Skyfire - Aroon Raman

Skyfire, written by Aroon Raman, thanks to Flipkart Blogger Review found another new exciting Indian writer. This is Aroon Raman's third book and my first. Even though this book has the same characters from his previous book, he gives enough background information on each every character so it's not a mandatory to read his previous works to begin this.

Skyfire, is another thriller set in India with some deadly threats like weather manipulation and child trafficking. Right from the word go, this book has enough surprises. The prologue sets up the book nicely and gives us a glimpse of what is about to come.

Chandra, a journalist, Meenu, a history teacher, Haasan, a police officer, are friends for a long time. They start to look into a missing kid who's a regular to the school Chandra and Meenu maintain for orphans. They get to know its not just this single kid is missing, there are too many kids from different areas went missing. On the other hand, India gets attacked by mysterious acid rain attack in Indore which followed in many places within India all due to some weather anomaly. Nobody was able to find the reason behind this weather's behaviour.

So one side child trafficking within Delhi, on the other side series of weather anomaly which causes huge casualties and chaos, which is now a national threat. How and whether these two things are interconnected? Who's behind all these? We get the details of how they are connected, how Chandra, Meenu and Haasan get involved into this. And, how they solve the child trafficking and the threat caused to India from this weather manipulation. They travel from Delhi to Bhutan, and even involve Pakistan to solve this.

Once the villain is revealed, we can easily guess 'what' is going to happen, but Aroon Raman keeps it interesting by the way 'how' it happens. The possibilities of the things which can be done by manipulating the weather was unbelievable. The last few chapters were very shocking and brutal with things which are hard to even imagine.

The negative thing about this book is it was very easy to guess the villain when the character was introduced or even before when they talk about him. I wished he wasn't the one behind all this, but my prediction was right. And, usage of Hindi, which I couldn't get it. They kept talking about Shadow Throne, author's previous book, should read that next.

Overall, Skyfire was a riveting thriller and the things which were discussed in this book was scary. Weather manipulation, what a serious weapon it is, I hope no country uses it in warfare.

And, I am going to read other books of Aroon Raman soon.

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

After hearing some great things about this book, I gave it a shot and finished reading this absolutely touching tale by Khaled Hosseini. I know it's little late to talk about this book, but still I have to write about it.

The story starts with Amir, currently in US, getting a call from Rahim Khan, Pakistan, asking him to take a trip to Pakistan. Rahim Khan says, "There is a way to be good again" to Amir. So what wrong did Amir do and whether he was able to do the good again is the story of this book.

Now the story goes back to Afghanistan when the times were good. Amir was living with his father and his father's servant Ali's and his son Hassan. Amir's father, Baba, treats them with respect and Hassan gets special care from Amir's father, which sometimes irritates Amir. Baba was a businessman who doesn't believe in religious sentiments. And, this part tells Amir's story as boy, his friendship with Hassan, his liking to write stories which his father didn't like much. Rahim Khan, Baba's friend was supportive of Amir's writings.

Hassan was Amir's most loyal childhood friend.  An incident which takes right after Amir winning the kite festival changed things between Amir and Hassan which eventually leads to Ali and Hassan leaving Amir's place even after Baba's protest. Amir has to live with this guilt.

In the next part, Amir and his Baba escapes to Peshawar then to California after Soviet Union military intervention in Afghan. Baba starts working in gas station, Amir joins school, gets married to another refugee Soraya. He becomes a writer and things goes well until the call from Rahim Khan.

In the next part, Amir leaves to Pakistan to meet Rahim Khan. He gets to know about Hassan and his family. And, Rahim Khan requests him to travel to Afghan to do a task which will make up for the wrong Amir did and also he reveals some shocking truth about his father. Amir's task is to save Hassan's son Shorab from Afghan. His struggles to get Shorab back to US and their life after he reaches US.

This book was fantastic, lived upto the expectation and the hype created. And, I got to know a lot about the troubled country Afghanistan. Soviet's intervention, Taliban's rise in Afghan etc,. And, also how they treat a certain class of people called Hazara. The author gives a clear picture of Afghan's state thorough the eyes of the characters. I really like Amir's father Baba, one of my favorite characters in this book, Amir's role model of course.

The book has all the emotions especially Hassan's love towards Amir, when he says "For you, a thousand times over", before he runs to catch the kite.

The book gives a satisfying feel once we close it. A truly touching experience and a must read. For the feel it gives I can read it a thousand times over.

