...shoOOonya...

After Shadow Throne, this was yet another novel based on the India-Pakistan political tension; the difference was the inclusion of Naxalites and the backdrop of the Red Corridor. Red Jihad by Sami Ahmad Khan was a truly enjoyable read with elements of internation espinage and war in the Indo-Pak setting. I liked Sami's writing style; reminded me of Ludlum. I am not good at analysis of writing styles but found it similar to Ludlum in many ways … introduction of events as well as characters, usage of temporary characters to describe an event (temporary because these characters eventually die within 2-3 pages of their introduction in the event which is often an armed  disaster!! The story has a constant chain of events which keep you on the proverbial 'edge of the seat' and makes you want to read 'just a few pages more' even when you are way past your bed time and are already feeling drowsy. I have myself spent a few extra minutes at the train station to read...

It was around 6-7 months ago that I saw the 'Eega' trailer and I knew I was going to see this movie … even if released in a language I did not understand. Come October and Eega arrived in Mumbai theatres in HINDI; the movie now called 'Makkhi'. I told many (before as well as after the movie) about the movie and most of them ignored it. A movie based on re-birth and that too as a housefly and then seeking revenge was too far-fetched for them to digest. The movie is a masterpiece !!! Excellent graphics, interesting sequence of events, attention to detail, logical events and situations, amazing acting by the 'villain' and absolutely expressive animated 'makkhi' – all this and a few more things make this movie a must see for all. The movie does not slow down at any point, you can't even take a loo break except for the first hour when the 'humans' are in the play. Once the Makkhi arrives on the scene, it is a continuous roller coaste...

  Parable of the Cautious Man  --------------------------------------- There was a very cautious man, who never laughed or cried.   He never risked, he never lost, he never won nor tried.   And when he one day passed away, his insurance was denied.   For since he never really lived, they claimed he never died.     ~ ~ ~ Anonymous  

I have written earlier about how I have fallen in love with short stories (all over again) in the past 2 years with the number of short stories that I read every month constantly increasing. So when Rituraj Verma dropped me an email with a request to review his short story collection, I did not have to think twice before replying in a 'Yes'. The title of his short story collection, 'Love, Peace and Happiness' gave me a 'Chicken Soup of the Soul' kind of feeling. I was expecting mushy emotional stories that would touch the heart and probably bring a tear or at least wet the eyes … (which reminds me that it has been a loooooong time since I read that kind of stuff … need to check if I have any Cecelia Ahern unread at hand) It is a nice collection overall; with the novel concept of alternate endings available on the internet for readers to get more value out of the book. If the reader is not satisfied by the ending in the book or the web, they can suggest...

  Continued from previous post …   21. Sherlock Exploits: The Adventure of the Dark Angels by Adrian Doyle A lady approaches Sherlock with the strange events at her secluded home which seem to be warning of an imminent danger. Sherlock deduces certain things and realizes that the lady has arrived a day too late. He rushes to the lady's home only to find the murder already committed. On the spot, he announces the name of the murderer and even deduces the approximate history behind the murder.   22. Three Investigators Novella: The Mystery of the Creep-Show Crooks by M. V. Carey    A tote bag is found and the 3 investigators think it is a pretty straightforward 'case' of returning the bag. It turns out that not just the bag but a girl is also missing ... she has actually run away from home to become a Hollywood star. The trio locates the girl's parents as well as the girl only to become an unwanted witness of parent child reunion where the ...

  Continued from previous post …   11. Short Story: Cleaner by Ashok Banker Frankly speaking this story made no sense to me at all. I had heard some good things about Arvind Adiga's 'The White Tiger' and when I came across 2 of his short stories; I decided to start with them rather than the Tiger. But now I am not so sure about reading the Tiger. I am tempted to drop AA from my list but as usual, I give a second chance before abandoning   12. ACD Shorts: The Surgeon of Gaster Fell by Arthur Conan Doyle   A man, who is just about to move into new lodgings, finds a new neighbor moving into his existing lodgings. The new neighbor, a charming mysterious lady, is surprised at the man's plan to move into his new lodgings which are located in the solitude and wilderness of the hills; and gives him a parting word of advice 'lock your door from inside at night'. The man begins to live in the wilderness and strange things happen which have a cert...

September was a month dominated by new Indian Authors ; unlike any other month of the year. The novels of the month were 'Fractured Legend' by Kranthi Askani (Book Review Program of BlogAdda), 'The Krishna Key' by Ashwin Sanghi and 'Untruly Yours' by Smita Shetty. Fractured Legend and Untruly Yours were both short novels (under 200 pages) while the Krishna Key was around 475 pages.   Amongst the regular short novels/ novellas, I read 2 short novels by ACD and PKD - a Dr. Challenger one titled 'Poison Belt' by Arthur Conan Doyle and 'Ubik' by Philip K Dick; and one novella from the Three Investigators series.  Amongst the short story regulars I had 6 by Philip K. Dick, 5 by Arthur Conan Doyle, 3 from the Misadventure series and 2 from the Exploits series of Sherlock Holmes along with 2 shorts by Ashok Banker (yet another new author for me) and 6 from Mystery Traveler series – total 24 New authors this month : 3 of the Indian author...

This month from BlogAdda.com's Book Review Program is the novel 'The Shadow Throne' by Aroon Raman. For a debut novel, I am pretty impressed by Aroon's work. I liked the Shadow Throne but it is not without its faults. My first impression after reading the first 20-30 pages was "Oh No! Not Again" - I could straightaway see several similarity with the likes of Da Vinci Code and Krishna Key – the brutal murder at a famous landmark/monument, the mark/symbol left on the dead body (a vital clue to the murderer and his origins), the protagonist getting involved and then a lady coming into the fray and together they are on a run. The chase begins and the story unravels. …. The Shadow Throne begins on familiar grounds (almost Déjà vu) but thankfully that's where the similarity ends. Instead of the story taking on a Dan Brown'ish route of mythology and symbology … the story become Robert Ludlum'ish. The story meanders towards international espion...

For practically the first time in 9 years, we had an interruption in Arbit Choudhury comic strips release. Over the past 8 years (Jan 2005 to July 2012) we have maintained a fortnightly release frequency. Yes, there have been delays; at times the comic strips got released several days after the 1 st and 16 th of the month but the comic strips were eventually released within the same month before the next comic strip's release date. Two months ago, my laptop crashed and I was unable to revive it for quite some time due to several reasons; primarily because I was travelling a lot due to my new job requirements and also because a few repair guys I talked to quoted a high price which I did not want to invest on this 7 year old laptop. But then, comic strips release was getting impacted. All the semi-prepared comic strips for this year were on that laptop and it would be too much of a rework on another laptop. Also, I did try working on another laptop but I wasn't able to fo...

From Oct 2005 to June 2012, I made a lot of trips across the globe travelling to different countries and living in several cities. All that while, the only other Indian cities I had lived in were Bangalore and Pune and that too for quite short a duration. Now, with a change of job, the customer profile here is such that I travel domestic sectors. I am travelling to different places across India. In the past 3 months, I have already covered 5 states. For me it is like discovering India. I haven't travelled much in India so this is new and interesting for me. Travelling across the country by Air, Road, Rail is a far cry from international travel; it's different and offers many interesting experiences. To reach certain towns in the interior of this vas t country; one ends up taking a flight to a big town and then a train to the nearest railway station before hopping into a car to travel to the final destination. Along the way, you meet interesting people and get to see ...