Aryavir (Guardians of the Blue Lotus, 1) by Anita Shirodkar

Blurb (from the jacket):

Aryavir is not an ordinary prince. Heir to the throne of Kamalkund, Aryavir is a Kamal Akshi - blue-eyed and blessed by the Indivara, a divine Blue Lotus that protects his kingdom. And yet Aryavir harbours a terrible secret about his fate. His family, led by his father, King Chiraksh, is bound by its own web of intrigue and ancient promises.

The complexity of the family's past and present allegiances and the secrets each family member hides are set against the fact that Kamalkund has to fight off covetuous kings from across the borders who will do anything to control the powers of the Lotus.

Meanwhile, as Aryavir, his faithful tiger Kar and friend Sitanshu fight their own battles, the kingdom is faced by clear and present danger. And the past unravels its mysteries unexpectedly.

This classic tale pays homage to India's magnificent mythological heritage and, at its heart, is a story about the eternal human journey.

My take on the book:

I have always been a little skeptical about Indian Fantasy books. There could be a few good ones, but what I've come across were mostly a bad experience. Most of which, I've given up half way. Yeah, so bad!

After reading Aryavir's description, I could guess it is one of those good ones. Though the plot promised to be complex and intriguing, the simplicity of the blurb promised a breeze of a read.

The story started off on a pacy note as there was so many characters, parallel plot-lines, existing. The author had skillfully built and narrated the story in such a way that each character made an impression that lasted long after the book. One reason, I mostly evaded series are because of so many characters. Sometimes, it really gets hard to catch up with them. But in this book, author made sure that nothing of that sorts happens. There were times I had forgotten names of the characters in the book, but their story lines and characteristics were too intriguing to confuse.

Another aspect I loved about the book is that in the start of the book there is a rough map (which, of course, resembles India) stating the whereabouts of the kingdoms of the story. There is also a map of lineage of the key characters in the story, which will come very handy in the later part of the book.

The author has this unique way of story-telling which will have a grip over the reader. The plot line is so pacy, it is hard to divert one's attention.

Overall, Aryavir is on the best Indian books I've read in the recent times. Gripping, fast-paced and with edge-of-the-seat twists, I would recommend this book to everyone.

The review of the second book in the Guardians of the Blue Lotus series 'Sitanshu' is soon to come. Stay tuned...

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Title: Aryavir

Author: Anita Shirodkar

Series: Guardians of the Blue Lotus, #1

ISBN (edition I've read): 9781640078109

Rating: 

Read between: 26-08-2018 to 28-08-2018

Publishers: The Write Place and AuthorsUpFront

Pages: 331

MRP: ₹ 295

The Sicilian by Mario Puzo (Mario Puzo's Mafia)

Blurb (from GoodReads):

Michael Corleone's exile in Sicily is ending, but on the instructions of his father, The Godfather, he must bring back to him the young man known as Salvatore Giuliano - if he can find him. At sea amid the treacheries of a brutal and unfamiliar land, Michael must find a way through the labyrinthine deceits that surround him, while Giuliano prepares himself for a final confrontation with Don Croce, Capo di Capi of the Sicilian Mafia. A novel of explosive suspense, heroic action - and evil on an epic scale. In the hands of Mario Puzo's brilliantly sinister talent, the reader comes to know again the terrible magic of the Mafia.

Dvarca by Madhav Mathur (Dvarca Trilogy #1)

Blurb (from the jacket):

ONE NATION | ONE RELIGION | ONE WAY OF LIFE 

Welcome to a land called Dvarca. 

At the turn of the 22nd century, the world is a mess of warring factions (surprise!). The powers-that-be have fought insanity with an equal and opposite insanity. India has been remodelled under a new bicolour flag, and a State religion called Navmarg. Anyone who does not belong, is a threat. 

Madhav Mathur's Dvarca is a dark and humorous satire that follows the life of an ordinary family, struggling to get by, in this totalitarian regime. Gandharva, is a patriotic and pious low-level bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance and Salvation, working hard on his status and overdue promotion. His dutiful and curious wife, Jyoti, works at Dvarca Mills and witnesses a ghastly act of terror, leading to perilous flirtations with dissent. Their two little children, Nakul and Mira, are model students in their predestined streams, indoctrinated and well on their way to becoming faithful and productive citizens. 

