The little old lady behaving badly by Catharena Ingleman-Sundberg

"The little old lady behaving badly" by Catharena Ingleman-Sundberg. 

This book is published by PanMacmillan UK in 2017 and has 352 pages. This is Book 3 of Little old lady series.

After a new bank robbery the oldies decide to lie low. Brains wants to get married to Martha, but she keeps postponing the wedding on one pretext or other. They decide to open a restaurant for old people. Detective Blombai has retried but has not given up on the oldies. Martha wants to score big. 

Will they retrieve the money hidden in drain pipe in Book 1? Will Brains and Martha marry? Will they pull the big score?

Oldies still harbour the wish to steal large amount and use it for the welfare of the aged and the under paid old age home staff. Small time bank robberies are not enough. They form an offshore company in West Indies. 

The big score comes in the form of a yacht but author has allocated relatively less pages for it. This is the flaw. 

Within the oldies, there is a slight division of men Vs women. Martha's procrastination of marriage is greeting inn to Brains' nerves. Author has got rid of the character of Gunar, who was an important character in Book 2 and completed the third pair. To complete the third pair, Blombai joins the oldies. 

The story drifts along without any apparent purpose or direction. This new venture of oldies, restaurant on a barge, takes up a lot of space in this story with little value addition. In general the reader starts getting bored and becomes tired of repetition and lack of substance. Reader eagerly awaits to see the end of book. 

It's not known if the series will continue. If there is Book 4, I am not sure whether I will read it. 

Why did I read this book? I have read the first two books.    

What I didn't like?  Lack of story, repetition. 

What did I like?  Umm... 

Give it a miss. 

The Christmas train by David Baldacci

"The Christmas train" by David Baldacci. 

This book is published by Pan in 2004 and has 272 pages.

Tom, an investigative journalist is taking a train from east coast to west coast of America, because he is barred from air travel. He is going to meet his girlfriend for Christmas. Coincidently his ex is also on the same train. A couple is going to get married on that very train. There is a thief on the train. 

Will the old flame rekindle? Who is the thief? What will happen on the train? What surprises are in store?

The train has a number of peculiar characters. The attendant, An overweight lady who has no family but travels on train, a retired padre, a movie director, his assistant, Tom's ex, a lady palm reader, an employee laid off by railroad who travels on trains at his own expense etc. Tom's current girl friend joins too, complicating the situation further. The characterization is good. Each has it's own aspects. 

This is a Christmas novel, so it is bound to be one with happy ending. Thus it's not the destination but the journey that you enjoy. Just like a train ride.

Despite this, the novel is not bland. There is a thief on the train that accounts for mystery. Presence of Tom's current and ex girlfriends account for drama, the snow avalanche and storm account for thrill. However, one thing that is not enough in this novel is emotions. Some more would have been welcome. 

There is a twist at the end of the novel. But it's a pleasant twist and it increases the height of the novel by a few notches. This twist as well as the entire novel concentrates on the good side of people. It's Christmas and all bad feelings are left behind to welcome the happiness. 

Author should be credited for writing a story that does not fall in his regular genre. He displays his dexterity and demonstrates that he can excel in this genre too. Story is fluid and crisp. It's not a big novel so readers like it. You get a good feeling after reading it.

Why did I read this book? Author and Title. 

What I didn't like?  Was the effort of Tom and Elenor unnecessary?

What did I like? Story, journey. 

A good book. Recommend reading. 

The boy from Pataliputra by Rahul Mitra

"The boy from Pataliputra" by Rahul Mitra. This  book is published by Fingerprint in 2017 and has 383 pages. This is Book 1 of the trilogy. 

Aaditya is a carefree young lad. His brother, Ajeet, is a Noble in Patliputra. Ajeet becomes an expendable pawn in local politics and is executed. Aaditya is spirited away to Takshashila. He transforms from a boy to man under Pandi's training. This is the time when Alexander invades India. Aaditya is caught in the turmoil. 

Who will Aaditya befriend? Will he make a name for himself? Is there a love interest for Aaditya? What will happen in Takshashila? Can Aaditya avenge his brother's execution? What choices will he make?

The story takes place in Takshashila at the time of Alexander's invasion of India.

