Book review : Losing my religion.

Vishwas Mudagal 's debut novel "Losing my religion " is by Fingerprint publishing.Vishwas Mudagal is an engineer from RV College ,Bangalore.He turned entrepreneur at the age of eighteen & has founded many companies, since then, one after the other ! His is at present, the CEO of GoodWorkLabs ,a leading technology firm.

The cover of the book shows a distraught young man sitting on the floor.He is wearing a black leather jacket & dark grey ( almost black though not completely ) jeans .He is wearing a full sleeved shirt as the sleeves can be seen peeping out, a good four to five  inches from his jacket ..The jacket zipper is open, revealing the unbuttoned shirt.It reveals a horizontally striped tee shirt .He is wearing a chain or thread from which a rectangular pendant is hanging from  his neck on to his chest.He is wearing black shoes.He looks fair & yet the way, he is looking towards his right, makes one, wonder if his future is bleak.The wall behind him, is  yellow.The floor below, is light brown or buff colour.Towards the right hand top of the cover,the city of New York can be seen.

Rishi Rai is a gamer .He has started  a gaming company & failed.He is bankrupt & clueless about what to do next.He meets up an American,Alex  & before he knows it ,they are backpacking all over India.Rishi buys a shack in Goa & makes a decent living .He bumps into another American ...this time, it is a babe,Kyra & sparks fly ! And then ,too soon,she bids goodbye.Lover boy is distraught & pathetic.His American buddy decides that they should travel to get him out of this & they head to Kumbh Mela,the great ocean of a pilgrimage ! And then their lives change forever, when they witness Kumbh & it becomes their life.

Does the Kumbh mela bring peace & joy to Rishi Rai ? Does Kyra come back to him ? Rishi knows nothing about Kyra except that she is a passionate gamer just like him.What is Kyra & why did she disappear as suddenly as she arrived ? Will Rishi just languish in grief lamenting Kyra's departure ?  What has the future or rather the Kumbh mela  in store for him ?

The book is interesting in the beginning & then loses its steam.The escape from the Himalayan region looks too unrealistic as the buddies are always on a high, on drugs & drinks. The tale gets too predictable,from then onwards .There are too many foreigners in the plot,all Americans.It is no secret, that reality shows are  manipulated & scripted.Nothing new in the tale.It gets unbelievable that a business tycoon agrees to be part of a soap opera masquerading as a reality show just to degrade another. Corporates have many more tricks up their sleeves apart from  the idiot box ?The reality game show gets more shocking & degrading .And just like in Bollywood ,the readers know that the hero will win despite,all the odds .In fact,the more impossible it looks,the more is the predictability of the hero being larger than life ! This makes the story & characters too much unreal.The reader cannot empathise.

The print if slightly bigger ,would have been easier on the eyes.The chapters are short  & medium ; .The paper quality is good.There is an author's note in the beginning of the book followed by Epilogue.Then the Chapters start.There are 31 chapters, followed by the chapters describing the reality show.It is spread over 360 pages.Towards the end, is the Epilogue, followed by Fingerprint diaries ,wherein, a short interview of the author is given.

All in all,this book would be a hit with those who are gamers ,IT industry wallahs ,etc.With other readers who are the  majority ,it is  slow & a drag on the nerves.

This review is courtesy,Storizen.

Book Review : Anti Social Network.

Piyush Jha 's novel "Anti Social Network " is an action cum crime thriller.There is never a dull moment in the narrative.It is dedicated to his wife Priyanka for gently pushing him along.

Towards the end of the book is the Acknowedgements wherein the author admits his gratefulness to many, especailly to his mother & Mumbai Devi ,the deity of Mumbai.

Piyush Jha is an ad film maker .He has made a name with advertisements for India's biggest brands.He has made films like Chalo America,King of Bollywood,Sikander etc.His earlier books Mumbaistan & Compass Box Killer have brought him high acclaim.

The publisher is Rupa .It is available as an e book as well.My book copy says that it is a digital copy.This goes hand in glove with the title "Anti Social Network ".

The cover has been designed by Nitesh Mohanty.It shows a girls' silhouette in black against a blood splattered background across  the upper part of the book .The girl is wearing a short frock or skirt rising  above her knees.She is playing with her hair with her left hand.In her right hand ,is a knife from which blood is flowing.She is surrounded by the buildings of Mumbai at her feet.Maybe  she is somewhere on a hill top or upper storey .Perhaps,  she has Mumbai at her feet .The back page of the book shows the Mumbai stock exchange building,the Rajabhai clock tower & the Gateway of India.The Rupa logo is at the top right handside of the front cover page & also down at the back cover page.

