Blowback by Brad Thor

"Blowback" by Brad Thor. This book is published by Pocket Books in 2011 and has 688 pages.

An American soldier has brutally beaten a fruit seller in Iraq and it's caught on video. Muslim countries have lodged severe protests. Fatwa has been issued to kill the American. Opposition wants to embarrass the President and gain political milage. Muslim terrorists have developed a biological weapon that will kill only non Muslims. Agent Scott Harvath is in the middle of it all.

Will the terrorists unleash such a weapon? Who is the mastermind? What does the President want? Can he survived the scandal? Will Scott save the world? How is a weapon that kills only non Muslims is possible?

The cast includes an upright American President. Patriot CIA sleuth Scott Harvath, an ambitious senator, beautiful scientist Julian Alcott, all Qaida terrorist Khalid Al Omari, Turkish businessman Kalachka and Agakhan from Bombay.

The legend of Carthigenian general Hannibal's crossing of Alps with a secret weapon, inspired from Chanakya's Arthashastra, to attack on the Romans is the seed of this story. Hannibal attacked with only a handful of soldiers as compared to the Roman might. What is this secret weapon?

The plot is grand. Execution is good. Story is interesting. There is a blend of history, legend, terrorism, plot to overthrow House of Saud, murders and scandals. Narration is good. Keeps your interest up. Climax should have been more interesting.

All in all a good thriller. Recommend reading.

The wordkeepers by Jash Sen

"The wordkeepers" debut novel by Jash Sen. This book is published by duckbill in 2013 and has 248 pages. This book is Book 1 of the trilogy.

The story is set in 2028. Anya, a 14 year old girl, gets a cryptic message from her mom asking her not to trust her father of even her mom. Ashwathama and Bibhishan, the immortals, are involved. A great responsibility lies on young Anya's shoulders. Bilal can do tricks no one can. One day his friend is murdered and he is taken to a special camp by a stranger for training.

Is the legend of Chiranjeevi true? Who is the avtar of Vishnu? What is the connection between Anya and Bilal? Who is the villain? What is the red planet?

Here Kali is the villain. He wants to rule the world. There are young boys and girls with powers who are trained in a camp by Chiranjeevi. There is a prophecy of one particular child killing Kali. He is hunting for it and the wordkeepers are protecting it till it becomes capable of fulfilling the destiny. Does it remind you of Percy Jackson? Well there definitely are parallels.

The story has immortals Ashwathama, Bibhishan, Parshuram and avtars of Vishnu and Balram along with a couple of Gods. Anya is the wordkeeper and so are others. Their amulets are powerful.

Kali has his own force of bad guys that includes conjoined twins, shape shifters, non human entities etc.

The story is aptly narrated. It contains magic, flying, shape shifting, intergalactic travel, immortals etc. The last section of the book seems to be written in hurry. It's devoid of necessary details. Story ends with start of new adventure. What will happen next? Although it's author's debut novel, she has done well.

India's answer to Percy Jackson. Recommend reading.

Circus by Alistair Maclean

"Circus" by Alistair Maclean. This book is published by Harper in 2009 and has 288 pages. 

A circus has a star performer, a naturalized American, who is a trapeze artist and a mentalist. CIA recruits him to go to his former home country and break into Fort Lubylan to steal the documents regarding anti matter. In the wrong hands, a few grams of anti matter can annihilate entire world.

Will Bruno accept? What obstacles will he face? How many lives will be lost? Will there be a romance? Will he accomplish the job?

Bruno, his brothers, the big man Candan, the knife thrower, CIA recruit Maria, Dr. Harper and owner of circus are the main characters. The story is good. Book is not lengthy. Bruno's unique skills make him the only person who can accomplish this apparently impossible job.

Two main characters who start the story die very soon after the story begins and the plot thickens. Narration is leisurely, no hurry. So even the high adrenaline scenes glide easily. It's a different style and sounds good.

As expected, there is a twist in the tale that comes towards the end. East Europe under the influence of communists Vs Capitalist America tussel may seem out of context in today's times but one had to understand that the book was written in cold war era.

Read if you have time.

Antarichya gudhgarbhi (अंतरीच्या गूढगर्भी) by Sankalp Abhale (संकल्प आभाळे)

"Antarichya gudhgarbhi (अंतरीच्या गूढगर्भी)" a Marathi (मराठी) book by Sankalp Abhale (संकल्प आभाळे). This book is published by esahitya pratishthan in 2013 and has 43 pages.

Everyone has already one sorrow that can never be told to anyone. This book is the collection of stories of such internal sorrows.

'Balatkar (बलात्कार)' is a commentary on arranged marriage based on horoscope.
'Adarsha chor (आदर्श चोर)' is a small incident in the life of a person from his childhood when he was nobody.
'Affection (अफेक्शन)' explains the relationship of a motherless daughter with her father and rain.
'Pagar (पगार)' is story of a son giving treat to his mother upon getting his first salary.
In 'Pailteer (पैलतीर)' a man is about to travel in aeroplane for the first time that he dreamt as a child.
'Pati (पाटी)' is the story of a small girl who is trying to sell Java plums in pelting rain.
'Door nabhachya palyad (दूर नभाच्या पल्याड)' is about differentiating between true friendship and restrictiveness before it's too late.
'Werloren (वेर्लोरेन)' is a conflict between honesty and corruption.
In 'Shunya (शून्य)' two long lost friends meet again. She after conquering and losing everything and he after waiting for her all this time.
'Tuzyawina (तुझ्याविना)' is story of two estranged lovers and a tree they planted as a token of their love.
In 'Badal (बदल)' a man looks at the childhood of his son in comparison to his own.
In 'Duniyadari (दुनियादारी)' he and she met after a while to watch a movie when rain arrives.
In 'Maitra jeevanche (मैत्र जीवांचे)' a young girl decides to make a best friend out of her mom. Can she?

