Resonance by Ajay

"Resonance" by Ajay. This book is published by Westland Ltd. in 2014 and has 377 pages.

A group of corrupt officers from various Indian government agencies decides to collude with Pakistani terrorists and ISI to realize project Tupac II. Son of ex chief of ISI is in love with daughter of India's ambassador to USA.

What is the plot? What is Tupac II? What is the target? Who are the Indian traitors? Is there a mole? What would be the consequences?

It's a long & complex plot, one year in making, but the Indian intelligence agencies fail to unravel the plot almost for the entire duration. There are a number of actors like various Indian Intelligence agencies, ISI, LeT, Pakistan government, FBI, American intelligence, politicians etc.

The story revolves around hydrology, fault lines, water body movement and resonance. The plot is elaborate, consequences are devastating & impact is far reaching. Is that really possible? Hope not.

Ajay has written a good, tech intensive, apocalyptic story however his noviceness is not masked, especially in the build up of the climax and the climax. Characterization is a bit sketchy. The oneupmanship between ISI and Pakistani government is harrowing. Will the real Prime minister of Pakistan do what he does in this book? Improbable though not impossible.

Book cover is good. The intensity in the eyes of the terrorist attracts you to it.

Recommend reading.

Deep Storm by Lincoln Child

"Deep Storm" by  Lincoln Child. This book is published by Random House USA in 2008 and has 419 pages. It's a science fiction.

Dr Peter Crane is engaged on a short, special and secret assignment by US government. He is taken to an oil platform called Storm King, in Atlantic. He finds out that the platform is not managed by oil company but by US Navy (Headed by Admiral Spartan) and scientists (Headed by Dr. Asher). After signing secrecy agreements, he is taken to a facility located below the platform embedded in the ocean bed. The facility is called Deep Storm and is 12 storey deep. He is given an indication that they have found Atlantis. Deep storm is drilling into Earth's crust to reach Mohorovicic discontinuity and retrieve something that is transmitting signals. While drilling they encounter small discs that float in air, at the center of the room they are in, and emit light. They are called centinels.

Inhabitants of Deep Storm are facing medical problems ranging from vomiting to lack of concentration to insomnia to psychological issues. Dr. Crane is tasked to find out the root cause. His experience as diagnostician of mysterious deceases under stressful circumstances is considered his unique qualification. There is an attempted sabotage that would destroy Deep Storm under ocean water pressure.

Dr. Asher is close to decoding the message transmitted by centinels. He succeeds but his chamber catches fire and he dies, his laptop burned.

Is this a sabotage too? What is the message? Can Dr Crane find it? Does he get help? Will this drilling help humanity? What is the buried secret?

The book fantasizes about other world civilizations that are far more advanced than humans. Lincoln Child has lured the readers into the realm of sci-fi easily. Unless you know, you do not recognize the story as sci-fi in the beginning. It may also be because the writing style at the start of the book is Clive Cusslerish.

With the way this story was poised at half way mark, there were numerous possibilities to take the story to a different level of imagination, but the author appears to have taken less imaginative route. Thus the climax does not live upto the heightened expectations of readers. The book falters towards the end. It is a Sci-fi and happens under water, so there is a lot of medical and technical jargon. Authors research in that matter is evident.

An OK book. You can give it a miss.

Akra koti gallon pani (अकरा कोटी गँलन पाणी) by Anil Barve

Akra koti gallon pani (अकरा कोटी गँलन पाणी)", by Anil Barve. This Marathi book is published by Urja prakashan and has 134 pages.

This book is a collection of two long stories. First story is called Akra koti gallon pani (110 million water) and second story is called Studfarm.

Bhadrapur is a coal rich area. Seth Jamnadas Mehta is the owner of a mine called 'Shaitani Khadan (Devil's pit)'. Swami is the brilliant mine engineer who has succeeded extracting coal from Shaitani Khadan. Upon greedy Seth Jamnadas' instructions, when coal was removed, instead of filling the pillar by a mixture of sand and water, it's filled by only water and subsidy is obtained for sand. Due to carbon monoxide and methane in the mine, 11 crore gallon water has become poisonous. To hide this misdeed, the mine was set on fire and sealed off. Wrong maps were prepared to show smaller size of excavation than actual.

Now mines are nationalized and Swami has retired. A new coaleary is dug close to Shaitani Khadan. Swami is terrified by the thought of coleary connecting to Shaitani khadan due to wrong maps and 11 crore gallon poisonous water entering mine and killing everyone instantaneously. This terrible disaster is a distinct possibility.

What will Swami do? If he speaks, he may be arrested. Will his good sense prevail? Who will he approach? Seth Jamnadas? Union leaders? Politicians? Newspapers? Manager of coaleary? Will he get any help? Can he avoid the disaster?

Gyaniseth has a number of businesses. However his real hobby and passion is his stud farm. Horses are his life. He thinks about horses, dreams about horses and does not spare any expense on horses. His stud farm is considered the best in India. He spots a pony (Chanda) on the beach of Karnala that is used to ferry children. Gyaniseth's expert eyes recognize the potential future winner. He buys the pony and employs it's owner, Yesu, as the caretaker of horse. He wants to create a history by making a winner out of a pony without pedigree. Chanda is trained by an expert trainer. He is renamed Grand Galloper. Three people love Chanda like a family member. His former owner and now caretaker, Gyani seth and his small daughter. Chanda loves them too.

Racing season begins. No body wants to bet on Chanda. He is called horse good for drawing carriage. Chanda wins first race in a photo finish. No one can believe this. Then Chanda goes on to win every race of the season, setting record on the way. The grand finale will be the race where the award will be given by the queen of England.

The plane carrying Chanda develops engine fault and one of its tyre bursts. Can the plane land? Will Chanda survive? Who does Gyani Seth care for, Chanda or staff on the plane? Will Chanda run the race of his life? Will he win?

Anil Barve is known to present various social issues through his novels and stories. He has a knack of blending the issue with story to create a homogenous tale. He has shown his command in demonstrating various human emotions like love, hate, empathy, ruthlessness without sacrificing the story line. Both the stories are compact and crisp.

I would have preferred the first story to be about ten pages longer. This would have allowed author to create the background and climax better. Since the book is small even those who are not avid readers can read it.

A very good book. Recommend reading.