Line of control by Mainak Dhar

"Line of control" by Mainak Dhar - India-Pak war!

This book is published by Vitasta Publishing Pvt Ltd in 2010 and has 322 pages. 

Saudi royal house is overthrown by radical mulla Abu Sayed who has declared himself Emir of the entire Muslim world. A devious plot by Pakistan PM, Illahi Khan, under guidance of Abu Sayed has brought India and Pakistan on the brink of war. India-Pak war always has religious and nuclear connotations. India hasn't been able to know the entire Pakistani plot. Indian PM Vivek Khosla activates deep asset Patriot. War begins.

What will happen in war? Who wins? Are nuclear weapons used? What is Pakistan's plot? Will it lead to WW III?

India and Pakistan war is a juicy plot. But it can go out of hand very easily. Author has a firm grip on the plot and is always in control. This war is fought on multiple fronts. So author has to jump from one sub story to another. But he does that seamlessly and retains the attention of audience effortlessly. 

The story is rich with characters. Vivek Khosla, India's business minded PM. Sen, Randhawa and Raman, the three service chiefs of air force, army and navy. Gireesh Joshi, the NSA. Pooja, the beautiful reporter. Rahul, her cameraman. Colonel Dev Chauhan, a tank squadron leader with a blot on his name. Nishant Singh, best Indian fighter pilot. Nitin Goel, his navigator and weapon's officer. On Pakistani side we have Illahi, fanatic Pakistani PM. Air Marshall Ashfaque Karim, who disagrees with PM Illahi, but can't dare to oppose him. Shamsher, army chief. Shoaib, Navy chief Ashfaq, ISI Chief. Arif, a mid level air force officer and Karim's friend. Abdul, Emir's emissary. Each character plays a vital role in the story.

Being a war story it has exciting battles. Dog fight of fighter jets in the air, Submarine wars, Tank battles, Hand to hand combat, air cover to ground troops etc. It's difficult to describe war in written words but author does exceedingly well. Readers live the war. 

The war is supplemented by war machines. Aircrafts like AWACS. Fighter planes like Mirage, Mig 23, Mig 27, Mig 29, Su 30, F15, F16 etc. Tanks like T90, Arjun, Type 59, T80 etc. Choppers like Cobra. Submarines like Type 209, Kilo, Agosta etc.

Author demonstrates his knowledge and study of the terrain, war machinery, war tactics and geopolitics. His grip on the essential elements is commendable. 

Identity of Patriot is not concealed very well. I was able to recognize the identity as soon as the character was introduced. The identity is revealed formally in the last line of the book. Some more effort was needed to bury it deeper. A couple of red herrings or decoys would have made the anticipation more exciting.

How does it all end? Well you will have to read the book. 

Why did I read this book? Author. Title. 

What I didn't like? Poorly concealed identity of Patriot. 

What did I like? Everything else.

It's a page turner. Must read!