Quantum siege by Brijesh Singh

"Quantum siege" by Brijesh Singh. This book is published by Penguin books and Blue salt in 2014 and has 246 pages.

Pakistani terror group LeT conducts bomb blasts on patrolling ship INS Sudarshan off Mumbai coast. They have acquired a nuclear bomb. Their demand: Declare plebiscite in Kashmir within two days; Independence for Kashmir.

How did they get hold of a nuke? What is the target? What will India do? Will it annihilate Pakistan? ATC chief Rudra Pratap is released from jail and pressed into action. Can he save the world from a nuclear war?

First 150 pages of the book is a thriller. It's action packed, fast paced and tantalizing. After that it becomes a tech thriller with a lot of technological jargon. There are two climaxes for the two thrillers. It's an interesting way of writing a book. Very unconventional but well executed.

The story is fast, characterization is interesting. The characters connect with the readers. Capable Rudra, Foul mouthed beauty Sana, Willy commissioner, efficient Quazi, the brilliant hacker; all of them make an impression. The electric chemistry between Rudra and Sana is tantalizing.

Brijesh has written a good book. His police background has helped him in this story. Narration and characterization is also good. The very end of the book, though, does not keep up with the book. I read the book in one day.

A good book. Read if you have time.

Tanzeem by Mukul Deva

"Tanzeem" by Mukul Deva. This book is published by HarperCollins in 2011 and has 364 pages. This is the fourth and final book of 'Lashkar' series.

Previous book ended with the death of Tanaz and then Iqbal going away to take revenge. This book starts with an anticlimax that Iqbal turns to Force 22 and decides to go to Pakistan and kill Ameer-ul-Momineem. He has no plan. Force 22 tries to discourage him to no avail. Finally Force 22 inserts him in Pakistan.

He enters the organization of Ameer-ul-Momineem and learns of a mega plot. A meeting of the Tanzeem of Amirs of six continents. Iqbal has to save the world.

What is the identity of Ameer-ul-Momineem? Can Iqbal kill Ameer-ul-Momineem? What is the objective of Tanzeem? Is ISI involved? Will Iqbal be caught? Can he get a word out to Force 22? Can he save the world?  

Mukul Deva is a master story teller. Most of the story happens deep inside Pakistan. Mukul has explained Pakistan in detail. Readers believe that this is how Pakistan must be. Iqbal's journey through terrorist organization is narrated in detail. Author has used real life incidents like terrorist attack on Indian embassy in Kabul in the story and blended it with fiction deftly.

The only complaint is that author has spent more than half of the book to come to the real plot of Tanzeem. This has left Tanzeem and the mega plot starving for page space. Moreover the end comes very fast and readers are deprived of enjoying the climax.

Although book ends implying that Iqbal dies while saving the world, author has left a small window so that there can be a sequel to this book. Readers love Iqbal, his courage, his patriotism and his adventures.

A good book. Read if you have read the first three.

Salim must die by Mukul Deva.

"Salim must die" by Mukul Deva. This is the second book of Lashkar series.

The book shows that Osama Bin Laden (without naming him) was captured in Hyderabad, Pakistan, but died of medical conditions within hours. Mind you this book was written before Osama was captured. Shows clairvoyance of the author.

Brigadier Murad Salim of ISI, whose death was faked in previous book (Lashkar), and his side kick Major Cheema are back in action. This time the plot is much bigger. Objective is to carry out multiple terror strikes at multiple locations simultaneously. The perpetrators, this time, are not misguided youth but sleeper agents from various countries of different races, age groups and backgrounds. The strike wepon is also very deadly and objective is to create a bang bigger than 9/11.

What is the plot? Who will execute it? What kind of weapons will be deployed? What is the role of a Chinese scientist in all this? What  are the targets? Do they succeed? Which intelligence agency will be pressed into action? Would they be able to act in time?

Author has spent a lot of pages to describe the preparatory work for the grand terror plot. The book is 415 pages long. By the time the preparatory work is over you are through half the book. This part does not make you sit on the edge of you chair. Then the story gains speed. Force 22 (the ultra secret Indian special operations group headed by Colonel Anbu) is pressed into action. A decision is made to kill Brigedier Murad Salim of ISI. However this decision comes after 250th page and leaves limited page space for the actual killing. Iqbal from previous books makes a vital contribution.

The breakthrough needed by the intelligence agencies to unearth the plot comes as a lucky break rather than fruit of hard intelligence. The story gains speed after the break and you enjoy the climax.

Although this book is sequel to Lashkar, it is not as good as the predecessor. This book is good as a standalone book but seems bland in comparison with Lashkar. The story is slow. It keeps you interested, you don't abandon it, but the heightened expectations after Lashkar are not met.

An OK book. Read if you plan to read the next two books in the series.

Lashkar by Mukul Deva

"Lashkar" by Mukul Deva. This is the first book of Lashkar series.

This is the story of Iqbal, a Muslim youth from Lucknow, who is drawn in the web of terrorism by the maulana of a mosque in Delhi. He is smuggled to Pakistan, trained and sent back to India to execute terrorist activities in India. The story is set in 2005.

A number of blasts hit Delhi a few days before Iqbal returns to India. But then comes a twist. India's docile response turns into a stern response and India decides to retaliate. Force 22, an ultra secret special operations group, is called into action. This is where the book becomes interesting.

Will Iqbal be able to reenter India safely?  Will Iqbal be able to execute terrorist activities? Had the indoctrination made him a ruthless maniac? Is there a personal angle? What is India's stern response? How is it executed by Force 22? Does it succeed? Does Iqbal see the reality?

This book explains in  detail how the misguided youth are smuggled to Pakistan, how they are trained, how terrorist activities are planned and executed, how ISI plays an important role in all this. How a covert attack is planned and executed. India's response brings a lot of action in the book. This section keeps you on the tenterhook and the adrenaline keeps pumping.

Mukul has an effective writing style. He has paced the novel very well & has supplemented it by the technical details of military hardware. He has successfully kindled the excitement and patriotic feelings within the readers to take the book to a different level. I would not be surprised if the book becomes a Bollywood movie.

Mukul is a master story teller. The book is unputdownable. Recommend reading.