Greeks are barbarians. They have burned every city they conquered and put to everyone to sword; men, women, children and old. Nobody is spared. They have even killed the entire population after agreeing to let them go unharmed. Ambhi, King of Takshashila, has accepted sovereignty of Alexander and had levied a new tax to feed the Greeks. The Takshashilan society is highly intellectual due to Takshashila university. The acharyas and students oppose Ambhi's decision. They are mobilizing public opinion against Ambhi. They are led by Acharya Chanakya and his guru Acharya Pundarikaksha. On one side is Ambhi who is ready to sell out to Alexander.  On the other side is Alexander who has threatened the very essence of India and it's way of life. It's a period of turmoil, a period of change. A period where the only the fittest will survive and shine.

Chanakya is recommending the idea of Bharatvarsha. A pan India identity rather than a kingdom based identity. He sees Alexander's invasion as a threat to this identity, a threat to civilization. Individual Kings don't like it but masses love it. Chanakya sees this invasion by Yavanas as threat to sovereignty of Bharatvarsha and calls for unification of individual kingdoms under one authority.

The characterization is rich. Aaditya, Pandi, Devika, Radha, Rishabh etc are developed characters with their own aspects. Each has got sufficient attention from the author. Private Philotas is a Greek soldier who finds a lot of mention without really displaying any special capability. Probably this character has got a bigger role to play in the subsequent books. Despite it being the time of Chanakya and Chandragupta, they make only a guest appearance. Author should be praised for refraining from using the popular characters predominantly in this story. But these two will have a larger role in subsequent books. 

Author has created atmosphere of more than 2000 years ago convincingly. Its author's credit that he takes readers back in time. The rise of Aaditys is also gradual, not over done. Despite Aaditya being a nobody, the story is very interesting. Readers are hooked to the story.

War of Hydapses (River then known as Vitasta and now known as Jhelum) between Alexander and Puru is depicted in detail. Author portrays the war as a fair war. He does not subscribe to the popular notion that Alexander attacked at night contrary to the prevailing regulations and won the war unfairly.

He also does not subscribe to popular conception that Alexander defeated Puru and returned his kingdom after hearing his demand of being treated by a king as a king. Author says that it was a truce between two equal kings. Puru did not lose. Truce was offered by Alexander. The justification that he gives to this theory in the notes sounds very credible. 

I should specifically mention two things. These are master pieces and stand out. One is the the detailed description of sword fights and fighting technique. Very good. Second is the analysis of changed circumstances of Takshashilan society by King's acharya where he explains the King what has changed since the time of his father.

There are four chapters after epilogue. Its strange. Only the last chapter, aftermath of war, should have been epilogue. 

Book covert shows silhouette of a young man riding a horse on red background. Do they represent Aaditya, Ashvaghosha and blood / war? The cover is plain but arresting. Rahul Mitra, an unknown name, but he has displayed the finess of experienced writer.

Although this is Book 1 of the trilogy, the only place it is mentioned is on the dedication page. Why? Nevertheless, Book 2 will be eagerly awaited. I read the book with limited expectations but it turned out to be a delightful read.

Why did I read this book? Blurb. 

What I didn't like? Early epilogue. 

What did I like?  Story, narration, atmosphere. 

A  very good book. Recommend reading. 

Uttar-rang (उत्तररंग) by Narayan Dharap

"Uttar-rang (उत्तररंग)", a Marathi book by Narayan Dharap. This book is published by Samanvay Prakashan. This edition was published in 2012 and has 232 pages.

Vimal Atre is a beautiful and attractive widow in early fifties. She has raised her children after sudden demise of her husband at young age. Now she lives alone. A chance encounter introduces her to Sanjay Upadhye (Nana).

Will this chance encounter end there? Is she happy? How will the family members look at their friendship? Will there be acceptance?

Vimal stays alone. She has a son and a daughter who live in the same city, take help of their mother for granted but don't think it necessary to ask after her regularly or ask her to take rest. Sanjay (Nana) has a son but has asked him to live in a separate house due to behaviour of his daughter in law. He visits them often but they don't. His other son lives far away in north India.

Both are lonely. Both don't have money problem. They are both good looking. Both of them have made themselves busy but there is still an emptiness. An emptiness due to lack of companionship. It does not take long for the spark to ignite. A decision to live for themselves rather than for others and children is a revolutionary decision. 

