Immortal

Immortal

Author : Krishna Udayasankar

Publisher : Penguin India

Pages : 246

Price : 399/- INR

Format : Paperback

Buy : Amazon India

Rating : 4/5 Stars

Blurb :

Professor Bharadvaj is more than just another whisky-loving, gun-toting historian-for-hire. Behind the assumed identity of a cynical academic is a man who has walked the earth for scores of years. He is Asvatthama-the cursed immortal, the man who cannot die.

When Professor Bharadvaj is approached by the enigmatic Maya Jervois to search for a historical artefact unlike any other, he is reluctant to pursue it. The object in question, the Vajra, is rumoured to possess incredible alchemical powers, but the Professor does not believe it exists. After all, he has spent many lifetimes-and identities-searching for it, in a bid to unearth the secret to his unending life.
Yet, as the evidence of the Vajra's existence becomes increasingly compelling, the professor is plunged into an adrenaline-fuelled adventure that takes him from the labyrinthine passages beneath the Somnath temple to the legendary home of the siddhas in the Nilgiris, and finally into the deserts of Pakistan to solve a confounding puzzle left behind by the ancients.
But who is behind the dangerous mercenaries trying to thwart his discoveries at every step? And is the professor-a legendary warrior in a long-ago life-cursed to walk the path of death and bloodshed forever?

Review :

Oh ! What a book i say. Spell Binding and refreshing. Fast paced , gripping and wonderfully written. This novel makes a great read. Book is definitely a compulsive page turner. Kudos to the author Krishna Udayasankar the way she blends the mythology with fiction in a contemporary style is simply awesome. The book revolves around Professor Bharadwaj ( also known as ASVATTHMA )who was approached by Maya Jervois to search for Vajra which possess alchemical power. The language of the book is simple and easy to read. The cover page and the title of the book is apt to the story. I cannot say enough good things about the book. A wonderful book with a great plot and a fair share of twists and turn. A must read book. Highly recommend.

SPIES, LIES & RED TAPE

Spies, Lies & Red Tape

A Spy Military-Political Fiction Thriller Based On The India Subcontinent

Author : Amit Bagaria

Publisher : Notion Press

Pages : 190

Price : 139/- INR

Format : Kindle

Buy : Amazon India

Rating : 5/5 Stars

Blurb :

 The Gang of Six were clinching their fists under the 21-seater oval teak table in the PMO in New Delhi. How could their Prime Minister speak to them like that? How does the Constitution of India allow such people, with just 35 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha, to become the PM?

The Indian PM's aircraft took off from Islamabad Airport at 7:45 am IST and was scheduled to land at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi at 9:10 am IST. When the aircraft started deviating from its scheduled route, there was panic at the IGIA air traffic control tower. By 9:15 am IST, the aircraft was seen heading south, when it became out of range of the radars at IGIA. Had the PM's aircraft been hijacked? Was it headed to Sri Lanka or the Maldives?

The defence minister, external affairs minister and the NSA had accompanied the PM to Islamabad. In their absence, the best men to contact the Indian Air Force Chief were the cabinet secretary or the defence secretary. Both men tried to get hold of him, but to no avail. He was not answering his office or mobile phone. They tried the Vice Chief and got no response either. What in hell was going on?

By 9:45 am IST, Indian Army soldiers in battle gear began arriving in army trucks at North and South Block, and at various other ministry buildings spread across Lutyens' Delhi. Hundreds of soldiers also arrived at the residences of the union ministers in the 28.7 km2 Lutyens Bungalow Zone.

At 9:45 pm Pakistan Time, about five hours after the Indian generals had finished the press conference in New Delhi and about two hours after millions had started demonstrating on roads across fifty-plus Indian cities, Prime Minister Irfan Khan chaired a meeting of Pakistan's National Security Council. A plan of action was framed.

Review :

Phenomenal, from start to finish.

What a terrific book! So compelling and intriguing. This book has so many things, Slow burn of thriller, loyalty to country, politics and international relations. A great book from the Brilliant writer Amit Bagaria. Best book I have read this year and you should probably read it. Highly recommend !