The cover page says that this is a Inspector Virkar crime thriller.It says that it is a Mumbaistan series.This sets the pace of the book.

A young lad is found murdered with his penis missing.Another killing ensues.This body has the tongue cut out.Next in line, is a girl whose eyes have been gouged out.Inspector Virkar who is assigned the case is dumb struck.He has seen bodies with parts missing & yet this all seems to be the crimes of a deranged mind.Or is it, very careful planning to confound the police. Is there one murderer or a gang on the loose ? There is Usman teacher ,an informer turned criminal,who tips Inspector Virkar.He gets eliminated soon.Is that death linked to the series of gruesome killings ?Naina Rai ,the student counseller becomes the comrade in arms, as Inspector Virkar falls for her charms.As the narrative gathers speed,it is clear that the net is being abused for coercion, so that money exchanges hands.Are the murders & the coercion part of the same racket ?  Inspector Virkar has to befriend a geek ,Robert a  hacker who has to be bribed with paid holidays .Moreover,Robert is always on a high, on drugs.Is Robert trustworthy ?

Is Inspector Virkar able to match up to the cyber skills of the killers ? Do Naina Rai & Inspector Virkar become a couple ? Does Robert deliver or is just playing along ?

The novel begins with an epilogue & ends with a prologue.There are forty four chapters in a book of 192 pages.Short chapters teeming with action & thrills.Mumbai slang is used effectively & makes for smiles .The author seems to know the lanes & bylanes of Mumbai too well.He describes them in great details.Hence ,the narrative gets real ! Inspector Virkar is a simple person who needs Jhinga Koliwada & branded beer.He seems to have a keen sense of observation as part of the job & even otherwise.He has an eye for detail, of the anatomy of humans,especially women !

A fast paced thriller which can be read in just one night ! Total  paisa vasool for the price of Rs.195  !

Grateful that Storizen keeps me occupied by sending me books for reviews ! 

Book Review :The Madras Mangler

Usha Narayanan spins a thriller in her debut novel "The Madras Mangler ".Usha Narayanan is a jack of many trades.She was an English Teacher, creative director in advertising agencies,jingle writer,web editor,journalist,green volunteer ,head of copy right publishing in e publishing,etal.She has completed Masters in English Literature with a  gold medal.She has a diploma in creative writing from the Hawaii University as well.

The cover of her thriller shows a girl's face with hair  scattered all around.The eyes are closed .The cover is in black & white .Just like the snaps of old times before colour photographs became a rage.The title of the novel is printed in red towards the top of the cover.The bottom of the cover states the name of the author in white. The back cover of the book is greenish grey with a synposis of the novel towards the upper end.The back cover has faint images of a beaded necklace & some more scattered hair.

The printer is Jufic books.Paper quality is good.Chapters are short in length.There are fifty five chapters in the book of 280 pages.The author thanks all the people who made her debut novel a reality in Acknowledgements.There is a Prologue to the story, which sets the tone.

This is a story full of action & thrills.It is sets in a college in Chennai. Girls go missing from colleges.This is a tale of five girls.....Deepika,Kat, Lolita,Minx,Moti  studying at SS Padmaja College,Chennai.One of the five girls goes missing.No leads are available.

The deputy commissioner Reddy is eager to mingle with the press. Reddy expects girls to remain indoors so that they will remain unharmed. Vir,the NRI criminologist has a scientific approach to the missing girls problem.His Indian batchmate Bishnu has set up an enviable state of the art technology office for detection.Reddy is unimpressed & keeps shooting his mouth off.The girls have to fight on so many fronts....their parents,hooligans at the college,the khap like dictats of Reddy ,etc.

As the bodies of missing girls are found ,the city gets scared.There is a serial killer on the loose.Why is he targeting girls ? Why does he disfigure the girls ? The bodies are battered & barely recognisable.

Who is the killer ? Why has he started killing girls ? Is he trying to break some record in killing ? Do Reddy & police team unamsk the killer ? What about Vir & Bishnu  ? Are they able to rescue girls from the menace of the killer ?