It's a story of well to do upper middle class people, so money is not a concern. The issue that this story handles is loneliness in old age. But when an alternative arises, new options open up and are explored. Although there is a tension of generation gap, its not the main subject.

The story progresses nicely. It goes through the natural cycle of admiration, liking, proposing, resistance by children, marriage, dissolution of resistance and finally complete acceptance. But reader feels that the bad element is missing. Author introduces a bad element to add uncertainty. However it is short lived. 

Basically everyone in the story is a good person, except one. Some behave badly due to apprehensions but come back to their natural good selves eventually. It's a family drama that has no extreme tension, no melodrama, no thrill and no action. It is still a pleasure too read. 

The story chronicles life of Vimal and Nana from the day they meet to the day their families becomes one. The story is on slower side but there is no slack  in it and the readers are not distracted. Rather, they are interested. 

Author has portrayed the thoughts, feelings and transformations in Vimal's life beautifully. She comes out as a sensitive but capable lady who also wants support in her life. Nana is a quick decision maker. He is capable and successful businessman. At times he takes decisions for both of them but Vimal likes it. If I have to write a sequel of this Book, I will use this as the seed. 

Book cover shows a male hand placing ring on the finger of a female, mehandi decorated hand. However, the hands appear to be of a young couple rather than old. It speaks a lot about the story.

Narayan Dharap is known for his horror stories, mysteries and science fictions. This book is one of his very few that do not fall in the fantasy genre. He demonstrates that he can excel in this genre, when he is out of his comfort zone, too. 

Why did I read this book?  Non fantasy from Natayan Dharap.

What I didn't like? Too goody goody. 

What did I like? Story and writing.

A good book. Recommend reading. 

Chetan (चेतन) by Narayan Dharap

"Chetan (चेतन)" a Marathi book by Narayan Dharap. This book is published by Samanvay Prakashan. This edition wad published in 2013 and has 168 pages.

The book contains two stories of protagonist Chetan Shastri. In the first story titled 'Chakravarti Chetan (चक्रवर्ती चेतन)', he happens to be at an autopsy of a beggar and deducts that the person is not really a beggar. The mystery does not allow him to rest and a tangle emerges. Who really is this beggar? Why was he masquerading as a beggar? What is the mystery?

In second story titled 'Kardankal Chetan (कर्दनकाळ चेतन)' an honest Police Inspector indirectly requests his help in finding three beautiful girls that went missing separately. Chetan looks into the clues and unearths a ghastly mystery. What is the mystery? Are the three cases related? What does Chetan find?

Chetan Shastri has a philosophy in life. Good with good and bad with bad. Chetan does not mind being on the other side of the law. End result justifies the means for him. However, he is a good man at heart. He is ready to help the good guys and those in need. He is intelligent, good at fighting, is a ventriloquist, has contacts in all the right and wrong places, is curious of mystery that comes his way and does not mind making a neat profit on the side lines.

Both the stories are interesting. Narration is good. Chetan' s character is instantly likable. A man who fights for the right cause, does not mind using wrong means to get the things right & one who is not encumbered by law is someone that everyone would like to be. Every society wants a hero with these characteristics. 

The story is set in a time period without mobile phones. Letters and news paper advertisements were still the primary mode of communication. At that time these stories would have had all the glamour, suspense and razmataz. The stories have these qualities even while reading today.

Character of Chetan has similarities with Suhas Shirvalkar's protagonist Firoz Irani. Or may be it is the other way round. I could not help comparing the two and finding similarities.

I have not read many books of Narayan Dharap. He wrote much before my time. Hence when the opportunity presented, I pounced on the opportunity to read it.

Why did I read this book? To explore Narayan Dharap.

What I didn't like?  The luck factor that accelerates the story. 

What did I like?  Character of Chetan. 

Read if you like thrillers.

Muktapakshi (मुक्तपक्षी) by Sairam Sadashiv Mohite

"Muktapakshi (मुक्तपक्षी)", a collection of Marathi poetry, by Sairam Sadashiv Mohite. This book is published by Sadashiv Ramchandra Mohite on 30th June 2017 and has 40 pages.

Its a collection of 21 poems. I decided to read it because I happened to be present for the book launch in Phaltan on 30th June 2017.  Author is an armature poet and a teacher. Author's father is the publisher and has also written the introduction along with another editor. Looks like it's father's way of encouraging the son. 

