God Is A Gamer - Book Review

“God Is A Gamer”:  The title sounded really captivating and intriguing.  I was waiting anxiously for the book to arrive.

The wait was well worth it.  I was delighted to receive an autographed copy of the book.  Thanks a lot Blogadda and Ravi Subramaniam.

Can a suspense novel educate?  I have never given much thought to this question before.  However, reading this suspense thriller made me aware of the fact that there are many things in life, we are not all aware of – ‘bitcoins’ being one of those many things.  For the first time, I heard of this kind of ‘digital money’ which can be used online to buy goods and services. 

This is a novel which revolves around the bitcoin industry, involving powerful people in the American political establishment, an Indian gaming company, an international bank in India and a God forsaken corner of the Ukraine.   The story is very riveting; a powerful bureaucrat, close to the President is murdered in the US; the CEO of an international bank in India dies – is it a murder or a suicide- that is the question; the head of a department of the bank dies.  

The characters are well interlinked and the story flows well.  The novel takes the reader through a roller-coaster ride wondering ‘whodunnit’ and suspecting various people at various times.

The end of the story is totally unexpected.  The first denouement comes when the criminal is booked for the crime.  However, that is not quite all.

The epilogue brings with it yet another twist, which, after the first denouement, is totally unexpected.  This is something which could probably have been avoided.  It is interesting how the author has linked various characters in the story of crime for revenge;  but it seems far too complicated, a bit far-fetched and quite unnecessary.  Even though no one expects the stereotypic ‘.....and they lived happily ever after’ ending, this one in particular reveals the nadir to which a human being could possibly descend – not something one would particularly like to think of.  Some things are better not contemplated.

One loose end in the story was rather disappointing.  After getting Swami killed, there is no closure on that front.  A character is added to bring in the element of mystery about him being involved in Swami’s killing.  But this story just fizzles out at the end.

One very interesting feature I noticed is the length of the chapters.  Kept at a manageable length, some of them really short, it makes reading really fast and easy.  It is one of those ‘un-put-down-able’ books.

The language is excellent.   Although in the genre of fiction, the story gives an insight into the intrigues and politics of international banking institutions.  The line between reality and fiction is blurred, especially in the manner in which the prologue is written.

One more point, regards the title, one wonders where ‘God’ came in from.  I started reading the book wondering why God would be a gamer, but found no connection of any ‘God’ to the story.

All pluses and minuses considered, it is an interesting book on the whole.  Would I read another book by the same author again?  Most certainly.

How would I rate this book?   4/5.

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The Exiled Prince - Book 1. A Review

Once again, author Ravi Venugopal comes with a new version of the story of Rama, the King of Ayodhya, the 7th Avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu, as told by Rama himself.

This story has been told a number of times in the past.  The original epic was the work of Rishi Valmiki.  The story has then be retold and adapted in various forms and versions by various authors including Tulsidas (the Ramcharitramanas in Hindi) and Kamban (a 12th century poet in Tamil) amongst others and in various languages.  The epic has been presented in various forms be it popular stage performances or televised serials.

So what is new about this book?  There are as many variations in the details of the epic as there are narrators.  The common thread in all these earlier versions is the glorification of Rama as a God, as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who came down to earth to establish the rule of righteousness and was an ideal king.

This book is the first part of a trilogy.  Ravi Venugopal has, presented this story in autobiographical form (as narrated by Rama himself) and has integrated elements of what is currently the domain of science fiction as well as of religious cosmology into this tale.  The story brings out the human side of Rama while providing a different perspective of various aspects of the life and times of Rama. The author has woven a mystery into the story, which will unravel over the trilogy.  This part of the trilogy starts with the history of humans and stops at the point where Rama with his wife Sita and brother Laxman settle down in Chitrakoot.

Particularly interesting is the style of presentation, starting with one of the last chapters of the trilogy, set in the times of the British Raj at the beginning.  It adds an element of surprise, arouses one's curiosity and lends and air of suspense.  The second chapter delves into the time when the Brahmarishis had a conference to discuss a mysterious crystal which had parts of the souls of Shiva and Narayana suspended in it and how to stop it from falling into the wrong hands.  Thereafter Ram takes on with the narration of his life story.

