There is this new trend of merging mythology with fiction lately which seems to be working quite well. “Baramulla bomber” too follows the same path to some extent.
Written by Suraj “Clarke” Prasad, this book is a combination of politics, cricket and some deep and well done research.
PLOT – A lot of things are crammed in this first part of the trilogy. There is a deep insight to the political tension between India and China. Then there is some very thorough description of the mythological being the key. To be honest, I felt a bit too much stuffed in a single book.
The initial few pages are a difficult read – ranging from boring to quite disjointed. But soon, the author picks up pace and we are on a racy ride involving espionage, religion, friendship and ofcourse, cricket. There are a lot of twists and turns and unexpected events which manage to hold your interest till the end.
WRITING – Clarke Prasad’s writing is quite lovely. I liked his unique style of writing every single chapter. The way he develops each character including our protagonist is indeed very well done. His different way of including pictorial diagrams and maps is refreshing. But the best thing is his indepth research of the entire plot. Clarke leaves no stone unturned in describing even a small event in the most intricate way possible. To some extent, that is something I liked a lot.
But then, the detailing goes overboard after a while. While I expected this to be a fast paced thriller, the highly detailed sub plots often slacken the overall pace of the novel. True the author keeps bringing in enough twists at regular intervals, but at times that feels a bit forced, as if we are being forced to get that THRILL feel.
Secondly, Kashmir is the backdrop of this entire plot, but isn’t given the kind of detailing it deserved.
Lastly and most importantly, the climax is not what I expected. It falls short of my expectations. After having built up such a good suspense, the end sort of fizzles down. It could have been something awesome, but falls much short of that.
Considering the positives, the writing language is first rate. If you are a lover of indian mythology, you sure will like this one a lot. There are definitely a few imperfections, but it is still worth reading this book. Despite the weak climax, I am looking forward to reading the next part.
MY RATINGS – 3 / 5
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