The Vault of Vishnu - book review

The Vault of Vishnu
by Ashwin Sanghi
Genre : Fiction

"One cannot avoid death unless one is already dead.Even then one cannot avoid the endless cycles that follows." 

The above quote from the novel is so apt and comforting in these Covid-19 time.

The novel starts brilliantly in Doklam and with a lot of promise. But Sanghi doesn't meet the reader's expectation as the pace just doesn't slowdown but almost stops before it picks up for a while before it is again brought down to a painful trot. The author kills you slowly as he strays away from the main story to narrate  Xuanzang's travels to India which lasted for over 19 years. This completely breaks the pace of narration as it keeps to start,long stop, start, long stop formula.  Sanghi could have easily used a single sentence or at the maximum a paragraph or even a page to reveal why Xuanzang's  travel was important just as he did it for Faxian's travel to India or Bodhidharma's travels to China.

I had hoped this novel would beat his Chanakya's Chant but it is worse than his Krishna Key where at least the pace was good with extremely well formed characters. Also, the author doesn't understand the difference between AI and genetic mutation which he seems to confuse while writing the book. I laughed out loud when I came across his explanation of the name Ikoalikum, the head of the mysterious tribe. Sanghi must have used Google translate to translate I Akankaramazhikum would have made more sense but I had to remind myself Sanghi probably doesn't know Tamizh or have Tamizh friends. Also he has hurriedly tried to cover everything just because of Doklam conflict and Xi's visit to Mahabalipuram.

The only good thing about the book is Hanuman. Strange I should be writing this on Hanuman Jayanti. The ending is almost satisfactory but getting through the book was a challenge. If you like challenges and since we are in a lock down, you might try reading the book.

The Karachi Deception – an intelligent thriller

The Karachi Deception

By Shatrujeet Nath

Genre: Spy Thriller

Available in different formats

Irshad Dilawar is an underworld don wanted in several countries including the country that protects him, Pakistan. Multiple operations are mounted to kill him in the city of Karachi simultaneously. Who will succeed in getting him or will the ISI manage to protect him or does he get away on his own? What exactly is the role of the ex-Intelligence officials of various countries in the war on terror? Shatrujeet Nath asks and answers this in his wonderful book, The Karachi Deception.

It has been a long time since I read a good spy thriller and that too based in the Indian subcontinent without involving US, Europe or Israeli players. The first 50 pages are what you would expect from most spy thrillers but after that, Nath is in a league of his own.

From a parking lot in Mali to an apartment in Amsterdam, from homes in India to safe houses in Pakistan, Nath spins a tale of double intrigue and triple betrayal.  I think this is probably the only spy thriller I have read that doesn’t have the main antagonist make an appearance except for two lines in the entire book but nevertheless doesn’t fail to thrill. It is a rare feat to pull off in fiction and especially in this genre and that too for a debut novel. The ending made me chuckle though Americans would be angered, especially the Democrats supporting Hillary.

The style of the author is crisp, engaging and easy to read as the reader is able to identify with this book on some personal level. To use a cliché, this book is a page turner.

It is a pity the author lives in India or this would have made the New York Best Seller list. To read it was like eating your favourite meal with all your favourite people in the world joining you.

Buy the book here and judge for yourself.

 

The Karachi Deception – an intelligent thriller

The Karachi Deception

By Shatrujeet Nath

Genre: Spy Thriller

Available in different formats

Irshad Dilawar is an underworld don wanted in several countries including the country that protects him, Pakistan. Multiple operations are mounted to kill him in the city of Karachi simultaneously. Who will succeed in getting him or will the ISI manage to protect him or does he get away on his own? What exactly is the role of the ex-Intelligence officials of various countries in the war on terror? Shatrujeet Nath asks and answers this in his wonderful book, The Karachi Deception.

It has been a long time since I read a good spy thriller and that too based in the Indian subcontinent without involving US, Europe or Israeli players. The first 50 pages are what you would expect from most spy thrillers but after that, Nath is in a league of his own.