The Girl Who Chose - Devdutt Pattanaik

The Girl Who Chose is Devdutt Pattnaik's latest book where he narrates the epic Ramanayana in a new way. It's an illustration of Ramayana for children. This is the first Children's book I am reading, it's because I have never read any books other than my textbooks when I was a child, so thanks to Vivek Tejuja for sending me this as a part of Flipkart's blogger review program.

The Girl Who Chose explains Ramayana on the basis of five choices Sita made. Sita was not bound by any rules she was free to choose. Sita's five choices eventually makes Ramayana. It's a good start for young ones to know about Ramayana if they have not heard about it earlier.

The book was really interesting with its illustrations which run little over 100 pages. Devdutt have covered most of the important segments from the epic. And, as expected it was very simple and easy to read.

Even though Ramayana is all about Ram, Devdutt explains how important is Sita . Also, we get to know the Ramayana has happened only because of Sita and her choices. Like, if she has not stepped out of Lakshman Rekha to help someone or if she decided to escape from Ravan with the help of Hanuman.

Ramayana has numerous characters, Devdutt includes few important characters.  Also, he explains how a lot of animals helped Ram. Also, Devdutt says Ramayana has a lot of brothers and sisters, except Ram and Lakshman everyone was fighting among them. And, it doesn't end with Ram killing Ravan, it says Sita's fate and their children's after they return to their palace.

Not just the main story, Devdutt presents a lot of trivia and tit-bits about the characters and how Ramayana is interpreted throughout the world over the period of time. How each character and their actions are treated differently by each authors and people which are very interesting.

Ram is bound by the rules he will not break any even it does harm to him. Ravan never follows any rules. Sita is not bound by the rules she is free to choose, she breaks them to help others. So, we are free to decide, but we should be ready to face our consequences.

So, The Girl Who Chose is a must read especially for its illustrations and simple word which gives you the essence of the epic Ramayana.

Losing My Religion - Vishwas Mudagal

Losing My Religion is author Vishwas Mudagal's debut work. I got this book from the FINGERPRINT! publishers, another book through Flipkart Blogger Review Program.

LMR, is about a young entrepreneur, Rishi's journey after he lost everything. He meets a hippie from US Alex and they start their journey together leaving everything behind. They do some crazy stuffs and Rishi meets his love Kyra and things get interesting once they get to know who she is. And, they all end up in a reality show to prove themselves to this world. It was one hell of a roller coaster ride for Rishi. Rishi and Alex goes to Malana, then Om beach, then Maha Kumbh Mela and finally to the USA.

Rishi's first trip was to Malana with his new friend Alex, who's a careless go lucky hippie. It's interesting to know about this place, where people think all the outsiders are untouchables and their main business is to sell Malana Cream, purest marijuana. They think they are descendants of Greek and they have their own laws. Rishi and Alex have a great time until they create some trouble to the people there and they have to escape from that place ends up being a thrilling experience. It was good to know about this place, which is in India.

The next part is Rishi and Alex end up on Om beach, another place you would like to visit after reading this. They get hold of some Malana Cream during their escape and they decide to own a shack in that beach by selling it. They ends up buying an old shack and renovates it and things get going as per their plan. Then, Rishi meets Kyra in a casino at Goa during a video game championship event and he even compete against her. And, Rishi falls for her right away, they end up together, but eventually she leaves him to go back to her home, U.S.

In the next part Rishi struggles to get over Kyra, they go to Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the largest human congregations on the Earth. Rishi gets back to his business skills and Kyra joins him finally. We get to know about one of the biggest event. Rishi forms a team called The Coconutwallahs and they start selling coconuts and eventually turn this into bigger and they make millions.

And, the next part was full of surprise and exiting. where we get to know who's Kyra and her background and where it leads Rishi, Kyra and Alex to. And, they finally ends up participating in a reality show and things get really exciting. It was a different reality show and they compete against a biggest businessman.

The good thing about this book there was never a dull part in it. It was hard to put down and things keep getting interesting on the go. Alex character is the most funniest and he had a big influence on Rishi. And, Kyra, a strong woman character who wasn't just for romance, she was as good as Rishi in everything.

The end suspense could have been guarded, we know Rishi's going to win and we also know how even before we reach the end. Overall, Vishwas Mudagal's excellent debut, looking forward to his next or even a sequel to this LMR.

You can buy your copy here: http://bit.ly/1PGUwad

The Wedding Photographer - Sakshama Puri Dhariwal

The Wedding Photographer is the debut of author Sakshama Puri Dhariwal. I got this book via Flipkart Blogger Review Program. Thanks to them or else I would have certainly missed this.

