"God is a Gamer" - Book Review

PC

I have been walking around with this book in my hand for weeks now, looking for an excuse to not read it. When I expressed the requirement of having to compulsorily read it for the review, my colleague made an apt statement:

“If you read and average of a books a week from now and we’ll assume you will live till you are 80 years old, you will read a total of  2912 books. Now, do you really want this to be one of those limited number of books.”

For someone who hasn’t read more than 50% of even the classics, the sound math put things into perspective. 

Yet I ploughed on for another couple of days to ensure that my review is not biased by my personal views on writing and fiction.

God is a Gamer by Ravi Subramanian is India’s first bitcoin thriller. A storyline that weaves through global streets and paced at breakneck speed, the book is a huge improvement on the previous thrillers I have experienced from Indian authors. But the sheer number of characters which have been introduced with a pointlessness that numbs my mind is surpassed by the amount of effort that has gone into making those characters… well... point-ful. Unfortunately, the effort goes to waste.

Let me break it down for you.

Cons:
•    The grand finale/reveal falls flat on its face – insipid to say the least.
•    Too many focal points to the story, all good in their individual capacities, but together lose focus and thereby, are ineffective. Like someone mixed upma, parathas and KFC chicken and then threw in a taco and some beans for good measure.
•    Weak characterization; most characters have been given roles with a lot of meat on them without actually letting the readers get to the meat. This, again, is a fall out of the above point, lesser focal points would have given more scope to elaborate on the intricacies of each character line, which in turn would have added to the storyline.
•    Flimsiness – of everything. Not one character, not only event could hold my attention.

Pros:
•    Bitcoins are fascinating, I did follow the whole rise and fall of the actual Cotton Trail and all, and this book educates readers on why that is so.
•    A lot of research has gone into the writing bit of the book which is much appreciated; there are no half-baked facts on gaming, poisons and such which are covered in the book.
•    The language is simple and clean, straight-forward even. No bad grammar and typos and whatnot.

All in all, this is a book you should read when you are travelling for over a couple of days and you don’t have the focus to read a good book because of all the vendors going chaay, chaay, kaapi, kaapi, idli-vadeeee every few minutes, but you still want to read something to keep your mind off the rowdy crowd, the unnecessarily inquisitive aunty and the extremely judgmental college student in your compartment. Or if you are one of those people who carry a book around to show off.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian bloggers at blogadda. 

"Private India" - Book Review

I have had a long-ish relationship with James Patterson novels and the sheer thrill of reading about murder and mayhem keeps me hooked to the genre that he has mastered. I remember reading my first Alex Cross novel while I was still in school, publicly aghast and secretly thrilled at the kind of language and the ferocity of the crimes described. It was a very good way to lose my innocence, in a manner of speaking.

The remnants of the thrill (for it’s been a long time since I had my nose buried in a James Patterson title, I hadn’t even heard about the more-than-6-book-old Private series) ensured that I added “Private India” to my cart when I happened to edit a book description at work. But just before I went ahead and bought it, came BlogAdda’s book review program, I tried my luck and the book was delivered in less than a week’s time. For free, mind you. Imagine my delight.

I haven’t read Ashwin Sanghi, nor do I intend to. I have to admit that it was a bit of a dampener to have him collaborate with Patterson – I really did expect a mess of a book. And at 450-odd pages, I was wondering how I was going to finish it in time for a review. But I needn’t have worried, the print is HUGE and hence it took me all of 4 hours to wrap it up.

Read the blurb here:

First, the bad:
•    What. Is. Up. With. The. Drama!!! So much of Bollywood-style dramatics happening throughout the story, almost making it seem like someone had a movie in mind rather than a book. Jack Morgan’s presence feels useless, to say the least.
•    Though the background story of the lead is a run-of-the-mill one, it could have been dealt with in a much more engaging manner. I feel that the whole emotional angle has not been exploited completely.
•    Trying to Indianize western characters is one of the big mistakes Indian writers make. We should stick to our own kind of characterizations without trying to ape the kind of descriptions of characters that the Westerners have. Capturing the nuances of Indian-ness and the quirks that come with being innately Indian are not only very interesting but also something that most pop Indian writers ignore.
•    The plot within the plot hasn’t been executed well, thereby making the bigger picture of terrorism seem like just an appendage when it could actually have added to the story.
•    The usual Patterson villains are creepy and eerie, the villains in this book are sort of bland.
•    Jack Morgan’s somewhat lukewarm acceptance of his friend/lover’s murder is disturbing.
•    I failed to fall for the underdog lead character, which is actually a first. 