From a parking lot in Mali to an apartment in Amsterdam, from homes in India to safe houses in Pakistan, Nath spins a tale of double intrigue and triple betrayal.  I think this is probably the only spy thriller I have read that doesn’t have the main antagonist make an appearance except for two lines in the entire book but nevertheless doesn’t fail to thrill. It is a rare feat to pull off in fiction and especially in this genre and that too for a debut novel. The ending made me chuckle though Americans would be angered, especially the Democrats supporting Hillary.

The style of the author is crisp, engaging and easy to read as the reader is able to identify with this book on some personal level. To use a cliché, this book is a page turner.

It is a pity the author lives in India or this would have made the New York Best Seller list. To read it was like eating your favourite meal with all your favourite people in the world joining you.

Buy the book here and judge for yourself.

 

The Mahabharata Secret
by
Christopher Doyle
Genre: Fiction - Historical Thriller.
386 Pages, Om Books International.
Available in Different formats.


Most readers of my blog may be aware of the Indian epic,  Mahabharata. It is like 1000 stories in one, all inter connected and in which Bhagavad Gita is a part - the philosophical treatise which most Indians know about but do not follow. But then, this is India, so you cannot expect anything else!  So, what is the secret ? That is what I thought when I began this book. But I never expected Emperor Ashoka to make his appearance in the first few pages or that it would be a fast paced terrorist thriller that takes us through little known parts of India especially Bihar. I mean Rajasthan and Delhi where the author lives was okay but Bihar?

This book does two things. It flits back and fro through history, from Emperor Ashoka's times to the present and in between. It flits across South Asia and then inside India but more importantly, it reminds most people of South Asia about the Buddhist past of the region which lasted for around 2000 years, which is never taught in schools as if it never existed at all.

From the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan to the ramparts of Rajasthani forts, from scientists turned terrorists of the Lakshar -e- Taiba to the hunting for clues in Ashoka pillars in Bihar, the author masterfully weaves a story of intrigue, action, puzzles and reminders of the buried past.

I purposely read it in bits because I wanted to savour the feeling of eating a delicious meal  multiple times. The style is crisp and the tone is clear.The ending didn't leave me sated but Christopher Doyle, thank you for a much needed historical thriller.

To think this debut novel in 2013 has received so little attention was shocking.


If you feel I had still not told you what the secret is, I ask you to read the book. Buy it here


© Deepa Kandaswamy, All rights reserved.

Back again with a Vengance

Hi, it has been years since I posted on this blog. Life caught up meanwhile :)

And the Mountains Echoed
By Khaled Hosseni
216 pages
Genre - Fiction



What would you have done if as a child, you were forcefully separated from the only person you truly loved? How would you react if the people who caused the separation were your own father and uncle? Would you look for the person you lost when you grew up? Would you even remember as you were only a child yourself when the separation happened? Khaled Hosseni asks and answers this and much more in his beautifully crafted novel, “And the Mountains Echoed.”
From the villages of pre-Taliban Afghanistan to the romantic streets of Paris during the hippie days, from a small island in Greece to the sunny restaurants in California, Hosseni tells a powerful story of love and fear, expectation and hope that spans over 60 years in the life of Pari and Abdullah, and through them the ordinary Afghan people and all the others who came into Afghanistan during that time.
The style of writing is simple, elegant, straightforward and unpredictably beautiful. The multiple points of view used works to the advantage as the author slips easily from the Afghan to the Greek, man to woman effortlessly. What is extremely uncanny is it is as if Hosseini can read the soul and mind of a woman! Momentarily, you forget the author is a man until his male characters begin to speak as the story moves forward. The narrator catches you by surprise at every turn at the same time shows the emotional vulnerability of the characters that kills the stereotype most of us use when we think of Afghans and Afghanistan. It also tears apart the stereotype the media feeds us with about Muslims and NATO workers in Afghanistan.
The book is extremely insightful and makes the reader emotionally vulnerable to the various characters and not just one, a rare feat performed with a lack of drama that almost borders on humility that makes this book outstanding. A highly recommended read if only for the simple reason it makes you more humane.

© 2013 by Deepa Kandaswamy

Buy the book here