The Wedding Photographer, is light weight rom-com novel by the debut author. The plot is when a part-time wedding photographer and a full-time journalist Risha gets upgraded to business class in her travel from America to Delhi she meets a real estate tycoon Arjun, who hates journalists. And, coincidentally Risha's next big assignment was Arjun's sister's wedding next week. Risha got this big gig through her friend and colleague Nidhi. They both get to know each other during their time in the flight. And, what happens during the wedding and after that. The fun, fight, misunderstanding, romance fills the novel.

The book has three parts, the first happens in the flight, the seventeen hour journey. The second is the Big Fat Punjabi wedding. The third part is after the wedding. The first two parts are mostly fun. Risha's experience in the flight with the kid Bunty in the next seat and her fight with the air hostess Bitchika, who hates Risha for no reason. I wished Risha and Arjun had more interaction during the flight time.

The second part was the big fat punjabi wedding. It gets bigger and bigger each day and we get to know about the ceremonies through the lens of Risha. And, it was mostly fun as well with the different characters from the wedding. Especially Arjun's Nani, who was like the boss of the family. Then Risha's friend Rishab, who was a gay. I haven't seen a gay character in the few books I have read so far that too from our Indian authors. It was good to see his character wasn't treated differently. And, also one Priye Ma, goddess lady and her actions were hilarious. Everyone seems to be boozing most of the time during the wedding.

Few misunderstanding happens between Risha and Arjun right from the start. When they overcome one by one and finally gets together the final and biggest misunderstanding happens during the third part of the book. And, Arjun thinks he was cheated again. Even this wasn't like a biggest unbelievable forced conflict to move the story forward.

The book looks authentic, you can relate every scene and they are believable. It has many interesting characters, especially Risha's friend Nidhi's husband Vikram, who's a cricket player. I think his character is based on Virat Kohli. Vikram is team's vice captain, got man of the series in India's tour to Australia and he travels to Srilanka for his next assignment. It is definitely Virat ;). And, Risha shot to fame after shooting Nidhi and Vikram's wedding. Who doesn't after shooting Virat's wedding?

Those who love rom-com and bollywood movies must try this. It's fun and makes you laugh or at least smile every two pages and very lighthearted. It won't take much time than a movie's time to finish this. The writing was very simple just like the plot. The author didn't make anything complex, not much of big twists. A simple, neat and straight forward rom-com by Sakshama Puri Dhariwal on her debut.

Grab your copy here http://bit.ly/1WTQUD0

The Sialkot Saga - Ashwin Sanghi

'When it’s a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.' The Sialkot Saga, Ashwin Sanghi's latest book after his successful The Krishna Key, where he established himself as an Indian Dan Brown. In his new book, again, there's a quest of an ancient secret, but that doesn't take the center focus in this book. This book is about two individuals Arvind and Arbaaz, about their rise and rise in their status, about their conflict and something which connects them.

This books starts in Amritsar during that period of partition between India and Pakistan, in a railway station where a constable saves a small boy from the piles of dead body in that last train which traveled from Sialkot. And, we shift to king Ashoka's court where they talk about choosing a person to preserve a secret and he should also select his successor. So, this secret travels through different periods and different kingdoms.

Arvind, son of  a businessman from Calcutta, whose sole aim is to get rich and become a top one richest men in India. He only thinks about how to make money. Arvind plays smart and earns a lot of money, he cons many big businessman on the way. He easily deceives many tycoons and make them invest in his lies and leaves them without a trace. He becomes so successful in this game and rises to one of the most wanted businessman of India. On the other hand, he had a love failure, his high school sweetheart leaves his to become an actor in Bollywood. Then, he marries a different girl and becomes a father of twins. This whole Arvind episode reminds me of movie Guru.

Arbaaz, son of a poor man, who loses his father early and forced to work. Arbaaz's sole aim is also money. He joins a small time thief, Raju, then with the local don Abdul Dada. He rises the ladder among the Abdul Dada's men and becomes his most trusted one and eventually becomes successor. During his days with Abdul Dada, he does everything, including murder. And, again he uses his tricks to get back on people and to get things done. After Abdul Dada's death he joins politics and he becomes one of the most important player in Indian politics. And, this part is, we have seen in many of our don movies.

Both Arvind and Arbaaz's target is always money. They are completely opposite to each other. Arvind is a Hindu, Arbaaz is a Muslim, which is very obvious by their name. Arvind supports BJP where Arbaaz joins congress. Arvind just plays with his business mind and tricks to earn where Arbaaz goes to any level. Arvind is from a rich background, where Arbaaz isn't. Arvind is educated, unfortunately Arbaaz couldn't afford it. But, both their lines cross each other several times. Arvind's high-school sweetheart, Paromita, who becomes a famous Bollywood heroine end up as Arbaaz's wife. Arvind and Arbaaz cons each other in many deals throughout their life. However, they end up doing business together and even become relatives. And, both of them are not entirely bad people.

