.P Posted by Drac , Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 7:18 AM, in Labels: book, fiction, Westland

Title: R.I.P

Author: Mukul Deva

Publisher: Westland

Genre: Fiction

RIP by Mukul Deva is not as strange a novel as the name suggests. Involving all the clichés one would expect in a crime thriller, it is still a gripping novel which binds the reader since the first page. 

The story deals with a team of 6 personnel called as K-team (named after their common initial) aka Resurgent Indian Patriots (RIP) and its fight against corruption. Beginning with political murders till shifting the distorted view of good and evil, the novel marks a satisfying and intriguing read. Most of the incidents mentioned in the book feel inspired by real-life scams, similarly many characters portrayed can be easily connected to real people. The best part of the book is the stories of the 6 members of the K-team; their emotions, failures and repletion makes this book a keeper. 

Unmasking the real terrorism inside India and dropping the curtain from the common man’s (or say reader’s) eyes, author has done an appalling job. In a nutshell, and I hope I am not giving away any spoiler, this book reminds me of the movie ‘A Wednesday’; which by the way was an awesome movie. But, yes there is always one, even while targeting political corruption, you can feel the writer’s point of view, his opinion and political preferences, which I believe was the worst part of the book. As a great writer once said, a good story starts in the writer’s head and ends in reader’s. I found there was not enough space left for my thoughts to bloom as I was bombarded by K-Team’s virtues of righteousness. In my opinion, the only just way to enjoy this novel would be to forget that it has anything to do with current political scenarios and enjoy the deaths (pun intended). 

Also, I am not blaming the author but my overactive imagination which did somehow managed to reveal the twists a couple of pages before and thus ruining my fun of a surprising page-turner. Even with good story and spotless writing (excluding the expletives), RIP misses the breakthrough a reader’s heart aches for. 

I never read any work of the author before and even though this book did not blow away my mind, I am looking forward to read his other books. Because an author who can merge real life incidents in a fiction, like Vikas Swarup, and still gives out a paced thriller with a fragrance of Robert Ludlum, is definitely someone to lookout for. 

Rating: 3.5/5 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Blogadda.com as part of their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Krishna Key Posted by Drac , Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at 2:49 AM, in Labels: book, fiction, Westland

Title: The Krishna Key

Author: Ashwin Sanghi

Publisher: Westland

Genre: Fiction

The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi follows a historian, Ravi Mohan Saini, as he races to discover the truth hidden by Krishna thousands years ago, against a serial killer who thinks himself as the reincarnation of Krishna. Interested already? ‘The Krishna Key’ does not follow the current trade of retelling mythology in a fictional manner, but leave it far beyond by creating a perfect blend of mythology and fiction. This intertwining is bound to start a new trade among Indian authors as we have an endless supply of mythological chronicles. 

As they say, God lies in the details, or is it Devil? I am not sure, but whoever it is, the author has obviously met him. The places, antiques and traditions of different civilizations described in this book are highly comprehensive.  Don’t be surprised if you start Googling lexis from this book after reading it. The spiritual take of the author is also penetrating to the core. Ashwin Sanghi has developed his writing a lot since his first book ‘The Rozabal Line’, which used to give an expression as if you are reading something on the Wikipedia. 

Unlike other reviewers, I won’t compare this book with works of Dan Brown. Where both the writers have similarity of mentioning facts and meandering them into a thriller, Ashwin Sanghi shows much more reverence towards the religion and much less attention towards the grip of the story. No doubt this book has an amazing story flow and the unfolding of events will keep the reader spell bounded, but at many a times, the fictional parts gets sabotaged by the facts author trying to convey. One can find the trivia forming the backbone concept of the story getting repeated two to three times throughout the stretch of the book, but whenever an imaginary incident is taking place, the author just rush through it without giving the reader a proper time to dwell upon the moment or feel for the character. A blunt narration does work for thrillers but at the end its emotion you are left with when the book ends; this book provides just the enlightenment part wrapped in excitement. Climax, as supposed to be, is the peak part and how it strikes you depend only on your expectation, so no spoilers here. 

The references given at the end of the book reminds the reader again about the extensive research done by the author, something he is famous for. Apart from various articles and religious texts, books by Devdutt Pattanaik can also be found in this list. Being acquainted by these books already, I have to thank the author for doing a very impressive justice with such concepts. Again, the way he blends different words or worlds, to create a new for his reader to stand in awe is applauding. 

Rating: 4/5 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher for reviewing purpose. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Kitnay Aadmi Thay? Posted by Drac , Wednesday, July 25, 2012 at 3:44 AM, in Labels: book, non-fiction, Westland

Title: Kitnay Aadmi Thay?

Author: Diptakirti Chaudhuri

Publisher: Westland

Genre: Non-Fiction

Kitnay Aadmi Thay? by Diptakirti Chaudhuri is, as the name suggests, a trivia book of Bollywood (or Indian Film Industry, whichever you prefer). A compilation of 50 lists starting from the opening credits to The End is filled with minutiae, backstage insights and fun quiz to delight the bollywood thirsty soul. Lists of typical mom & dad, list of child actors, movies that have not been made, list of makeovers, legendary confrontations, endorsements in movies are there to name a few. 

This book, in a nutshell, is the essence of writer’s blog Calcutta Chromosomes. Though I never visited the site before, Kitnay Aadmi Thay provided a joyful ride to the movie bug inside me. There are many trivia books available on Hindi cinema, but those which include Manmohan Desai as well as Rohan Sippy are very few. The list of Amul’s posters and the backstories dissolved in all the lists are the finest part of the book and showcases author’s in-depth research and keen observation. 

I found the book incomplete at many parts; the lists weren’t as elaborated as one would guess. Still writer has done a great job as any fan would know that Bollywood is such a vast subject to cover anything in a single book. Hope the writer would come up with many more volumes to enroll the latest quirks and innovation, all wrapped up neatly in his humorous style.  

Rating: 3/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Blogadda.com as part of their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”