Now, the good:
•    Classic James Patterson-style narration – a chapter about everything else and then a chapter about the murderer, alternated. I loved it, to say the least. If this was penned by Sanghi, he has managed to carry it off with élan.
•    Slow build-up to a fitting finale, most of it was executed well, making it a very racy read. Staccato bursts of chapters keep you riveted.
•    The ending leaves the thread open to more from the series and if executed better, I’d definitely like to read.
•    A drastic reduction in the number of typos and spelling mistakes and grammar errors from the last so many Indian-English books which I have read. Only a few phrases stand out as having heavy MTI, so to speak.

On the whole, a decent read. Next time you settle down for a long train journey or find yourself out of things to do on a Sunday afternoon, pick this one up. Whether you like it or not will depend on what literary diet you are on: Kafka-lovers will thup at the book while Bhagat-lovers will be overcome with joy.

I consider myself to be somewhere between the two, so I give the book a 3.2 rating out of 5 - 3 for the mystery, 0.15 to Patterson and 0.05 to Sanghi.  

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Sachin Garg's Take On Not Being Twenty Four

Name: I’m Not Twenty Four

Author: Sachin Garg

ISBN: 978-81-922226-2-2

Publishers: Grapevine India Publishers Pvt. Ltd

Genre: Romance

‘I’m Not Twenty Four… I’ve Been Nineteen For Five Years’ is Sachin Garg’s second book. I have to admit that I haven’t read the first one and therefore I read this one with no expectations or preconceived notions, whatsoever.

The story is about a city brat, Saumya Kapoor, who finds herself in no-man’s land and deprived of her daily coffee. She leaves behind all that she holds dear, because of a mistake, and goes to Toranagallu only to discover a larger purpose to her life and true love aka Shubrodeep Shyamchaudhry, the sexy globe-trotting Bengali.

The cover appeals to me for I’m a HUGE fan of pumps but it does give the book a misguided image of being a chick-lit which it is not. I like the book’s dedication and the fact that there’s a story behind the cover illustration as well. Also, the portrayal of Shubro throughout the book ranges from intriguing to endearing to inspiring. There are references to blogs and blogging which I personally loved and the Move-On Theory is genius for I would love to implement something like that in my life.

And there end the good points.

The initial introduction itself made me cringe with its blatant similarity to C-Bag’s way of introducing his lead character, you know, where Bhagat tells us how he met the character, how they told him the story and the events that transpired. And unfortunately for Mr. Garg, I read Revolution 2020 a couple of days back which made the stark likeness even more apparent to me. Negative points for that.

Secondly, I personally believe that men and women don’t understand each other all that well and therefore, attempting to write a story from the other gender’s perspective should be undertaken with utmost caution. Parts where the girls go lingerie shopping and the descriptions of the men and the kiss between Malappa and Saumya are places which I, without any writing experience whatsoever, could have dealt with better for the sole reason that I’m female. I can’t help but feel that the author would have done better if he’d written the story in third person or even from his own perspective.

Saumya comes across as an airhead throughout the book; what with her shopping obsessions, packing suits and stilettos to for a village posting and even wearing shorts for a temple visit. I don’t know any women who are THAT blonde. At least, not ones who get through B-School. Also, she seems very shallow, from frequent references to skin color and statements about not talking to people with accents. I need slightly more solid reasons to dislike a person, let alone a guy.

The story is unbelievable in parts for I don’t think that a manager pushing his employee into a furnace and killing him would go unreported or uninquired. Nor would a newbie employee who faints at the drop of a hat will suddenly develop riot-controlling skills. And the way the romance between Saumya and Shubhro has been dealt with is abominable; like I said, it needs a woman’s touch.

The language is less than ordinary; I do not see the verbal flair that is required for an exquisite story-telling experience. And the phrases are unimaginative –“chewing gum chewing self” would be the prime example. Do not even get me started on the grammar and punctuation mistakes. If it’s a blog or just a feature story, I’d understand; but this kind of editing in a full-fledged novel is just not permissible.

The only parts that I enjoyed reading were the blog-excerpts which reveal Shubro’s real story and initial part where she screws with the interviewers heads.

I give it a 3/10. 

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

P.S: Thank you for all the comments on the last post and no, I'm not back yet; this was an obligation, hence the post.

Parinda Joshi's London Tale

Author: Parinda Joshi
Publisher: Rupa and Co
ISBN: 978-8129118233
Genre: Fiction


‘Live from London’ is a chick-lit(?) by Parinda Joshi set in hip London and society Mumbai. It’s quite a simple tale of a girl, her dreams, career, disappointments and how she gets over them to make it big. 

Starting with an epic fail on the stage of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, the author takes us through Nishi Gupta’s quest to get her big break and find her niche. Her internship with a big record label company crosses her paths with those of Nick Navjot Chapman, the handsome American Idol runner-up, and the seemingly surreptitious affair that ensues adds another dimension to her life. Though, contrary to claim, it is far from steamy.