I liked the way Ashwin Sanghi connected each and every important event in Indian history with Arvind's or Arbaaz's life. Each and every event plays some role in their life and it was fascinating. And, not just event in India, but also 9/11 attack in America as well. It's interesting to know about India's political history as well through Arvind and Arbaaz's life. And, it features some of the well-known faces fictionally, especially Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Even Steve Jobs does a cameo here. Among others were Modi, Dawood Ibrahim, etc. So, Ashwin Sanghi has done enough research before writing his book.

This book also tells us how easy to bend the rules in our country if you know right men and have enough money. It also talks about share market trading, where some of them wasn't quite clear to me, but gives some insight. But, really hates his stereotype usage of lunghiwala while talking about a guy from Tamil Nadu. For God's sake "Lungi dance" is really not about people down south.

Towards the end, we get to know why Sialkot plays important role here. And, it also ends with much surprising note related to immortality and a connection between Arvind and Arbaaz. The ancient secret which was passed on for generations from Ashoka empire is about immortality and Arvind and Arbaaz somehow ends up working towards that.

The Sialkot Saga was an interesting read, it's more of politics, business, betrayal, rivalry, heartbreaks and less of quest for ancient secret. It's really well played by Ashwin Sanghi, easy to follow and provides interesting twists and turns. A very good follow up to his "The Krishna Key."

Clouds Don't Pass - Abhishek Krishnan

Clouds Don't Pass, first time I am reading a novel written by someone I know very well. Right after receiving the book I was bragging to everyone "hey look, the author of this book, Abhiskek Krishnan, is my friend". The title and the book cover itself made me curious.

Abi, the lead character in this book is the author himself, his passion is cinema and he wants to become a successful actor and he can't think of any other career other than cinema. This book explores his college life, his struggle, love, his true friends and ends with an unexpected twist. Most of them were his experiences with some exaggeration and it also gets fictional in the later parts.

The book consists of three phases, the first phase was Abi's college life. It was fun and goes lively, thanks to his friends Chalu, Peri, Renjith and their "sights". She has a girlfriend, Shruthi, I really liked Shruthi's proposal and Abi's proposal scenes followed by some usual cliched romance between them and even felt little jealous. And, his first love with Shruthi ends in a breakup and the worst part is he didn't even know the reason.

The next part, 'the wait' is his struggle he went through to get a chance in cinema and how many morons took advantage of him during this period. Some of these people were unbelievably sick. And, this part was his real life experiences which should be a lesson to all those people who are trying to get a chance in cinema.

The third part, happens in Bangalore where reality hits Abi and he starts working in a call centre. He was more stable and has a new girlfriend Sushmitha, who works with him. And, things gets exiting towards the end where he finally tries to solve the mystery behind Shruthi. This is where I can see Abi, the screen writer, who cleverly throws us a few twists and turns. You can never guess you are heading towards this kind of a climax till the last chapter.

I really liked this book, it was light read and enjoyed occasional Tamil in an English book, especially to see the words like "machi" and the most used word in Chennai, “Otha”. Also, the print and paper quality was really nice which made me read this without any irritation. I am mentioning this because I liked this book's quality among the few I read recently.

You could have seen this author in a blink-and-miss role in Thirumanam Ennum Nikkah and he's currently acting in another feature film. Few sequences from this book, like how they help his friend Renjith and his lover to elope, proposal scenes, etc., will be interesting to watch in the big screen. I really wish to see him direct this book as a movie soon.

The Curse of Surya - Dev Prasad

The Curse of Surya is written by an unknown author (only to me, because he has already written one best seller, Pitch It) is a thriller in the lines of Dan Brown series. To be precise it was like Davinci Code, here the protagonist are in search of jewel which was lost some 5000 years ago.

Dev Prasad Indianized the Davinci Code, here a reporter from Singapore, Sangeetha and Davies were on a treasure hunt for a jewel Shyamantaka. This jewel belongs to the god Surya and it always brings bad luck to whoever possess it. It has its own history and also an exiting unbelievable power to that gem which makes it the most wanted treasure by people across the world.

The main character, Sangeetha, reaches India to cover one important function which was about to happen in Agra and Davies was here to attend an international conference in which a swamiji was supposed to reveal the place of the lost jewel Shyamantaka. All thing broke loose when there was a terror attack which kills the swamiji and Sangeetha and Davies are present in the event becomes the most wanted terrorists. And, they were on the run, followed by a police office Nisha and they start their treasure hunt with an old man Blanchard who helps them escape from the crime scene.

