Book Review : 'Skyfire' by Aroon Raman

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It has been a while that I h­­­­ave read a thriller, so bring it on. Aroon Raman’s ‘Skyfire’ is a good book, with all the history, mystery, and a roundup of poking and prodding, the bits of love story and intelligence operations, it needs.

Well, I have pretty much given you the basis of the story, but since I have not read, ‘The Shadow Throne’, I guess I am missing out a little bit. Basically, it gives us a journalist, Chandrasekhar, historian, Meenakshi and an intelligence operative, Syed Ali Hassan, to handle it all. 

The story begins in 2012, when there are abnormal weather disruptions across India, diseases caused, child trafficking in the major cities and small kids from slums disappearing, and quite the dash of violence, combined with surreptitious behaviour, all around. 

It begins with the disappearance of a child, ­which Meenakshi and Chandra are handling when, the acid rain also hits them and also with it, the Dharma Foundation, which is taking care of the whole thing. I need to pause now, or I will just end up telling you the whole story.

It is with the arrival of the brother - sister duo of Harshvardhan and Vaishali Dharma that the p­­­­lot takes on a new colour. Harsh is the NGO behind some of the work, which Meenakshi wants to get done. While the Dharmas are enlisted in to help, and a trip to Bhutan is on the cards, and we find ourselves there, the plot digs in deeper.

Making sense of these actions, are the three of them, when you are driven into the dark world of the three nations of India, Pakistan and Bhutan. Of course, one cannot miss the Hindi movie references and it is well, kind of taking it all in. That is a lot of stories, rolled into one.

The story moves on, but with the ultimate twist brought in by Vaishali Dharma, the story plus all its political and administrative twists, and the never ending war of words, between India and Pakistan, we have so much more to be wrapped into this review.

So, the end was well, not too unexpected. But it was Meenakshi Pirzada, who won me over, with her instinctive eye, and a brilliant mind, who solves the mystery, explaining it ever so clearly. Well, I will not give out more though; I think I might just have…

You can Buy the Book, right here.

Lonely girl in the hills...

Just back from Virajpet in Coorg. It took many hours and actually, I did not end up there with a book. So, a trip to Club Mahindra later, I have cooler thoughts. So, that meant it was just me, my own funky thoughts and the walks later, when I thought that I must return to my books and writing.

And by writing, I mean my own writing. I mean, of course I want to get back to the reviews, interviews my own views as well, but now, I think, I should really get back to writing my own book. And a zillion ideas, I do have. Not just of trees and birds, but of people and their dreams. About clocks, and the times they keep… about weird, funny, and odd tales. 

So, I am sorry folks… if I do not produce any review today or over the next 2 days. But they are definitely on!! So, Jeffrey Archer or Aroon Raman… hmm…

Book Review : 'Lanka's Princess' by Kavita Kane

Well, Kavita Kane is back and I am sorry that I could not come out with a review earlier, but here it is, nevertheless. ‘Lanka’s Princess’ is a book, that makes it complete. Nowadays, I have begun to enjoy mythological fiction, with all the twist, I guess it needed. With Anand Neelakantan taking care of all the male figures, whom I have enjoyed and I guess they all deserve the kind of good boy imagery too, we now have Kane handling the female figures… and deservedly so… Always did wonder about Surpanakha and now, she seems to have gotten it. 

A very well researched book, it shows Surpanakha as the earliest, Meenakshi. The daughter of Kaikesi and Rishi Vishvaras, who is as hard as nails but needed to fight back against her mother, who did not like her because she was a girl-child, and a dark skinned one, and also her brothers who were on their own trips and her father too, at times, when she was expecting support from him. The only love, she got was from her brother, Kumbha, but it never was enough. As time goes by, Ravan is the ‘destined’ ruler of Lanka, taking it away from his step brother, Kubera.  

As Ravan is cursed, that if he takes any woman, if she does not wish it to be so, he is destined to be hurt very badly, but Kaikesi fights her war against fortune, itself. Meenakshi falls in love with Vidyujiva, who is Ravan’s enemy. Everything seems to fall in place, and Vidyujiva, who seems to get on with Ravan, is suddenly killed in the battlefield, when he goes to fight with him. 