The State religion and cutting-edge science combine to create new ways to make citizens safe, and to hound and hunt those who do not conform. Everything is 'perfect' in this controlled and policed system, until one fateful night, a man happens to break routine . . . 

Is It Maya? by Saikat Baksi

Blurb (from the cover):

Maya Mukhija is charming, intelligent and enigmatic.She has all the riches and power of the world. Maya loves to overpower men. She is the arm-candy wife of an ageing media mogul. Maya is not a loser. 

But one ne morning, Mumbai police knocks the door of her posh apartment and handcuffs her. "You killed Veena, your daughter," the Police Commissioner declares. 

"Veena was my sister, not daughter. And I wished her dead. But I never killed her," Maya Mukhija replies. 

The hunt begins through the shadowy yesterdays of Maya Mukhija. 

Love, treachery and a web of lies peel off the dark truth one by one. 

Who killed Veena? ls it Maya?"

Operation India One by Shiv Kumar

Blurb (from the jacket):

Dedicated police officer, ACP Gautam Dhaliwal, takes it upon himself to root out the MAF, a major Naxal organization based in the remote village of Bhagatpur, Bihar, as part of the central government backed, ‘Operation India One’. As his investigations on the ground progress, however, he uncovers behind the official facade of development that he had set out to defend, an ugly nexus of unscrupulous politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen feeding off the oppression of the underprivileged. 

Torn between his commitment to the Indian State and the sympathy he begins to feel for the miserable plight of the people of the area and the supposed terrorists fighting for them, an agonized ACP Dhaliwal is forced to rethink his earlier views on the meaning of one’s responsibility towards one’s fellow countrymen.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Blurb (from the GoodReads):

There are two sides to every story...

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Logicops by Vaibhav Mukim

Blurb (from the jacket):

A new department of police which solves crimes using the technique of logical communication—a method that allows communication through walls, over long distances and simultaneously with a lot of people. It uses nothing but the person’s surroundings. And just as peculiar as the method, are the crimes they solve.

Carrie by Stephen King

Blurb (from elsewhere):

A modern classic, Carrie introduced a distinctive new voice in American fiction -- Stephen King. The story of misunderstood high school girl Carrie White, her extraordinary telekinetic powers, and her violent rampage of revenge, remains one of the most barrier-breaking and shocking novels of all time.

Make a date with terror and live the nightmare that is...Carrie.

Ubik by Philip K. Dick

Blurb (from the jacket):

Glen Runciter runs a lucrative business—deploying his teams of anti-psychics to corporate clients who want privacy and security from psychic spies. But when he and his top team are ambushed by a rival, he is gravely injured and placed in “half-life,” a dreamlike state of suspended animation. Soon, though, the surviving members of the team begin experiencing some strange phenomena, such as Runciter’s face appearing on coins and the world seeming to move backward in time. As consumables deteriorate and technology gets ever more primitive, the group needs to find out what is causing the shifts and what a mysterious product called Ubik has to do with it all.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Blurb (from the jacket):

Every weekend, in basements and parking lots across the country, young men with good white-collar jobs and absent fathers take off their shoes and shirts and fight each other barehanded for as long as they have to. Then they go back to those jobs with blackened eyes and loosened teeth and the sense that they can handle anything. Fight Club is the invention of Tyler Durden, projectionist, waiter and dark, anarchic genius. And it's only the beginning of his plans for revenge on a world where cancer support groups have the corner on human warmth.

KARM by Aditya Mukherjee, Arnav Mukherjee

Blurb (from the jacket):

2020. Mumbai a fetid city, full of crime and violence.

Rising above it, a flattened obelisk of polished black granite, stands the Rustomji Group's imposing headquarters the One World Tower. And at its very tip, is Babylon, Vishnu Rustomji Mistry's famous garden on top of the tallest building in Mumbai the centre of its wealth and power.

It's the day the flamboyant billionaire will make his big announcement. Yet, it'll be one of the few days in the year when his won't be the biggest story. It's the day a letter will be found that could change the meaning of everything. A simple letter, signed ‘The People's Guardian', which threatens the Chief Minister with dire consequences.