The writing was simple and easily to follow. And, the places mentioned are some of the most famous sites in our country and it was fascinating to know the history of these places. So just like Dan Brown, Dev Prasad also tells us about the history of each place where the story travels. Also, another book which has the history about Lord Krishna, the last book I read about Krishna was Krishna Key by Ashwin Sangi.

The places where Sangeetha tries to fool the police by booking a flight ticket to Bangalore was explained elaborately in more than one chapter which I felt absolutely unnecessary. The moment she tells the receptionist to book two flight tickets, we know she's trying to fool the police. We didn't need the detailed police investigation, then Nisha calling another policemen at Bangalore to go to airport to catch them, then Davies acting surprisingly as if he didn't get why she is doing all this. The whole part could have been skipped. And, I wondered how Sangeetha and Davies able to talk to each other under water with their scuba dressing.

The treasure hunt came to an end very soon than I expected, but then Dev had an interesting twist there. And, it has all other twists which were expected in this kind of a novel. Like starting the plot with a mysterious murder, good guy turning into a bad guy, bad guy turning into a good guy. The lead character Sangeetha was like an encyclopaedia, she knows about each and everything in this world or able to find a solution for anything somehow. But, it was refreshing to have a female lead like Sidney Sheldon novel.

The Curse of Surya is definitely a worthy Indianized Davinci Code, the history about the treasure was fascinating and their search was thrilling. And, this book is an absolute page turner, well done Dev, looking forward to your next.

Scion of Ikshvaku - Amish Tripathi

The title itself was bit like a tongue twister, I heard the name more than once in the trailer they released before the book.

Author Amish Tripathi has found a formula like CB to write his books. For CB its friendship and love, Amish has chosen to rewrite the mythological stories. After his successful Shiva Trilogy, he is back to retell the most famous epic of our country Ramayanam. After Shiva he had chosen Ram this time. And, this one is like a prequel to Shiva Trilogy.

This book was nowhere near his first book of Shiva Trilogy, Immortals of Meluha, IMO. Shiva trilogy was brilliant he brought all the famous characters like Parvathi, Ganesh, Murugan, etc we know into the story beautifully with his own imagination. And, his first book of Shiva trilogy was page turner and took me to that era instantly. Scion of Ikshvaku didn't give me the same feel, this maybe because we are too familiar with the characters even though I haven't read Ramayanam before. But, some of the characters, like Lakshman's wife Urmila, was interesting to know since I didn't know much about her before.

In this book Ravanan was already a villain for Ram's father Dhasrath, he defeated him in a battle on a day where Ram was born. Ram had a tough time growing up since everyone hated him for his father's first defeat in his lifetime. I really liked Bharath character, I always felt like he's going to turn against Ram any moment, but he didn't. Amish didn't change much in his character or in Lakshman's.

The initial portions were very slow and it started to interest me only after the introduction of Sita's character. Once again Sita was a powerful female character just like Sati in Shiva trilogy.  Sita's introduction scene followed by Sita's Swayamvar where Ram wins obviously and a fight in which he defeats Ravanan's soldiers using a biological weapon were exciting parts to me. He exiles himself voluntarily for using this weapon against the law.

There was a reference to Delhi rape incident where Ram's own law was unable to punish the juvenile even though the victim was like his sister. Which didn't add anything to the story.

Ravanan was said to be a demon king in this as well. I don't think he's a demon, he is just a man with extraordinary talents than a normal human being. This book ends with introduction of our favorite character Hanuman and Ravanan kidnapping Sita.

I think there will be two more books in this series, I just hope he makes it more interesting. Also, I am interested in knowing what happens to Ram and Sita after Ram defeating Ravanan, will there be "Agni Paritchai" and also more about Urmila.

Playing It My Way - Well Played, as usual

 
Saaachinnnn.... Sachin.... Sachin's auto biography Playing it my way is the last book I finished reading. It was wonderful to get soaked in those memories once again.

I was/am/ one of the biggest fan of Sachin, so I was really excited when this book was announced and I pre-ordered it right away. And, flipkart guys were amazing, they delivered it to me the very next day. When I got this book I immediately stopped reading the other book and started right away.

It was a trip down to my own memory lane. You almost remember all those matches which was mentioned in that list. Also, you remember when and where did you see those matches or what were you doing those matches. Also, even Sachin sledges or atleast provokes players like Steve Waugh while they was batting.

I feel he avoided most of the controversies and played it with a straight bat except for that Chappel story. And, he felt really bad after losing when he was the captain. Mostly those matches they should have won easily.