The Curse Of Nader Shah

The Curse Of Nader Shah

Rise And Fall Of A Tyrant

Author : Sutapa Basu

Publisher : Readomania

Pages : 278

Price : 295/- INR

Format : Paperback

Buy : Amazon India

Rating : 4/5 Stars

Blurb : 

What happens when a megalomaniac builds aspirations of being a world conqueror? Son of a humble shepherd from the remote northern mountains of Persia, his colossal ambition and bold strategy catapulted nader qoli Shah from a soldier to the Shah of Persia. However, nader Shah’s downfall was carefully orchestrated from the day he ascended the throne of Persia. As he compelled his Army to undertake punishing campaigns, squeezed the nation economy to starvation, and piled up mutilated bodies, even his loyal companions rose against him. They all wanted him gone but one of them wanted it the most. Who played him like a game of chess, drove him to insanity, and became his nemesis?.

Review: 

Author Sutapa Basu holds her reader spellbound through a sweeping narration. The book leave the reader amused at the sheer brilliance of the writer. With unbelievable amount of research and detailing author set the perfect example of how to blend fiction and history and make it  informative, interesting  and gripping. Excellent book on Nader Shah whose intelligent use of strategy made him supreme of Persia and demonic and tyrannical madness lead him into the grave. Language of the book is simple and easy to understand. The coverpage and title of the book is apt to the content and compel you to pick it up. A must read book. Highly recommend.

** This review is a part of the Blogchatter book review program **

https://www.theblogchatter.com/book-review-program-from-blogchatter/

A Useful Death

A Useful Death

Author : Sriram Chellapilla

Publisher : Westland Books

Pages : 410

Price : 399/- INR

Format : Paperback

Buy : Amazon India

Rating : 4/5 Stars

Blurb : 

Aspiring actress Priya is dead. It’s a suicide, and rumour has it that Anil, son of politician and former Telugu-movie superstar Mohan Krishna, drove her to it. Just another film-industry scandal? Or something bigger, much bigger?

Partha, hired by Mohan Krishna’s family to handle the crisis, thinks so. Why won’t such a powerful father defend his son, Partha wonders. Is there an intra-family war? Whose interests are playing out in the media and on social media? Is a political game afoot or is this all connected to Mohan Krishna’s own dubious past? And why are student unions getting involved?

Even as Partha and his associates, Seema and Harish, confront the ethics of being involved in a war with no heroes, they are drawn into a dangerous hunt. They must negotiate a tangled and vicious world to answer one question: a young woman is dead—to whom is her death useful?

Review :

This was a fabulous read with a great storyline and fantastic characters. I love crime thrillers and this was no exception. I will definitely read more from the author. I really enjoyed the story with lots of action that move right along.  Author Sriram Chellapilla tells a good story here with strong sense of place and centrality of landscape and pursuit of dependent on landscape of plot. Characters are well developed (Mohan Krishnan , Partha ). The language of the book is simple . The cover page and title of the book compel you to pick it up. Definitely a good solid read. Highly recommend.

Operation Johar

Operation Johar

A Love Story

Author : Abhishek Banerjee
Publisher : Notion Press / Indica

www.indicacademy.org

Pages : 212
Price : 200/- INR
Format : Paperback
Buy : Indicacademy / Amazon
Rating : 4/5 Stars

Blurb :

Meet Somu. His days are divided between tackling physics problems and the taste of fresh parathas and alu-gobi. He is in love with Sangeeta, the girl next door. She is seven years older than him -- and a doctor.

Sangeeta already has a boyfriend. An odd fellow named Jatin who says he will change the world. Then there is a shooting and Jatin disappears. Slowly, Somu and Sangeeta unravel a story of murder, betrayal and ultimately an act of unbelievable cruelty that is `Operation Johar.'

Who is the mysterious woman that Jatin meets in the forest? What is Jatin's strange obsession with conquering the power that she calls the `Guardian of the forest'? And will Jatin really push Sangeeta over the edge of the waterfall to her death?

In 2003, the state of Jharkhand and its capital of Ranchi have become a playground for the forces of hope and the forces of fear. And a bit of love. This is that story.

Review :

A Well written book. The story is raw and original and we'll researched. The author Abhishek Banerjee is master in blending fact and fiction which makes the reading more interesting. The book explores the psyche of urban naxals who get involved in dangerous activities labelled as sedition at the risk of one's life. The language of the book is simple and easy to read. The cover page and title of the book is apt to the story. A must read book. Highly recommend.