Life teaches her some lessons in friendship, trust and broken hearts before she decides to follow her parents back to her roots. She is surprised to find India so much more advanced than when she left. The ensuing events, including a larger-than-life, unfazed ‘Mom’s friend’s son’, a series of half-hearted attempts to find work, social mess ups, a couple of fashion disasters and an unexpected visitor, put Nishi where exactly she wants to be.

Nishi’s characterisation makes me think of the new breed of young, strong, independent women trying to break free of the shadows of parental concern and the shackles of the tag of a newbie in the workplace. Though she breaks down at failure, she is quick to bounce back, that too with The Plan. 

What I admired is that she asserts herself as one not to be cuckolded in love. When she finds out what Nick did, she is quick with her dismissal. No moaning and groaning and whiny dialogues or all-night-over-ice-cream-bitching to friends. But at certain points she does come across as slightly teenager-ish and air-headed.

While some other characters have distinct quirks and traits like the blunt Sarah and the over-protective thoroughly Indian mother (who reminds me of the line “you can take an Indian out of India but never the India out of an Indian), most others seem dispensable. The fact that she doesn’t go to her friends at the darkest times of her life even after she has repeatedly reinstated that they are her support system, irks.

The climax wraps up most of the loose ends, but fails to impress without scope to even second guess. What could have been a very different tale of contemporary feminine victory ends up being just another story of the princess and her frog (of sorts). But maybe I expect too much.

The writing style is simple; the lingo and intended(?) clichés add fun. The fashion and music references hold value to an enthusiast. 

The cover is interesting (there are three, as I understand) but there are no illustrations in the entire story, not even caricatures or sketches (I’m very partial to pictures in a story, call me juvenile).

Overall, Live from London is a read you’ll get through once when you’re stuck in the hostel with nothing else to do and your Agatha Christie has been stolen by your stupid friend.

I would give it 5.5 out of 10.

And I can’t help admit that I’m jealous of Nishi Gupta’s red guitar. But that's just me.

Thank you, BlogAdda, for the opportunity.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda. Participate now to get free books!

Ms. Dhankher's Rocky Love

In my aakrantham (greed, impatience), I forgot to savor the suspense. 

I’m done with ‘Love On The Rocks’ by Ismita Tandon Dhanker and I have to say that I’m quite surprised.

Open-mindedness may not be one of my strengths. I had my prejudices - about the language, the plot and whatnot. Indian writer and thriller fiction? (I sound like a pompous ass, forgive me I do not mean to be) I did not think I would be impressed by it.

And my prejudices just came up from behind to bite me in the wrong place.

The story is about a murder on a ship at the high seas and its consequences. The protagonist, Sancha Andrews, the new bride of the ship’s first officer and the only female in the midst of twenty-three males, is full of high hopes for her marriage. She goes aboard, befriends most and rubs some the wrong way with her sleuthing tendencies and strong beliefs. She almost enjoys her time of isolation from the world. But it irks her that nobody seemed to care about the ‘accidental’ death of the chief cook that stinks worse than stale fish. A theft happens which, somehow, relates itself to the murder. Everybody kicks into high gear and sets about solving the case; arguments, fights, back-stabbing, tears - all add to the intrigue.

The characterization of Harsh Castillo had me crushing on him instantly. All characters develop shades of grey at some point or the other, they have been clearly etched (they made me wonder if she had real life inspiration). The tantalizing morsels about their past contribute to their depth. The story is told in bits by each character (The author says it’s because each character has a different view of life). It can get confusing as to who is saying what if you are not paying attention, but she has pulled it off well; it takes effort to mesh the plot into the characters seamlessly. What I also liked were their names, unconventional, like Harsh Castillo and ‘Baldy’ Kirk. Sancha’s attempts at being sultry seemed forced and unnecessary though.

The plot is a little loose in the middle; the elaborate and repetitive fights and the tiresome investigation by the Inspector sapped my patience. And the final fate of the killer went against my need for justice. Otherwise, the guessing game starts right from the first page (which is crucial to the story but you don’t know why till the very end, so pay attention) and the suspense is maintained. If you are like me and try to second guess the story, you are in for a surprise.

The illustrations are simple and depict each character’s defining quirk. The cover is one of my favorite parts – simple and fun. But the paper quality leaves a little to be desired.

Overall, LOTR is a packed 211 pages that has a little sugar and a lot of spice, guaranteed to keep you occupied for the rest of the day.

I would give it a 6.5 to 7 on 10.

Now, back to reading it without the aakrantham.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews By Bloggers program by BlogAdda. Participate now to get free books!