Book Review: The Edge of the Machete by Abhisar Sharma

This was the second one that came from Blog Adda for review this month. Reading this one was an interesting experience ... reminding me of 'similar' Robert Ludlum novels
In many ways, 'The Edge of the Machete' by Abhisar Sharma was like a Robert Ludlum novel which has elements of CIA operatives, international espionage and touches of middle-eastern and Russian groups that are involved in international terrorism with a plot that has global implications.
Abhisar's story is set against the backdrop of the Afghanistan-Pakistan (AfPak) region with characters belonging to several militant groups from the region as well as the protagonist coming in from the CIA. I could draw certain parallels with a story by Robert Ludlum.
Besides the elements of Ludlum, Abhisar's writing style also has some Ludlum like characteristics. It felt like reading Ludlum and THAT I think is my biggest compliment for Abhisar.
The story has brutal executions and horrible tortures described so this one is not for the faint-hearted. There is too much of bloodshed (reminding me of Kill Bill)
There is a whole collection of militant groups and their own private agendas … that come together under a common leadership for a greater goal. The experiment is a massive one with warring factions bought under one roof creating a potential explosive situation.
Abhisar has been successful in weaving a nice story with some interesting characters whose personality grows with the novel and you discover them throughout the novel. The central characters each have a demon of their own which they fight internally while they have larger things happening to them as they become famous/infamous across the world. The story has a good pace and events keep unfolding rapidly.
As the novel ended, the climax gives me a feeling that Abhisar has a Jason Bourne like character in his hand and it would be a pity if he doesn't write more on this character which can open up several possibilities of interesting plots. At the core of Bourne series was the internal conflict of Jason Bourne … what happened inside his head. Abhisar has created a character which has similar state of mind.
At the end of the book, I realized that this seems like Book 2 of a trilogy so now I got to lay my hands on the 1st and the 3rd of this series … and hope they live up to the expectations set up by this one.
Note: This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com  ... Participate now to get free books!

Comments

  1. After 'The Eye of the Predator' Abhisar Sharma has presented us yet another scintillating tale. The story opens with a CIA operative being executed in front of the camera by Aamir Sherzai, the 21 year old whiz-kid of Tehreek-e-Taliban, the Pakistan wing of the Taliban.
    Eduardo Gomez, thirty-two, after seeing Jason's execution pledges to eliminate Aamir. He assumes a new identity - Sarfaraz Khan and comes up with a deadly plan in order to infiltrate the enemy camp.
    Meanwhile we are introduced to another person Shaun Marsh aka Shahid Khan who has his own dark past tracing back to London. An Indian reporter Rahul Sharma, is held hostagein the camp. But a sudden twist and you see a unpredictable link between Shaun and Rahul which turns both their lives upside-down.
    To know more about the fate of these three, you can surely read this thrilling tale. It is a page turner which portrays the psychology of characters very well. The darkness and mystery brings forward a sudden twist. The author has surely done a very fine job in taking us on this thrilling journey.

    Eagerly waiting for his next book!

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