I - SPY

I - SPY

A Peep Into The World Of Spies

Author : Amit Bagaria
Publisher : Notion Press
Pages : 450
Price : 799/-
Format : Paperback
Buy : Amazon India
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Blurb :
"The name is Bond – JAMES BOND. I am sure you’ve seen at least one, if not more of the 26 films made on fictional British spy 007. You may’ve also seen TV shows like The Americans, Blindspot, Chuck, Covert Affairs, Homeland, Nikita, Quantico, The Blacklist, and/or The Night Manager. I wrote this book after I realised that the average person may not know even one-sixth of what I know about spies and spying.

Almost each of the Top 50 nations (by GDP, population or military power) has a spy agency/service. Many countries have more than one ‘secret service’ or ‘intelligence agency’. USA has 16. Some countries’ spy agencies are more powerful than entire smaller nations, with annual budgets larger than their GDPs.

This books attempts to tell the story of 20 of the world’s largest and most powerful spy agencies, details their important missions, reveals their darkest secrets, and gives you an inside perspective of the often quite gory but thrilling ‘world of spies’. It gives you a 360º view of those spy agencies you only read about or see in a movie or TV show. With one chapter per agency, you can read only chapters you may be interested in.

The life of most spies is not as glamorous as it is made out to be. You may think it is all about high-tech and guns and car chases and ‘hot’ women, but that’s not the case. In the real spy world, the techniques boil down to the interpretation of basic human psychology. Even though a spy learns several action techniques on how to get out of a dangerous situation, including how to withstand torture, if he/she is resorting to car chases, it means they’re doing something wrong.

Spies don’t get paid very well. Gambling at a casino or flying on a private jet may be part of the job, but a spy doesn’t get to spend this kind of money on personal expenses. Spies cannot disclose the nature of their work to their family and friends, to maintain secrecy.

Review :
What an outstanding book this is. It is exceedingly well researched and we'll documented, but never dull and it manage to provide a gripping narrative throughout. Highly insightful, not only from the perspective of actual spycraft but invaluable to get an inside picture of 20 of the world's largest and most powerful spy agencies. Incredible ( in the best sense of the world), unlikely and yet evidently true. The book cover is perfect and the book is super interesting too for those who are into the world of espionage. The title of the book is apt to the  content and compel you to pick it up. The language of the book is simple and easy to understand. This book did everything a good book is supposed to do. It engages me, evoked emotional response, and left me wanting for more. A must read.

USAma

USAma

Is USA The World's Largest Terrorist ?

Author : Amit Bagaria
Publisher : Notion Press
Pages : 438
Price : 599/-
Format : Paperback
Buy : Amazon India
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Blurb :
No! This is not a book about Usama bin Laden, even though he was a global terrorist.

In this spine-chilling new book – his tenth in just a year’s time – Amit Bagaria takes us through an extraordinary journey of detailed accounts about illegal/immoral acts (most of which are unknown to the average reader) carried out by the United States of America (USofA) against 81 sovereign nations. He tries to show us how, in one way or the other, with sheer money and/or muscle power, the Unjust Satan of America (USofA), as he calls it, has bullied its way to global dominance – interfering in our day to day lives, working perhaps for the benefit of only the Military Industrial Complex – which he describes in detail in the first chapter.

“USAma” is a term Bagaria has coined to describe USA. Either through drones, or airstrikes (dropping missiles or bombs from planes), or through full-scale military invasions, “USAma” has created havoc in more than half the world, he says. In other countries, different types of weapons have been used – from porn films to poison, from blackmailing to torture, from fake news to fake public protests – all through CIA.

Bagaria says that the most unfortunate part is that even the most educated amongst us have been made to believe that USA is justified – as the global policeman – in helping weaker nations fight evil, whether in the form of Communism, or Islamism. This is despite the fact that, to serve its own selfish purposes, USA has supported some of the most brutal dictators, helped in the advent or establishment of Islamic Republics, and has even supported Communist regimes in some cases. THAT is the power of American propaganda.

Review :
An excellent book, meticulously documented and precisely supported with references and footnotes. An absolutely eye opening of US policies that is a must read if you are seeking to make sense of what is happening and why. Needless to say this book is full of facts. Author Amit Bagaria has done a great job here. The book is well researched. I give this book 5 stars. It is an easy read and a page turner. If you read it well you will want to take time to stop and reflect and even jolt down notes to yourself. Outstanding book. The Title and cover page of the book is apt to the content. This book should come with a warning label because it explains everything. You will understand why the world is the way it is. Why there is suffering and war and the unexplainable is explained. A must read . Highly recommend.