The story certainly tugs at the heartstrings, when one sees Rama as a human being with a divine purpose, who as a human being has his own cross to bear.   He is a born human with human feelings and emotions but with a divine purpose, some of which he is aware of.  The rest will unveil itself to him with the passage of time.  

The story presents a different perspective of Kaikeyi as a warrior queen who loves Rama as much as his own mother does.  It gives us the reasons why she acted as she did.  Just as interesting and refreshing is the way Sita is presented, not just as a Paragon of Feminine Virtue, the way as she is in other versions, but as an intelligent, thinking woman with powers no less than Rama.  There are already hints of how she is able to foresee events and guide their course to their logical conclusion.  After the Rishis, it is Kaikeyi and Sita who are depicted as having the powers to foresee events, events which are as yet unclear to Rama.

While certain liberties have been taken with the original epic, in that some very authentic sounding stories have been added to it, the book is very gripping and is sure to appeal to readers of all ages and cultures.

Very intensively researched and a must read.  I can hardly wait for the next two parts to be published! :-D

The Krishna Key

Yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya

Glaanirbhavati Bharata

Abhyutthanam adharmasya

Tadaatmanam srujyamyaham

Oh son of Bharata (Arjuna), whenever righteousness is threatened and whenever unrighteousness is rife, I shall reincarnate in this world.

Paritranaya saadhoonam

Vinaashaayacha dushkrutaam

Dharmasansthaapanaarthaaya

Sambhavaami yuge yuge

I shall keep incarnating in every age (yuga after yuga) in order to protect the sadhoos (the good), to destroy the evil doers and in order to re-establish the order of righteousness (dharma).

That was the promise Krishna had made to humanity through his discourse to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra - the discourse which makes up the subject of the Bhagawad Gita.

The Krishna Key - The title of this book by Ashwin Sanghi sounds very intriguing. It is all the more intriguing when you read the blurb which says it is the story of a young man who thinks he is the tenth avatar of Krishna - the Kalki avatar - only he is a serial murderer.

Open the book and you see a map of the kingdoms during the Mahabharat era. One of the features of the book is the rich illustrations throughout, keeping the reader's interest alive from the beginning to the end of the 464 pages.

Each chapter begins with a section of the story of Krishna, narrated in the words of Krishna, followed by the main story. The pace of the novel is extremely racy and makes for very exciting reading.

The sheer depth of research undertaken by Sanghi comes through as one reads on. The story takes us to Kalibangan and thereon to various parts of India in Gujarat, Rajasthan and North India on the trail of an ancient secret – Krishna's legacy.

It is fascinating to read about Krishna's Dwarka (then known as Dwarawati) which now lies under the sea off the coast of Gujarat and the Yadava clans who lived on the banks of the Saraswati. Sanghi comes up with very interesting theories about how these clans got scattered due to the drying up of the river, with some of them moving westwards towards Sumeria (modern day Iraq) and the rest towards Vrindavan and Mathura. If one were to believe his theory, many of the cultures in what was considered to be Sumerian civilization originated from Dwarka and the Sumerians and subsequent civilizations in the area were actually descendents of the Yadava clans. Hmm..... far-fetched may be, but no doubt interesting and not totally unbelievable, given the way he has presented it. (Of course, he has clearly made a disclaimer at the beginning stating that "no claim regarding historical accuracy is made expressly or implied"). It is equally mind boggling to see how he puts together different aspects of our Vedic culture like Vedic Mathematics, the emphasis on certain numbers which are considered to be auspicious such as the number 9, the numbers 18, 108, 1008, 10008, the concept of pyramids and their properties of concentrating energy, the six pointed stars, ..... you name it and it is there. What is even more amazing is the sheer logic which makes everything appear so plausible.

The plot of the thriller is merely a framework to present this very gripping perspective on our Vedic sciences and times. Could you ever imagine that the Atlantis could be Dwarka? Well, why not, if you accept the author's line of thinking? Can you accept that Mount Kailash is an alchemist's pyramid? Is there any way you can connect Mount Kailash, Dwarka, Mathura, Vrindavan, Somnath, the Taj Mahal, Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and the Mughals?????? Well read the book to find out.

