BOOK REVIEW : TANTRA BY ADI

“TANTRA” is written by ADI. That’s it. That’s his name. When I checked this book on the blogadda site, I found the premise rather interesting – a female guarding a city against vampires. And so let us see how dear adi capitalizes on this concept.

PLOT – Anu Aggarwal is a professional guardian who works for an organization which kills vampires and protects New york city against vampires. However when Anu’s boyfriend Brian gets murdered, she is hell bent upon taking revenge. With only a grainy picture as a lead, she soon discovers that the murderers have a connection with New Delhi. And so she applies for a job transfer and comes to Delhi. However Anu realizes that things are much more complex than she had imagined. There are vampires who are friends rather than foes with her organization, and the real enemy is someone else – who is upto something ghastly.

And so Anu gets herself involved in the Indian religious customs of Sattvic and Tantric knowledge. While all this is going on, Anu’s aunt is hell bent upon getting her married. How Anu balances her social life and how Anu finds out what actually is going on in Delhi is the story of TANTRA.

POSITIVES – There are many. Firstly, Anu’s character is brilliantly developed and depicted. Her hesitation while going for the dekhan dekhai, her friendly bond with Amit, and most of all, her intense relationship with Gaurav (That part is very nice. Hope Adi develops their story in the next book) – you can’t help but like Anu.

Secondly, the book deals with a novel concept – that of vampires in India. And Adi doesn’t go into too much depth regarding the tantric and sattvic history, instead keeps it just right, hence not boring the reader.

NEGATIVES – Well yes there are few things I didn’t like. While Adi’s idea of a plot involving vampires is nice, the focus is never on the vampires fully. The relationship between Chandra and Suresh is also a bit unclear. Basically we cannot form an impression of the vampires – whether they are on the good side or the bad.

Secondly, Baba Seneka’s character is very shoddily described. Maybe a little depth into his character would have been wonderful. And lastly, few portions are too clichéd and filmy. I agree that overall, this novel is perfect for making a supernatural film, but there are parts which seem to have been lifted from a Ramsay or a Vikram Bhatt movie. That is the only weak part of the novel. While Adi weaves a unique story, he lets it down a bit by some clichéd parts.

WRITING – Adi writes very well no doubt. He is grammatically correct. He keeps the language simple instead of using big words like many upcoming Indian authors believe in doing. He infuses the right doses of humor, thrill and romance and keeps us engaged in most parts of the book. Towards the end, he makes it clear that there is another book planned; maybe more.

OVERALL, I liked the book no doubt. While it is a refreshing change from the romcoms or murder mysteries, it keeps you engaged till the end. The author puts all kinds of elements to ensure the book finds a larger audience. There are places where the novel loses steam, but quickly manages to come back on track.

A novel which is a decent one time read, this one could have been much better. I say this because Adi shows potential in his writing skills. Expectantly waiting for the next book, because from my experience of reading various series, the second book usually tends to be the best. All the best Adi!

       

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