When model-turned-newscaster Tara and rookie journalist Sudhir Navkar stumble upon clues about this possible vigilante, they are led on a breadcrumb trail from the eerie slums of gangland Mumbai to the high-rise towers of SoBo. 

As the two of them try desperately to solve the mystery, they begin to uncover a frightening conspiracy that threatens to cast a shadow on the entire nation and on their lives. 

In a choice between love, life and their karm, will they have the courage to pursue the truth?

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (Richard Hannay #1)

Blurb (from the jacket):

'My guest was lying sprawled on his back. There was a knife through his heart which skewered him to the floor.'

From that moment Richard Hannay's own life is under threat. A few days before, the dead man had told him of a political assassination that was shortly to take place in London and which would have terrible repercussions around the world. In mortal danger he sought refuge in Hannay's flat. Now he had been murdered and Hannay had to move quickly if he was not to suffer the same fate. 

Pursued by both police and killers he heads for Scotland. There, among the Scottish moors, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues, and Hannay needs all his resourcefulness and courage to stay one step ahead. His only hope is to persuade someone in the British Government of the impending danger. But will he be able to get to them in time and save the country from certain ruin?

The Thirty-Nine Steps is the most famous of the five novels featuring Richard hannay and established John Buchan as one of Britain's finest writers of suspense stories.

Metamorphing by Kunal Pancholi

INTRODUCTION

METAMORPHING-THE HUNT BEGINS

AUTHOR: Kunal Pancholi

EDITOR: Anushree Nandee

COVER DESIGN: Avinash Sathianathan

Publisher: Leadstart publishing Pvt Ltd

PAGES:252                                             

JOT(From the jacket):

28th APRIL, 2000: Flight No. 9x4876 bound to Srinagar has crash landed into the Everest Base camp. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the flight mysteriously went off the radar for few minutes and missed its landing. All passengers are feared dead… except for three bodies that are yet to be recovered.
8th DECEMBER, 2050:This, without doubt is the most gruesome murder in recent times. Early this morning, an unidentified woman was found mutilated at the western gates of the abandoned Victoria Terminus Station in Mumbai. Authorities report her head was … well … semi-decapitated and she was drained of all her blood. The shocking part - the crime scene was devoid of any signs of blood spatter…
ROHAN: He was shorter than the shortest girl in school; he had to be ahead in the game!
RUDRA:A man without a past, coaxed into a murder investigation; will he ever grasp the true nature of the 

crime?

Perfume by Patrick Süskind

Blurb (from the GoodReads):

In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift: an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs.

But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and frest-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"—the scent of a beautiful young virgin.

Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.

Business Doctors by Sameer Kamat

Blurb (from the jacket):

Ivy League educated management consultant, Michael Schneider, gets hired by an unlikely client - a mafia boss who wants to make a last desperate bid to resuscitate his family business that spans across gambling, drugs and porn.

A reluctant Schneider takes on the challenge to analyze the problems and re-launch the underworld organization into the super-competitive, highly evolved world of crime.

Ten Days by Leela Nandan

INRTODUCTION

TEN DAYS  Obessions...revenge...and murder most foul

AUTHOR: LEENA NANDAN

EDITOR: Shobit Arya and team

PUBLISHER: Wisdom Tree.

PAGES : 211

JOT(from the jacket): Tina is the brightest young executive in a call centre ,and an office romance adds spice to the hectic pace of world...till a stalker strikes terror in her life. 

Vikram , a police officer, is sent to investigate a cybercrime in the same call centre .His life takes a dramatic turn when his ex-girlfriend, leila, now married to someone else, re-enters his life. Soon after, his assistant ends up dead.

Tina,on one stormy evening, stumbles upon the plot behind these seemingly unrelated events which plot behind these seemingly unrelated events which turns out to be something infinitely menacing...

MY REFLECTION:  The life in a call centre is always quick, hectic, busy. The life at call centre , people over there, the emotional bridging between the people, their vulnerabilities and intentions etcectra are addressed in a realistic and appealing way. Tina our protagonist is a happy-go- lucky, cherubic and a charming woman. She seeks happiness from her little world. 

Things take an odd turn suddenly, Tina is in danger.She encounters few strange consequences , few events put her in bewilderment and shock. 