As for the plot of the story, it is very entertaining and fast paced with surprising twists and turns.

Occasionally one does find certain parts slightly repetitive and there are a few places where proofing has been faulty. However, these faults have been rectified (http://www.ashwinsanghi.com/p/typos-in-1st-print-run-of-krishna-key.html) in the website of the author http://www.ashwinsanghi.com/ .

http://www.ashwinsanghi.com/2012/06/krishna-key-video-trailer_26.html

Definitely in the "must read" category.  This can be described as the Indian search for our version of the holy grail.

This review is a part of the http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews at http://www.blogadda.com/ . Participate now to get free books!

A Love Story - A Novel

A Love Story - A Novel (Author: Varalotti Rengasamy)

The author is a chartered accountant by profession - (a mofussil accountant as he derisively refers to himself). He is also an author of many Tamil novels and has written short stories for English and Tamil magazines as well.

The book “A Love Story :  A Novel” is a very simple love story of a young man (who on the insistence of his father takes up the job of a bank clerk and writes novels as his passion in his free time) and his classmate from college who makes it big in the world of finance.

A misunderstanding on both sides ensures that the two go their own ways while they continue to pine for each other. Of course each one thinks that the other is married and has kids with someone else.

An elderly psychiatrist who is friend and counsel to our young author helps the two to find each others after a long gap of a decade.

The simple story line, plenty of idealism, some clean romance - all make for a very charming narrative.

One is struck by the idealism and value system that is described in the story.  I doubt one can find these values being practised in the real world.   It is probably this very fact that make it all the more pleasant to read.  Let us say it helps the reader to escape into a world of ideals – honesty, commitment, love (not just the romantic kind), power of conviction, forgiveness ..... Add a liberal dose of emotions, drama, passion and sentimentality (which may or may not be everyone's cuppa tea) and that about describes the book.

If one can accuse the author of anything, it would have to be a few over-dramatic, over-sentimental dialogues:

“Tell me darling, why is the world so full of love”? Kamla asked her husband in a choked voice”.

The author's sense of humour surfaces here and there in his description of events and characters:

“The boys now had a very funny expression on their faces. Something that you would have seen on the face of a ten year old boy when the dog he had been chasing for a while, stood in its tracks and stared back at him, ready to attack”.

I can never stop marvelling at the details he brings in. For example he talks of treating psychiatric illnesses through counselling or through “chemical imbalance therapy”. Reminds me of Munnabhai's “chemical locha”. :-D

His metaphors also are very interesting:

“ 'Do you remember the time we had to drive down to Bangalore? I think it was last year. It was late in the night. Our car's headlights could show only the next 100 feet. But with that light didn't we travel the entire stretch - some 250 miles plus?  We can't expect our car's lights to illuminate the entire road to Bangalore from here.  Enough that we know what there is in the next hundred feet.  Ask you friend to believe in God. He is the one who'll show the road. And don't try to illuminate the way with your intellectual highlights dear' ”.

Weaving in stories from our mythology and comparing it with a situation in the story is a trademark of this author. He intersperses the story of Narasimha avatar of Vishnu destroying the demon king with a part of the story to illustrate the parallels in the way the lady accountant demolishes the cads who try to mess about with the elderly doctor and her husband.

Like all other writings by this author, the central theme revolves around love of the purest kind.....

"All of us have been and still are in love.  With our parents, our children, brothers, sisters,friends, lovers, wives ....In fact we live only so long as we can love.  The moment we lose our capacity to love, we lose our capacity to live as well.  A life without love is not living, but a mere existence".

or God's love for us and the power of prayer:

"The great Lord sitting above, who acts deaf when we pray for our own welfare, springs into action the moment He hears our prayers for others.  And while granting such prayers, the kind Lord ensures our well-being too".

Sounds too romantic, idealistic and simplistic?  Almost Utopian?  Well, I for one am not complaining.  I share the author's opinion that a world where people were less greedy and more caring would be a heaven on earth.