These are not really short stories, they are small incidents and very very short stories. It takes courage and confidence to maximize the meaning in minimum words. Author has done it decently well.

Some stories like Affection, Werloren nail the subject in very few words and are most effective whereas some stories choke for lack of page space and might have been more effective had they been a little longer.

Rain appears in 4-5 stories. A number of stories are about To and Ti (He and She). Many stories look back on life and repent for what was missed or not done. A number of stories are about friendship.

Not a must read.

The dance of death by Manna Bahadur

"The dance of death" by Manna Bahadur. This book is published by Penguin Metroreads in 2012 and has 191 pages.

Daata Anand, a God man, is under arrest and court case is ongoing. Key witnesses turn hostile, his wife and arresting police officer goes missing. The upright justice Shankar wants evidence. Kishen Das, a young man, develops interest in the case.

Is Daata the criminal? Will there be enough evidence to convict? Will this judge meet the fate like previous judges presiding the case?

The story is set in 70s. Post emergency period and takes place in Patna, Bihar. Kishen and Daata are somehow connected. How?

Narration is decent. Buildup is good but finishing is not as good. At the end readers keep wondering what difference it would have made if the characters of Kishen Das and Justice Shankar were not there? Nothing! Then it would have become a story rather than a novel.

Cover is attractive. It took me a month to complete this book.

Give it a miss.

The Camel club by David Baldacci

"The Camel club" by David Baldacci. This book is published by Pan MacMillan in 2011 and has 704 pages. This is Book 1 of the series.

Oliver Stone, keeper of a cemetery, is a man with no past. He and his bunch of rag tag friends call themselves 'The Camel club'. They are patriots who do good things for the country but remain anonymous and dabble in conspiracy theories.

A set of middle Eastern terrorists led by an American has planned and executed the most daredevil terrorist attack in America. The President has gone missing. Where is the President? Who are the terrorists? What is the plot? How does The Camel Club get involved? Can they do something? Who exactly is Oliver Stone?

It's a David Baldacci book, so you don't get bored. Introduction to Camel club takes some time. Murder of a government operative in the beginning starts the story on a fast note.

Oliver Stone is an enigma. His background comes out bit by bit. His relationship with young detective is easy to guess.

Kidnapping of the President of America on American soil and announcing to release him in Medina is a very bold plot. It is not abundantly clear why the perpetrator plots such an elaborate plan. It's also not clear why Grey decides to sacrifice his boss.

Nevertheless it's a light and fast story. A thriller. A bunch of people can do what all the intelligence agencies can not do.

The perpetrator escapes thereby making provision for next book. It's a good time pass book that you can read without taxing your brain.

Read if you plan to read the 'Camel club' series.

The courtesan's keeper by Kshemendra

"The courtesan's keeper" by Kshemendra. This book is published by Penguin India in 2014 and has 200 pages. This book is translated from Sanskrit to English by A. N. D. Haskar.

The original title of this book is 'Samaya mātrikā (समय मातृका)'. Kshemendra is estimated to have lived during 990-1070 CE in Kashmir during the reign of King Ananta.

Kalavati is a courtesan. Her grandmother and keeper has died and she is facing a lot of problems because now there is no one to overlook her affairs. A barber suggests the name of Kankali to her, who was once a courtesan, mendicant, rich widow, seductress, murderer, sanyasi and thief and who went with various names in her prime.

Will Kalavati accept her? Will she prove her worth? How will Kankali protect her mistress? How will they leach a prospective customer?

The story is set in Pravaraputra, modern day Srinagar. Flesh trade is called the oldest trade in the history of mankind. This thousand year old story gives us a glimpse in to the past, how the people lived, how they traded, what they liked and what they feared.  Although the story is thousand years old much of it is still relevant.

To write about the life of a courtesan was a bold thing at that time but Kshemendra has done it. His writing style is concise. He has managed to write a lot of things in very few words. This concise writing holds a mirror of life at that time in front of the readers.

The book has mention of Chinese and Turkish people and goods. It also mentions prosperous cities of that time, Varanasi and Pataliputra.

Some parts of the book are worth mentioning. When the barber asks Kalavati why she doesn't look good he enumerates a number of scenarios of what might be the reason of her unhappiness. These possible scenarios tell you a lot about life and times of the era.

Kankali's justification of untruthfulness as only way to prosperity for a courtesan is satirical and worth mention. In one chapter Kankali tells Kalavati about 80 types of passions and what kind of people are best suitors to ensnare.

It's a small book and simple story but it was a prose written when poetry ruled literature. It provides information of the life of the time and the society.

Recommend reading.