We all know Sachin is very sentimental, but he is more than what we think. He didn't even see the 2011 worldcup winning hit by Dhoni and also made sure Sehwag also doesn't see it. He was praying inside the dressing room along with Sehwag because it worked when India played Australia in quarterfinal so he wanted to do the same during the final as well. In some other tour he visited some restaurant before a game and he played well. So, he continued to visit the same restaurant for next four days, with same friends, sits in the same table and orders the same food.

He is a foodie. He knows where can he get a good food in each and every country he visits especially Indian food. Like Boys Senthil I think he must have maintained a diary with "Information" to help all those new players in every country they visit :).


And, I think he never played any series without battling some injuries. He used to fly to Srilanka in middle of a series to get some medicines from a doctor who promised to save from his pain. Its really amazing that he survived for 25 years with all those injuries. Name some part of his body he will tell the series name in which he had an injury in that part.


To become a Sachin Tendulkar you need to train and work hard like Sachin Tendulkar. Its hard really really hard. Hats off to you Sachin for giving us more joys for over twenty years when you were in pain for most of the time. Every Sachin fan must read this to have a trip down the memory lane. And, will get to know a lot of things about him.

Once again this book just proved me, why you were, you are and you will be the God of cricket forever.

Half Girlfriend - Another Bollywood Movie Script

CB's Fan? No. Read Half Girlfriend? Yes.

CB's novels are like Khan movies or Vijay movies. No one likes it, but everyone sees it. Likewise I don't like his writing, but given the publicity and marketing I end up buying  it or pre ordering it and reading it in a week after its release.

Half Girlfriend, CB's latest novel or that's what he says is actually another Bollywood movie script.


CB's interesting novels till date is Five Point Someone, it was really funny. And, One Night at the Call Center was somewhat okayish. I didn't like his other novels very much.

The plot of this novel is like a very old movie script. Poor boy loves a rich girl.
He loves, she didn't and gets married to one of his relatives and leaves India just to know he was not a good person. Some part of this novel is like Sujatha's Pirivom Santhipom. Then, she comes back to India near hero's native. Again, he loves-she didn't, again she disappears, this time making him believe she's dead. Hero finds out she's not dead. Rest is Varanam Aaiyiram, hero flies abroad in search of his love to find her. Unlike his other novels, the you-know-what scene comes only at the end.

The best part in this novel is where the hero tries to make his small-town school run by his mother to get all the necessary facilities. He tries hard to enroll every kid in that town to get into his school. Also, explains the poor state of schools in most part of our country and how much government are willing to help this kind of school. Bill Gates does a cameo in this novel ;). Even CB does a cameo, just like his other novels. English language plays a major role in hero's life. How he struggles and how did he learn that language when he was pushed.

This rich girl, poor boy love, hero going in search of her love and all very old and dull concepts nowadays. Just like first week collection of Bollywood movies this novel has become a blockbuster in pre-orders itself.

Yes, he writes in very simple English which I like the most in his novels (namma range-um avlo than). You can finish a novel just like that in a few hours like watching a movie. This one is not great, but a decent one from CB. But, he makes most of the people to "READ" books once in a while.

I think he must stop thinking about movie adaptation even before starting a novel itself.

I enjoyed this movie script. Mr. CB, stop publishing movie scripts and start writing a novel.

Deception Point - Dan Brown

Deception Point, first novel I read this year, written by Dan Brown. Like his other novels this too contains series of events happening in just one day. Unlike other historical thrillers I read earlier, this one was a political science fiction thriller movie, sorry book.

US is about to go into elections. Current President Zach Herney is losing his respect among the people because of his opposition Senator Sedgewick Sexton's anti-NASA campaign. Since NASA is simply eating public's money without any useful discovery and they keep failing in their projects. Herney and NASA are losing credibility among the people. When Sexton who's a corrupt politician, is almost certain to win, NASA discovers an extra ordinary thing at Arctic. A meteorite which contains fossils, proof of extra terrestrial life. President sends Rachel, Sexton's daughter who hates Sexton, to authenticate the discovery since Rachel works in NRO. Rachel joins the civil scientists team. After authenticating and president announcing it to public, they feel something wrong in the meteorite, they find out it's not a meteorite really. Then, they are attacked by unknown group. Did they find the truth? Who planned this deception? Who wins the election, is the plot.

The main characters of this book are Rachel Sexton, Zach Herney, Senator Sedgewick Sexton. Then, Michael Tolland, a famous TV person who hosts shows about the oceans, one of the civil scientist on the run with Rachel. Then, Gabrielle, personal assistant for Senator Sexton. William Pickering head of NRO, Rachel's boss. Marjorie Tench, Herney's senior adviser.