The two had a child too, Kumar. Meenakshi, who is now at loggerheads with her brother and family, who had accused him of cheating, not once, but many a time. She runs away from her immediate family, to find solace in the forest of Dandak, with her uncle, Mareecha. Her anger is unabated and threatening to kill Ravan, and preparing Kumar to slay him. But fate has it in for her, since Kumar is killed by Lakshman, quite by mistake, and Meenakshi, who is now destined to be Surpanakha, will have to find her way again.

Anger and desperation lead her deeper into Dandak, and she meets Ram, Sita and Lakshman. As, she wants to find a way to kill Lakshman and Ram, she also thinks of a plan to kill Ravan too, but she ends up getting defaced and hurt badly.

Then, it was according to her plan that she goes to her brother complaining of all the atrocities done to her by Ram and Lakshman. We all know the story of what happens after.

As we know what happens to Lanka and Ravan, after but there was much more to happen with Lakshman. The story goes on to explain what we might have missed in the entire story, and how the Ramayana was also Meenakshi’s story as much as it was Sita’s, later.

There was so much more to the story, Kaikesi’s own story about how she got Lanka back again and Ravan’s never ending quest for power. With Meenakshi’s own struggle for the best in her world, her ways of finding her own finest things in the harshest ways of the world. How fate had played tricks and how she ended up the way she was, the poor Meenakshi ended up playing Surpanakha in the entire play of Ramayana.

Kavita Kane

Whether you feel sorry for her, or if you feel slightly bad for her fortune, it might be completely up to you, but if she deserves this read, the Kavita Kane, you have nailed it...

You can Buy the Book, right here.

Author Interview : Atlas Anderson, author of 'Surviving the Improbable Quest'

Anderson Atlas

Read up, Interview with Atlas Anderson, author of 'Surviving the Improbable Quest. In this Interview, he tells us, how the entire book came about, how he relates the lives of his main character to lives today, the most challenging part of the story, what he thought was different about his book, the next book he has planned, an author he takes inspiration from and much more, Folks…

How did ‘Surviving the Improbable Quest’ happen? What is the research that has gone into it? 

The story came about because of a friend’s car accident. When something happens to a friend, it sometimes shines the light on us. I wondered how I would get around if I lost the use of my legs.

This led to some interesting research because I’d never known a paraplegic. They have ways of crawling, scooting and even climbing up stairs. It is not easy, but doable. Many of the paraplegics I spoke with were such strong people.

So, as a story teller, I wondered if they were always that strong. How did they overcome their challenges? The story started to come together. 

How do you think your book, ‘Surviving the Improbable Quest’ is different from everyone else’s? 

Not many books have a ten paraplegic hero and if they do, the character sure didn’t travel the universe and save millions from the dark creature, Jibbawk. 

How would you relate the life of Allan to the lives today? Any similarities? 

Most of the readers of this book have a disability in some way. They find encouragement, a bit of hope and serious entertainment with someone they can identify with.

I’ve gotten some great feedback.

Any challenges you had to face, while writing this particular book?

I had to move my character without his wheelchair. That was a HUGE bit of creative work and turned my brain into a salty pretzel. 

What is the most fulfilling part of writing this book?

 I really like to see how the message affects people. It’s a hero’s story and it really shows.

What are you planning on writing next? When would you see that released?

There is a Book 2, 'Return to Lan Darr', it ratchets up the excitement and the adventure. This time, Allan has a really powerful wheelchair and he goes all over. That is out now.

And Book 3, 'Shadic Immortal', is in pre-review status. It’s the story of Jibbawk. It’s a bit dark, but that is because it’s all through the eyes of the bad guy. It’s how he came to power and became the monster Allan had to fight.

Is there an author you take inspiration from?

Neil Gaiman - Wikipedia

I’m a fan of Neil Gaiman, so some of my work is similar. I’m also a sci-fi fan and fantasy reader so there are many, many authors I like. When I like one, I tend to try and read everything they write.  

Which book are you reading, currently? 

Brandon Sanderson - Wikipedia

I’m currently reading 'The Way of Kings' by Brandon Sanderson The fantasy is epic and I love a great dive into other worlds.

What do you do on a day to day basis, besides writing stories illustrating for the stories? 

I illustrate other stories. An Amazon search will show you the books I’ve worked on. I also design books, paint, and anything creative I can get my hands on. I’m a freelancer, so I wear many hats.

Check out my website: AndersonAtlas.com!

You can Read the Review here and Buy the Book  here, as well