All these poems are written in Muktachand (मुक्त छंद) that means it do not have a set format, pattern or meter. It is written freely. It need not rhyme. It could not be sung easily as there is no meter in it. This category is supposed to provide the poet free expression of his thoughts. No rule binds him. Now a days, this category has become very popular in Marathi poetry. 

Some of the poems are good.  Poems that I liked are:

'Korde abhal (कोरडं आभाळ)' where poet contradicts harsh reality induced by draught with fantastic images that he sees in dreams.

In 'Shabda kaviche prabhu (शब्द कवीचे प्रभू)' poet sings the importance of words.

'Ya basa machaki (या बसा मंचकी)' is a Lavni (लावणी), a genre unique to Marathi. 

In 'Pratiksha (प्रतीक्षा)' earth and farmer are waiting for rain. Here he has used a fantastic concept. Before rain poet offers dried flowers to God but after rain he offers fresh flowers. Poet says more in these four lines than the entire poem of 49 lines.

'Pashu mhanto masala (पशू म्हणतो माणसाला)' is a poem where an animal tells a human that he is more beastly than animal. 

'Parkyache dhan (परक्याचं धन)' is a good poem that spells feelings of a father about his daughter. 

Some poems are not good like 'Garibachi Diwali', 'Kalawant' etc. Here poet seems to be confused as to what he wants to say or has tried to over do. 

In a number of poems he says that water scarcity due to draught has led to lack of tears in the eyes of the suffering populace. In many poems author has addressed the issues of poor farmers. Poets rural background has helped him there but it has also caused repetition of theme and lack of variety. A number of poems are about rashtra bhakti.

In a number of poems poet starts with a promise but then the poem peters out. Some of it could have been rectified with a bit more effort and a lot of it could have been avoided by simply reducing the length of the poem.

Author has also used same words in poems repeatedly. Either he has run out on vocabulary or he is simply in love with these words. 

Title of this collection is title of one of the poem. But unfortunately, in my opinion, that is not the best poem of this collection. 

There are a number of mistakes in this Book.  wetting words, wrong letters (शुद्धलेखन), missing dots (अनुस्वार) etc. All of them could have been eliminated with better proof reading. It is frustrating when you have to correct the mistakes while reading. It plays spoilsport.

Why did I read this book?  I attended the book launch. 

What I didn't like?  Lack of variety in words, lack of finess. 

What did I like? Some poems. 

This is a limited edition book and may not be easily available.

The blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

"The blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan. This book is published by Penguin in 2014 and has 577 pages. This is Book 5, last book,  of Heroes of Olympus series.

Gia is rising. Two teams  of demigods are working in tandem. Leo, Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank and Hazel are marching towards camp half blood to defend it from attack by Roman demigods. Coach Hedge, Nico and Reina are transporting Athena Parthenos to camp half blood to avoid Greek and Roman demigod war. A Roman demigod is leading Roman armies to attack Greeks. Earth mother Gia has promised a lot to all the bad guys. Gods are having split personality.

Can the war between demigods be avoided? Will the bad guys allow Athena Parthenos to reach camp half blood? Will Earth mother rise? Which demigod will die as per the prophecy?

The series of quests continue. This book includes a number of mini quests for the seven demigods in Argo II as well as the team transporting Athena Parthenos. The destination is camp half blood where the climax is going to be played out.

The quests are good. But there is a common them. An ancient being opposes the demigod. There seems to be no way out. The demigod remembers something that happened about this being in past and uses a variation of it to defeat the being. This theme repeats itself over and over again, not only in this Book but in the series. 

Narration is good. Story is fluid. Quests are semi interesting. Character of Leo gets a lot of attention. However, the story appears longish. A little short and it would have become crispy. The much awaited fight with Gia (wait of five books) finishes too quickly. It's a big anti climax and a disappointment. 

Why did I read this book? Rick Riordan. 

What I didn't like? Fight with Gia.

What did I like? Leo. 

Read, only if you have read the series. 

The bogus read by Divyamaan

"The bogus read" by Divyamaan. This book is published by Frog books in  2016 and has 289 pages. I purchased an author's signed copy. 