The book is a thriller but it is too gory.It's hard to digest many parts of the book. They are very painful. 

The author has given a  lot of description and addressed so many characters which is so confusing and deviating I guess. 

But this book addresses the atrocities against women , the irrationality and cruelity against them which will emotionlay shake the readers.

About the Author: Leena Nandan is an IAS officer of 1987 batch , Uttar Pradesh cadre. A graduate in English Honours from Patna Women's college, she has a Master's degree in Development Managment from the Asian Institute of Managment, Manali.

ISBN 978-81-8328-364-9

              

The Twelfth Imam by Joel C. Rosenberg

   

INTRODUCTION   

AUTHOR : JOEL C. ROSENBERG

PUBLISHER: JAICO PUBLISHING HOUSE

PAGES : 490 pps

JOT(from the jacket):  WHAT IF THE ISLAMIC MESSIAH COMES TO EARTH ?
                                          WHAT IF THE WORLD WAITS TOO LONG...AND
                                              IRAN DEVELOPS NUCLEAR WEAPONS?

Tensions are rising in the middle east . Iran's president vows to annihilate the United States and Israel. Israel's prime minister says someone must hit Iran's nuclear sites "before it's too late." The American president warns against a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and says negotiations are the key to finding peace.

And amid it all, rumors are swirling throughout the region of mysterious religious cleric claiming to be the islamic messiah known as the Mahdi or the Twelfth Imam. Word oh his miracles ,healings,signs and wonders is spreading like wildfire.

CIA operative David Shirazi was born for this moment . he is recruited and sent into Tehran with one objective: use all means necessary to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapon programs, without leaving American fingerprints and without triggering an apocalyptic new war.

But time is running out.

MY REFLECTION :  This book being a Evangelical fiction was like a cultural and literary shock for me. It's  a religious thriller and it's narrated  mmarvelous The language is rock solid. The traits of all the ccharactersplaying in this thriller are presented intricately without missing a single nuance.

Coming to the plot. It's captivating. Especially , it's so amazing how the plot maneuvers towards the crucial events that made me feel awestruck. I definitely need to appreciate the author for the kind of research he has carried out  in understanding the theology of both Islam and Christianity The best part of the book for me is ,while connecting the dots between the two religions.

Overall the book is written fabulously with a stir of suspense,crime,mysticism religion, riots, politics, etc. The book revolves around issues which are very deep to my conscience, but I somehow made it to fathom them.

The only thing that bothered me is  the abrupt closure of the novel, with hardly a note of climax. without this the entire book is  good.

 WARNING: This book contains literature which may hurt the sentiments of people who believe in Islam. And  this book  has biased description about Bible and Jesus.

As this book is a work of fiction, I sincerely request the readers  to look at it  from a creative writer's point of view. I cordially request all the readers ,not to take any part of the book  granted as it triggers the feelings of Fundamentalism

I hope all the readers will  respect the "freedom of expression" and accept the author.

About the Author: Joel C. Rosenberg is the NEW YORK Times best-selling author of five novels. Joel is the producer of two documentary films based on his nonfiction films. He is also the founder of The Joshua Fund , a nonprofit educational and charitable organization to mobilize Christians to " bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus" with food,clothing ,medical supplies,and other humanitarian relief.
                       

ISBN-13: 978-81-8495-447-0

                    

Love Lasts Forever... by Vikrant Khanna

LOVE LASTS FOREVER...
                           only if you don't marry your love

    

                                                                    INTRODUCTION

                                               

AUTHOR - VIKRANT KHANNA

PUBLISHER- SRISHTI PUBLISHERS & DISTIBUTORS

PAGES- 248.

JOT(From the jacket) :    So you think your love can last forever..?

                       Get married !

Eighteen-year-old Ronit falls madly in love with aisha the moment he meets her at his graduation day from a navel college .He believes he has found his perfect soul mate, and come what may ,his love for her will last forever . Seven years later , he gets married to her. Big mistake! A week later, he completely hates her and believes she has turned into a devil.

But his perception about love and life change when he hears the poignant love story of shekhar ,his captain ,on a ship that later gets hijacked by the pirates of somalia .

As they are left fighting for their lives they comfront if love truly can last forever...?But does it get too late?

