I have always liked reading novels and watching movies based on wars, especially the second world war. As a child, I remember being fascinated by Readers Digest when they had an entire collection published about secret stories of the second world war. As I grew up, I realized that I missed these war stories.
Debutante writer Prateek Singh chooses to focus on the recent war, an area that has been relatively less explored as far as novels have been concerned. And so, it was only delightful and commendable to see the amount of efforts he has put in to write this novel.
PLOT
The plot revolves less around individual characters, but more around how the US – Iraq war affects people physically and mentally. And so we have a character who fights with his inner demons because he knows he has killed innocent people in a moment of anger. Then there is another character who is being hunted by terrorist as well as secret agencies of the world because of classified information she supposedly possesses. There are a few other characters too. Somewhere down the line, these characters are connected.
What is the real story behind these people? How does Daniel react to various experiences during his tenure in the war? All these questions are answered in the book.
POSITIVES
There is a painstaking amount of research that the author has done for this book, and it is evident. For me, apart from the plot, I got to learn a lot of things related to the war which I had no idea about previously.
Secondly, the way Prateek develops his central character Daniel is also very well done. Also, Diana's role in his life is very beautifully done. Rachael's character is initially vague, but the second half of the novel ties a lot of loose ends.
Prateek Singh is effortless as far as his writing skills and grammar are concerned. There is a sincerity in his writing which is indeed commendable. As a debut writer, the subject he chooses is pretty dry and difficult to pull off, but he manages to do it.
NEGATIVES
The plot does get a bit dreary and dry at times. I guess the subject is such that it is bound to happen at times.
Another opinion which is my personal one and might not be shared by others, but I felt there could have been more of dialogues in the book rather than descriptions in the third person. It makes the proceedings more tedious and difficult at times.
OVERALL, "Paradigm Shift" is definitely a must read novel for those who like reading war and espionage thrillers. What makes this book even more interesting is the clever mix of facts and fiction. Despite being a bit dry at places, it is never boring. The length of the book is also pretty apt.
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