All in all a very pleasant read which keeps the reader enthralled all the way to the end.

I Rama - Age of Seers - Book 1

Like all young children of my generation, I grew up on stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata – the two major epics of India. I always loved the stories, but ever since I could think for myself and question right and wrong, I have always been critical of Rama whom I could never forgive for banishing Sita simply because of an ignorant dhobi questioning her chastity. I could never accept the explanation that as a king he was morally obliged to give up his personal rights in the interests of his “praja” or subjects. I could not help but ask “was Sita not a part of this same 'praja'? Did she not have rights as a subject/as a wife? One might argue that as a queen she was equally morally bound by the strict code for an upright human being. Well, we can keep arguing to and fro on this matter. However, this was the very reason I was really excited when I came across the title of this book “I Rama” which was announced on Blogadda. I was really curious now to know what Rama would have had to say on this matter.

The prologue talks of storm clouds brewing over the island of Lanka, which was surrounded by the sea and islands which “looked like pearl clusters in a necklace, linked with each other by backwaters”. This description heralds the kind of word imagery one comes across throughout the story.

The author (Ravi Venugopal) starts off by introducing the background of the story – about how the sages (beings who embodied all the positive energy of the universe) and the rakshasas or asuras (who represented the negative energies of the universe and were trying to stop the sages from achieving their goals) were at constant logger heads. The sages had to think of a way to fight Ravana who had become very powerful and arrogant. He controlled various galaxies and the cosmos and was virtually invincible and his demons were killing human beings and making life for the sages very difficult. The birth of Rama “a human blessed with the entire power of the cosmos” was the very event the sages were waiting for.

The story then takes off in the words of an aged Rama, as he sits on a rock along the Sarayu in reflective mood. He is met at sunset by his brother and faithful, loyal friend Hanuman. Hanuman expresses his desire to hear about Rama's story about his childhood. Rama has been waiting to tell his children this story and willingly decides to narrate it to Hanuman. It starts with the time when he was in his 7^th year of training.

Rama narrates the stories of various sages like Gautama, Vashishta, Vishwamatra, Agastya, his father Dashratha's childhood and life, Kaikeyi's background as well as his own early life.  While most of these are familiar to us, what is different is that the story is presented in a way as to show how a certain preordained cascade of events are inevitable if a specific event has to happen. To name just one example:  Dashratha shooting an arrow blindfolded at a target thinking it was a deer, lead to Sravan being killed. His bereaved, heart broken father cursed Dashratha and set the stage for the successive events of Dashratha being separated from his son.

Or for that matter Kaikeyi being offered two boons by Dashratha and her telling him that she would redeem the promise at a later date set the stage for Rama being sent to the forest, which led to other events which eventually culminated in the destruction of Ravana at the hands of Rama.

The other noteworthy point in this book is the way Rama's narration has been presented in terms of contemporary concepts – inter-galactic travel, portals from other galaxies opening up for travel to earth, energy conversions, ..... the very stuff sci-fi is made of.  A very rational and credible approach to the epic - well within the realms of possibility.

The author has also added an original touch - Sita is presented as an articulate young lady who knew the art of warfare, was well-read, was a cook par excellence, had a vision about the future, involved herself with schemes involving social welfare, ..... in other words Sita could very well have been a modern day woman placed in the context of those times.

The one interesting revelation by Rama is that Kaikeyi's drama just before the coronation was not coincidental. She had appraised him about what she was going to do, why, when and how. This was necessary to ensure that Rama got an opportunity at fulfilling his destiny which may not have been possible if he had been coronated as planned by Dashratha.

On the whole, a very well researched, gripping narration with elements of the contemporary and some imaginary characters.  The word imagery used by the author in describing various events, the beauty of Sita, the resplendence of Sage Vishwamitra (to name a few examples) is simply wonderful. In three words: “An un-put-downable book”. Looking forward to the sequels.

Here is the link to the website: http://www.i-rama.com/age-of-seers.html
ISBN 978-0615582504

This review is a part of the http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews at  http://www.blogadda.com/. Participate now to get free books!