The Science Redemption - Santhosh R

This is one such book which deceives you by it’s cover. Yes, I haven’t seen anything worser than this book’s cover and I am sure had not it been a review copy, I wouldn't have dared to pick this book as my weekend read. Now, that’s something completely within the author’s control, so lets get into the book.

The Science Redemption, as the name suggests is a thriller where the age old science vs God plot is worked on, in a refreshing way. The book has two parts — The Destiny Drive and Redemption : The Chosen One. Both these happens to be part of a book written by the protagonist of the latter one — Dipti.

The Destiny Drive is an extended introduction for the actual story which is narrated in a fast paced and convincing manner in the second part. The characters are introduced and developed in a slow pace and the time frame spans from the time of their births and even earlier in a couple of cases, to the stage where they settle in life with a respectable profession and loving family. A lot of characters come and go in between while the six characters namely Aditya, Pallavi, Sidharth, Sneha, Vivek, Priyanka grow from infants to adolescents, then teenagers and finally matured individuals. There might not be a better reason than the author himself being in medical profession, for him taking this complex plot as the subject for his debut novel. It’s complicated and demands the readers patience while getting into the details of genetics and Big Bang Theory.

The second part, Redemption : The Chosen One sets up the pace and much of the story unveils here. A simple tale of love and friendship narrated in the first part becomes as complicated as it can with our myths, a religious cult, NASA and what not getting involved within a time frame of less than two days shifting from University of Hyderabad to Dwarka and then to Dhanushkodi and ending up at Hyderabad again. Anything more written beyond this would be nothing but a spoiler.

The existence of God has been a matter of debate ever since the concept of scientific thinking came into existence. Man had tried and succeeded in finding the science and logic behind everything that happens around him except on God and the formation of this universe. Many theories have been put forward from time to time, with the Big Bang Theory being the widely popular and accepted one. At the same time, any theory that questioned the hand of God in creating this universe has been subjected to criticism from religious organizations world wide. The book, in a way, reiterates Shakespeare’s famous quote “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players;” with a small addition of the script written by none other than God. Many of the protagonists born and brought up as God fearing ones, turns atheists, thanks to the mis happenings in their lives and author with an unexpected and not so convincing climax, makes them believe in God once again.

The author without doubt needs accolades for taking up this complex subject as the plot for his debut novel and the extensive research done in this field. The plot and its complexity draws parallel with the likes of Dan Brown which is really great. This is indeed a promising start and he is definitely a guy to watch out for in the coming days.

Every work has its own flaws and this book is no exception. The biggest let down as mentioned above is the cover design. The book has loads of information on astrophysics and genetics which makes it difficult to digest for young readers. I definitely cannot recommend this one to my teenage cousins who without doubt will demand an explanation for the scientific facts presented in the book, which I myself am mostly unaware of. The plot demands complexity, however the scientific terms and explanations could have been done in a simpler, easy to understand way, which I am sure is easy to say than to actually get it done. The length of the book, especially the first part, could have been trimmed down a little, which I feel wouldn't have done any damage to the overall plot. 

Thanks to my hectic academic schedule, I couldn’t finish the book in a single stretch and often required to re read a few chapters if not from the beginning. The reading without doubt was a hectic process with required me to scribble down facts and later seek Google’s help in getting a better picture. Overall, this is a decent attempt, well beyond my expectations, thanks to the cover design. I would recommend this not to all as it’s strictly not a time pass read but to serious readers who admire writers like Dan Brown. Go for it guys, you won’t be disappointed.

Buy this book online from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.in/Science-Redemption-R-Santosh/dp/9352015533/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458465288&sr=1

The Thirteenth Day - Aditya Iyengar

The first time I came across the name Aditya Iyengar was while reading Mumbai Avengers where Mr. Hussain Zaidi mentioned Mr. Aditya for his creative contribution in the work. Within a week, this book reached me by courier and now, I am writing its review.

The epic Mahabharata, the rivalry of Pandavas and Kauravas and the great Kurukshetra war do not need an introduction for any of us. The story of well known and is quite a good example where the good finally wins over the bad. The Thirteenth Day narrates three days of the Kurukshetra War and the thought processes that went through the minds of the three warriors – Yudhishthira, Karna and Abhimanyu. What make this work stand out with a well known story is that the characters are represented as warriors of 1000 BC dressed in dhotis, wearing metallic armours and fighting with metal and stone weapons.