As usual like his other books, this book also starts with a murder. Reading Dan Brown's novel is always like reading Hollywood movie's script. I wonder why this book was not made into a movie yet. This one was like a bond's movie. In his other novels (Davinci Code, Angels and Demons, Inferno) he explained more about the history. In this novel he explains many things on science and technology. From history lessons to science lessons this time.

In this Rachel and Tolland play the usual Langon and a girl combo. Rachel plays Langdon kind of a role. And, they finally fall in love with each other maybe they are not going to be present in his future novels unlike Langdon. Like Langdon's problem with cramped space, Rachel's problems is with water. Like any other novel Rachel also wishes whatever happened was a dream. Dan Brown's favorite line I guess, he uses this in almost all the novels I have read so far.

This book is also racy. The twists are unpredictable or you don't have time to think while reading. The one who's behind this big lie was really unpredictable or at least I didn't see it coming. Whatever I had in my mind was completely opposite when the truth was revealed. He explains all those UFO's and alien spaceships are just US's secret mission of spy satellites or advanced space crafts. So, something in the moon discovered recently which was believed to be an Alien spacecraft may also be US's ;).

I always enjoyed Dan Brown's novels. The narration will be straightforward, will have enough twists and turns which will keep us guessing what's next. This was really better than Inferno which I read before. Really worth a read for whoever enjoys Dan Brown and thrillers.

நிலா நிழல் - சுஜாதா

Hero :)

 
This is a story about a boy turning into a man with cricket, father-son relationship, love in the background. I remember starting to read this novel so many years before when I was in school just because of the picture in the cover. It was a picture of a batsman in whites. But, I might have read maximum of five to six pages and don't even remember the title after that or didn't even realize I was reading Sujatha's book. After many years when I started "reading books" really I bought this book, this time the cover was different didn't have a cricketer on it, but never mind the author is Sujatha.

Small town boy Mugundh, wants to be a cricketer and his father hates it very much. He wants him to just study, get a job and be like his brother. Mugundth was happy to be selected in his college team and wants to go to Bombay for a tournament, obviously his father didn't accept. So Mugundh lies and travels to Bombay with the help of his sister. He falls in love (or infatuation) with a girl in his relative's home in Bombay, where she initially just uses him. What happens in Bombay, whether his father found out and how did this Bombay trip transform his life is the story as usual narrated in Sujatha style.

Sujatha brings the game in front of your eyes, right from the practice sessions to the actual matches. He explains about in-swinger, out-swinger, slog, edges, partnerships, etc. He brings each and every match live with his words. Mugundh being hero of this story helps his team win some matches in the tournament, who was obviously the man of the tournament. It was much like Chennai 600028 movie with the perfect mix of cricket, love, friendship.

The book is less than 150 pages I guess. If you start you will finish it one sitting. It was interesting even though it isn't a thriller. Only at few places will make us think what's going to happen next, like when his father visits his relative's house in Mumbai where Mugundh is staying, otherwise it's a feel good book. Those who love Sujatha and Cricket, like me,  this book is a perfect combination. I really enjoyed this book, which was one of the best non Ganesh-Vasanth Sujatha book.

பொன்னியின் செல்வன் - கல்கி

 
After completing a great Choza experience with Udayar, this is the next novel I have started reading for three reasons. 1. I have heard a lot about this novel since my school days and wanted to read this. 2. After Udayar I wanted to live in Choza dynasty again, I didn't want to go out. 3. There was some rumors that Maniratnam is making a movie based on this novel. I had enough reasons to start reading this epic novel. This novel also, as usual bought by my uncle many years back.

This novel is highly praised by whoever have read it. So, I had a lot of expectation before reading. It lives up to all the hype and expectations and gave me even more than I expected. Kalki brings that time period in front of your eyes right from the first page, which will make you fall in love with those beautiful places. This book is like a prequel to Udayar, before my hero, Raja Raja Chozan, becomes a king, when he was still called as Arul Mozhi Varman.

The main characters of this book are Vallavarayan Vanthiyathevan (hero), Arul Mozhi Varman (Raja Raja Chozan), Kunthavai (Arul Mozhi's sister), Aazhwarkadiyan, Poongulazhi, Pazhuvettairs and Nandhini. And, many more character plays some important roles.

This book is a real thriller. It's basic plot is how Arul Mozhi got the throne after beating all the odds against him and also Karikalan's murder. And, it was very difficult to find out the assassin. It's up to the reader to decide the killer after reading the explanations of that incident. Each and every scene was like a screenplay of a movie. I had many Goosebumps while reading this novel, like when Arul Mozhi Varman's character was first introduced in Sri Lanka, then a boat getting caught in a cyclone in mid sea, etc. 