College students are so addicted to Hindi TV serials that they bunk the exams. Newspapers are only writing about TV shows and gossip. Ravi and five of his friends want to find out what's going on. Pakistani army has entered India. They are 10 km away from Srinagar but Indian army comes to know about it from newspapers. Army is also addicted to Saans-Bahu serials. Upon order to fire, soldiers take selfies before firing. A big conspiracy is afoot. Mr. N is the ultimate authority in India, even above PM. He decides to launch AK49, 2G and DM007.

Who is N? What is the conspiracy? Will Pakistani army reach New Delhi? What will Ravi uncover? Who wins?

The Pakistani attack culminates into fourth battle of Panipat between India and Pakistan. Indian army is rendered useless and the onus is on an army of non military personnel to fight and save India. India decides to unleash a special kind of biological warfare. The battle oscillates between advantage Pakistan and advantage India. A number of known personalities contribute. 

This book is sarcasm at its extreme. Author has used characteristics of known personalities and blown them out of proportion to create humour and support story. Sometimes it becomes so ridiculous that readers appreciate the author for the apt title of this book. Although this book is humorous, it contains deaths of thousands during the war.

When the book starts, readers are baffled.  All sorts of crazy things are happening. They don't understand where it is going. It appears as if author has lost the plot, but then it all comes together. 

'Tahir Shah live' and 'Bakraa kishto mein' come in for a special treatment. PM Modi, Defence Minister Parrikar, Army chief Suhaag, Chaotic Arnab Goswami, Arvind Kejriwal, Ashutosh, SRK, Himesh Reshmiya, Nawaz Sharif, Gen. Musharraf, Dawood etc are characters in the book but their names are spelled differently.

This book is larger in size than pocket books. The font is big. Paper quality is good. Paper colour is snow white. These physical aspects make the reading experience pleasurable. Credit to the publishers.

Book cover shows caricatures of a number of politicians and film star among catchy tag lines. It prompts readers to read about it more and explore. The book falls in the genre of 'Unreal elections ' and 'Unreal aliens '. I have posted reviews of these two books in the past. Divyamaan writes for TheUnrealtimes under moniker D- MAN. That is where the similarities come from. 

Why did I read this book? Book cover piqued interest. 

What I didn't like? Some things are over done. 

What did I like? Black sarcasm. 

If you don't use your brain, you will enjoy.

Equilibrium by Paras Joshi

"Equilibrium" by Paras Joshi. This book was published by Fingerprint! in 2014 and has 236 pages. This is Book 1 of 'The avaasya trilogy'.

A fictitious city of Carbyn of Sealand is ruled by authoratirian People's party of Carbyn. Mankind has reached its peak. Day of judgement is close. Ring of Avaasya must be found before Day of Judgement, so that Loop can be united and world saved. The Tamisra must be contained and Maayukh must be reached. Gurujana assign the task to Lærer. Arya is part of a gang that decide to conduct their ultimate heist. The heist goes wrong and Arya manages to escape with an innocuous looking ring. He is chosen by the ring. He has a destiny to fulfil. Elders and Arya start their journey.

What happens to the ultimate heist? Why does the ring choose him? Who are souvra? Why is Tamisra rising? Who is Mayukh?

The story takes place in an indeterminate time, in fictitious land. There are powerful beings, non humans, good and bad. Characters have a mix of Vedic and western names. Is it author's attempt of making the story cosmopolitan?

Author has used modern day incidents like inflation led monetary devaluation, Tianmen square massacre, Economy burdened by wrong decisions and student protests in the time period of the story.

The story plays the eternal battle of light and dark, good and evil, Laghut and Tamisra. The forces that oppose and balance each other. Objective is not to let them come too close and destroy the world and at the same time not let one get decidedly better of other. Maintain the equilibrium. Souvra are tasked to maintain equilibrium. 

Its a fantasy land that contains technology, control of elements, various non human beings like Souvra, Ulka etc, various new creatures. But despite all this the story does not take grip that it should. First part of the story and second part are completely unrelated. In second part Arya is mostly traveling through inhospitable and cold landscape. A number of strange things happen but readers are not told why. Many times even the characters don't know why. Either author had over cooked the mysticism or the answers are in next book. 

Its a good concept but execution disappoints. It took me more than three months to read this Book. I did not abandon it only because I don't like to abandon books. 

Why did I read this book?  Blurb.
What I didn't like?  Not interesting enough.
What did I like?  Concept.

Give it a miss.