Yudhishthira, the eldest of Pandavas is well known for his honesty and sincerity rather than his skills at war front. The author presents him almost the same way and most of the time, he finds himself unfit to lead the Pandavas and even attempt to surrender to his enemies so as to put an end to the war and bloodshed. Radheya or Karna, my personal favourite, is one of those characters who earn the readers respect even though he is an ally of the chief antagonist. Born as a Pandava, Radheya was made the king of Anga by Suyodhana owing to which he took side of the Kauravas during the war. Last but not the least, Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna is the real hero of this work of fiction. He is presented as someone who fought so bravely and matched his father for his skills and was killed by the Kauravas in such a way that brought disgrace to the entire family.

The author’s emphasis on these characters, leaving behind Suyodhana, Arjuna, Bhima and Krishna need a special mention here. Many books have been written retelling the same old tale from the perspective of different characters from the epic. The author has picked just three days which decided the fate of the Kuru clan, detailed it from the perspective of three warriors with entirely three different intentions and brought up this book which is highly recommended for those who enjoy mythological works and would like to experience this new take on the great epic.

My rating : 4/5 

Asoka Trilogy 1 - The Prince of Pataliputra

It’s been quite a while since I received this book as a review copy, but my academic commitments delayed the write up. Sincere apologies to all concerned before I start my review.

The rise and fall of Mauryan dynasty and its greatest leader, Emperor Asoka were a part of the history classes of my high school days. The course material was more concerned about the War of Kalinga and Asoka’s subsequent transformation which made him a follower of Buddhism. Asoka is considered as one of the greatest emperors of India and often termed as Asoka the Great.

Founded by Chandragupta Maurya with the primary objective of preserving the Aryan bloodline and safeguarding it against foreign invasions, the empire reached its peak during the reign of his grandson Asoka. The biggest irony of the era is Asoka himself, taking up Buddhism, the spread of which was one of the founding reasons of the empire. However, very little is known about the transcend of power from Chandragupta Maurya to his son Bindusar and then to Asoka. This book gives us a sneak peek into those unknown facts in an intriguing way that the moment you finish reading the final words of the book, you are hit with an urge to pick up The Scourge from Taxila, the second part of this trilogy, which is currently being written.

This book takes us to the days where Chandragupta Maurya was Chanakya’s disciple and the different situations which ultimately take him to the throne as the King of Taxila. The story often shifts between past and present, narrating the story of Chandragupta and Asoka and drawing a lot of similarities between the two. While for Chandragupta there was one Chanakya to guide him, for Asoka there is Radhagupta who masterminds Asoka’s transition from an army general to a contender for the throne of Bharatvarsha. Chandragupta vows to be the people’s leader and fights against the Nandas’ tyrannical rule and the invasion of Alexander the Great. For Asoka, it’s more personal, as he fights against his own half brother after he uncovers the plot by his brother to assassinate him. The work also throws light on the caste system prevalent on the society then, much of which hasn’t changed much today.

This historical fiction has all the necessary elements to make it a thriller worth a read – it has suspense, betrayal, patriotism and beautifully written, yet subtle romance between Asoka and Devi. It beautifully depicts the extent to which the addiction to power and pride would take a man, even if that demands killing his half brother. Though the main protagonist is Asoka, my pick among the characters is Chanakya and to an extent Radhagupta, who himself his Chanakya version 2.0. Chanakya once again proves that wars are not necessarily won on battlefields and takes a calculated step every time, without deviating from the ultimate objective just like a game of chess. With an advisor like him, any Raja can be a Maharaja or Samrat in no time.

Another striking feature of this book is it’s author and I have to admit that he is someone to lookout for, given he has come up with such a well written debut work at the age of 21. I had to go through a few historical references and the 2001 bollywood flick Asoka to get to know more about the scenario, and I have to admit that this is indeed well written if not better than the screenplay of the film. Hats off to you Mr. Shreyas Bhave!!!

Like the other side of the coin, the book has its own flaws. I wish it was well edited and trimmed a bit, thereby making it a racy thriller. To wind up, there is no particular genre lovers for whom I would recommend this book. It’s for all. Go for it and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

My rating : 4/5