Nandhini is the negative character in this novel. You will love her as much as you hate her. She is my favorite character from the novel. I had imagined a beautiful lady in my mind while reading her part, beauty with a brain. Vanthiyathevan, even though he is the hero, most of times he will do stupid things and get caught. He takes life simple and doesn't complicate things much.

It has little love stories of, Vanthiyathevan and Kunthavai, Vanathi and Arul Mozhi Varman, Karikalan and Nandhini, Poonkuzhali and Sendhan Amuthan. Sendhan Amuthan character was a real surprise at the end.

My love to Arul Mozhi Varman increased further after finishing this. And, book reading has become a habit when I finished this. This is the absolute bestsellers of Tamil Novel even now. It was written some sixty years ago and it's still considered one of the best novels of all time and remains as a favorite novel for people of many generations.

You may not have the habit of reading books, but you must try reading this in your lifetime. You must live with Kalki's Vanthiyathevan, Kunthavai, Arul Mozhi, Nandhini once. I don't think anyone will make this as a movie. Right from MGR its every filmmakers dream. In my opinion, making Ponniyin Selvan as a movie and to satisfy all the people who have read it of all the generation is not only difficult, it's impossible ;). I hope someone proves me wrong.

I wish I could time travel and go to Raja Raja Chozan's period.

யவன ராணி - சாண்டில்யன்

 

Have you read or heard about this masterpiece, Yavana Rani, from Sandilyan? I have read a quite a few books of Sandilyan like Kadal Pura, Raja Perigai, Raja Thilagam, Raja Muthirai, Jala Deepam, but this is his best work according to me. This book takes place in the great Karikala Chozan's period. Ilanchezhiyan, a Choza chief commander is the hero of this novel.

The main characters in this book are Ilanchezhiyan (hero), Hippalaas (Greek soldier under Ilanchezhiyan), Brahmananda (a monk who helps the hero), Yavana Rani, Poovazhagi (Ilanchezhiyan's lover), Karikala Chozan.

Sandilayan doesn't take much time to get into the story. The story starts right from the first page, where Ilanchezian finds Yavana Rani at the seashore of Poompuhar, which was Choza's fort once. His life changes completely from that point. Tiberius, a Yavana leader, who plans to bring Poompuhar in his control and rule under this Yavana Rani is the main antagonist. He is as good as Ilanchezhiyan. Ilanchezhiyan escapes from Greek soldiers by taking the Yavani Rani as his hostage, imagine that scene from Gillli :). And, he runs and runs and runs, the story too moves as fast as it could.

This story travels to Arabia. Ilanchezian was poisoned and sent in a ship, we get to know about a king of that land and Ilanchezian is caught there with all other thieves. He manages to escape with the help of that king's adopted child. He comes back to Tamilnadu with that girl. Ilanchezian rescues Karikalan, Sandilyan also explains why he is called 'Kari'Kalan, must be fictional. Then, he plans for a big war against the Karikala Chozan enemies. He helps Karikala Chozan to get his throne. After that, he returns to Poompuhar to destroy Tiberius after almost some years.

Ilanchezhiyan was already in love with a girl Poovazhagi, but Yavani Rani also falls for him. Yavani Rani's love only will save Ilanchezhiyan. Ilanchezhiyan will form a very good war strategy for Karikala Chozan. Those sequences will be too good. He lets us imagine the battlefield exactly with his words. Sandilyan also provided historical facts every now and then with its source.

After reading, as usual I thought about how it will be if it's made into a movie. I had Vikram in my mind for Ilanchezhiyan, Anushka for Poovazhagi, later after watching Madharasapattinam Amy for Yavana Rani. This cast came together, but for a different movie. And, Vikram started a movie Karikalan which was stalled. I was disappointed since its director mentioned Yavana Rani book in one of his interview for Karikala Chozan's history.

Sandilyan has a formula like some movie directors. His books will have at least a minimum of two main female leads, an old wise man who constantly advises the hero. And, the hero will do some things which will look stupid until he explains his plan himself. These are must in most of the Sandilyan novels I have read. So after reading few novels I was little bored with Sandilyan, but my first book of his, Yavana Rani, is really too good. I have read many historical novels of Sandilyan than Kalki.

This book is a must read for all those love historical fiction. This will be as good as Ponniyin Selvan, but shorter than it. It has many twist and turns and it never let the pace down at any point. You will get completely involved in the story and love Yavana Rani and Ilanchezhiyan.