MY REFLECTION :  The problem with youngsters of this generation is they are too quick in everything, they are naive and gullibel.All the subtle emotions, vulnerabilities, feelings of two youngsters are showcased in a witty, artistic yet realistic way. 

The book comes like two birds at one hit. There is another love stroy narrated in this book, which is situated in 1980's which is a very heart touching one.It made me weep. I learned a lot from that story which is so true about love and life. 

The Best  part of the book for me is the depiction of the navy. All the scenes of the ship being hijacked, How  all the Navy staff had to disconnected from their family and friends and had to stay in somalia as hostage have thrown a light about the life of Navy men. Reading throw these scenes touched the chord of patriotism in me. 

Finally the book is a lovely story of a young navy person who looses hope in his love life(after marraige) and wishes to end the  relationship, but later  realises what's love by the love story of his captain which inspires him to introspect and get his love back

A must read to all the married people , who are having a gloomy married life. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :  A Sailor by profession and a writer by passion , Vikrant has penned two novels before this . He lives in delhi with his family. 

You can get in tough with him at 

www.vikrantkhanna.com.

                                                                             

ISBN-13: 978-9382665175

                           

Private India by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi (Private Series)

Blurb (from the jacket):

In Mumbai seemingly unconnected people are dying, strangled in a chilling ritual and with strange objects carefully arranged with the corpses. 

For Santosh Wagh, head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world’s finest investigation agency, it's a race against time to stop the killer striking again. 

In a city of over thirteen million, he'd have his work cut out at the best of times but this case has him battling Mumbai's biggest ganglord and a godman who isn't all he seems.

And then he discovers there may be an even greater danger facing Private India. Hidden in the shadows is someone who could destroy the whole organisation along with thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens...

Curse of the Kalingan by Shobha Nihalani (NINE Trilogy #1)

                                                     
                                                       
                                                                 
JOT( from the back cover) :

               THE PAST HAS COME TO DESTROY THE PRESENT AND CHANGE THE FUTURE.


 261 BC.
After his bloody battle with kalinga,the Mauryan emperor Ashoka ,overcome with remorse,swore never to wage another war .And to make sure no one else did .His Navarathnas- the NINE-
     Zealously guarded their powers and knowledge, handing them down through millennia and generations to ensure lasting peace.

                                                EXCEPT THAT IT WAS NOT TO BE!
from the corpses of kalingan warriors rose an angry spirit bent upon avenging the kalinga empire ,destroying the NINE and using their hidden knowledge to rule the world and change its destiny.
      
                                                                PRESENT TIME
The bloodthirsty warrior has possessed the body of a young man,making him hunt down and kill the NINE one by one. IT is now up to the chosen Trinity -nurse Tara ,DJ Akash and forensic expert Zubin -to stop him.

MY REVIEW ON THE BOOK:

            The cover page is festooned with a green emerald in the middle, a picture of tomb and a building to the corners.I initially didn't fathom their presence on the cover page, but as I leafed through the book ,they started making sense.
            Firstly I don't have words to describe the author's narrative style. The plot is absolutely terrific.It's a fine tapestry of history, philosophy, science, technology, spirituality and religion. Even though this is a work of fiction few parts of the book are actually objective like:
                                            
             'Everything we experience has a purpose. It might not be what you thought it would be but you know you can handle it. If you were not who you are, if there was the slightest doubt that you were incapable, then you wouldn't have been here. You have a reason to be here..'

These few sentences have a great effect on the reader. I felt, they were written as if to address the reader.

            It's amazing how the author has interwoven the whole plot around spirituality and Buddhism.

'The mind works in two ways: Linear thinking and associated thinking. IQ is associated with the linear thinking and emotions with associative thinking. And a repetition of a chant breaks both these circuits and allows the mind to be in a state of rest and awareness.'
          
          Through these lines the author has given a scientific approach towards chanting mantras (religious) which is very informative to youngsters,who are usually septic towards  rituals and praying.

          All together the book has kept me curious, enthusiastic and surprising through out the read. Once reading the book I learned that there are many thing to explore in the world.

Note: I specially thank the author Mrs. Shobha Nihalini who has written this beautiful Novel which has inspired me and educated me about many things and I am anticipating to read the next book of the trilogy.