...shoOOonya...

    Continued from previous post …   16. Three Investigators Novella: The Mystery of Wrecker's Rock by William Arden    The three investigators are sent fishing off the coast by Bob's father with a simple instruction – click pictures. The lure is that if they click 'interesting' pictures, they will get paid for them. With no idea, what to expect in the seas; the trio is lazing around fishing when they encounter something really interesting and their camera gets into action as they witness a family reunion of a different kind. The people pose and they take some really nice pics of a family re-union which has some historical importance. They also discover an abandoned boat leading to the case of a missing person (probably dead) which is duly reported to police; nothing much for the trio to do on that though. Someone is now interested in those pictures and the trio as well as Bob's father have to face assault/attack by masked men out to rob the ph...

Continued from previous post … 7. PKD Shorts: Sales Pitch by Philip K Dick We all are vary of the spam in our mailbox, the sms and sales calls on our mobile phones selling us houses, home loans, credit cards and holiday packages. Marketing is moving over from informational to irritating to intrusive. Fast Forward life a couple of decades and imagine how far would this intrusion go? This short one from PKD is about a guy who gets frustrated by the constant 'sales pitch' he is being subjected to. One fine day, something happens and he decides that the 'sales pitch' has gone too far. He takes some decisive action (pretty destructive one) and the results are ironic and funny at the same time. 8. Sherlock Misadventures: The Case of the Diabolical Plot by Richard Mallett What would you think if you heard that thieves / robbers were stealing piano keys, circus elephants, billiard balls and chess pieces across the city? If you are Sherlock Holmes, you are su...

  October, once again saw a dominance of Indian Authors (all new for me). The novels of the month were 'Shadow Throne' by Aroon Raman and 'Red Jihad' by Sami Ahmad Khan, both received as part of the Book Review Program of BlogAdda. I also received a Short Story Collection, 'Love, Peace and Happiness' from the author, Rituraj Verma. BTW … I had planned to begin the Kane Chronicles Trilogy by Rick Riordan this month but these book reviews have pushed it further . Amongst the regular novels/novellas, I read 1 short novel by PKD and 1 not-so-short-but-almost-long novel by ACD –   'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep' by Philip K Dick and the last Dr. Challenger novel titled 'The Land of Mist' by Arthur Conan Doyle; And one novella from the Three Investigators series. Amongst the short story regulars I had 8 by Philip K. Dick, 6 by Arthur Conan Doyle, 3 from the Misadventure series, 2 from the Exploits series of Sherlock Holmes and ...

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...