The story is fast paced.It is so much rooted in the current scenario in our nation where girls & women fear for their safety in their homes & even outside.Molestation,ragging,rapes,eve teasing are so common place .It has humour too. Kat opines  that her mom thinks of the boys available for marriage is like a clearance sale ! Kat sarcastic remarks to boys about their evolution ( if any ).Girls like  the college for  freedom from their prying parents,possessive fiances & others gundas.Yet in college ,they encounter hooligans pretending to study,Principal making rules for the supposed safety of girls,etc.

The language is good.A glossary at the end of the book explains the Indian terms used in the novel.At a price of RS 195 /- this book is worth every page !

The author writes from the perspective of the woman .Her narrative makes it  very interesting & immensely readable.

I am thankful to Storizen for making this book available to me for review.

Book Review :The Missing Connection

This novel is by an anaesthetist, Dr Ketaki Patwardhan Nirkhi.This is  her second novel after her debut book, "Those  enchanted four & half years ".Poems & short stories by Dr Ketaki have been published in numerous e magazines like Indus Women writing,Bloggers park,Litizen,Muse India,Wishbo,Writer's Cafe`,etc.

It is published by Moment Publishers based in Ahmedabad,Gujarat.On the reverse of the  cover page ( the cover page at the end of the book ),is a list of the numerous  partners in Media,Magazine Online Social Media,Community,Technology etal.

The cover of the book shows a woman whose eye is blue or reflecting a blue light from something at which she is staring.Her lips are slightly open.Strands of her hair are covering her upper cheek & parts of   her face.Behind her, is another image of a woman with down cast eyes & a hand, which seems to be hanging as if helpless.The title of the novel is printed on the cover with mirror image of N in the title.The author's name is also printed.At the upper part of the cover, on the left hand side is the logo of the publishers M in red & a bit of yellowish orange below a ziz zag  blue line.

The story is about a doctor,Dr Neha Dixit,  who is an anaesthesist at a Mumbai hospital.A patient ,named Susan, is brought in one day, for treatment & she seems familiar.Yet Dr. Neha, cannot recall, why she seems so familiar. And then, Susan disappears from the hospital.Now Dr Neha cannot contain her curiosity & she starts searching for Susan.Dr .Neha learns that Susan was haunted by something.What is  that,Dr Neha wonders.Dr Neha seems to spot Susan at some places .Is it real or just a figment of Dr Neha's imagination ? Will Dr Neha be able to locate Susan ? And who is Susan ? Dr. Neha's husband is perturbed that his wife is taking more than a professional interest in her patient. He feels that his wife desperately needs to see a psychiatrist. Does he give in & support his wife ?Does Dr Neha seek the help of a psyschiatrist ? What happens to Susan ? Is she finally cured ? What was that which was disturbing Susan ?

This book opens with a few lines penned by Mother Teresa.Next, is the Acknowledgement wherein Dr Ketaki thanks all who have helped her in penning this novel & getting it published.She thanks the publishers,her family ,her colleagues etal.This is followed by Prologue& then the novel begins....with date & time.The book goes back & forth in time as there are some past diary entries.This is like flashback & present scenes.Admirable.The chapters are short & eggs the reader on.Yet the tale, seems too predictable to some extent if not fully.

It introduces hypnotic age regression which is regarded as unreliable  by some.One excellent thing about the book is the postivity about adoption.if many adopted ,there would  be less orphans ...perhaps, no one will be an orphan any more .And that is saying a lot...the world would be a much better place!

this book review has been done for the e magazine Storizen.

Book Review : Done with Men.

"Done with men "  by Shuchi Singh Kalra is the first e book ,I am reveiwing.I had read another e book  much earlier.Shuchi Singh Kalra 's debut novella is "Done with Men ".She has written many articles  for magazines like Femina,Good Housekeeping,Women's Era to name a few.Shuchi owns Pixie Dust Writing Studio, an editing firm that serves clients across the world !
She is the owner of the Indian Freelance Writers Blog, which is a fast-growing resource for Indian writers.

Well ,I loved the PDF format."Done with Men " is an Indirom Novella published by Indireads.In fact ,it is the first rom com offering by Indireads after 30 romance novellas which were published in 2013.Navigation was a breeze !

The author has dedicated this book to her hubby ,kid,parents,in laws & also the readers.It is quite humourous ....her vote of thanks to all !

There are twenty chapter followed by Epilogue,Glossary , note to readers,about author,about Indireads & more from Indireads.

This is a story of Kairavi Krishna,  who is working for the magazine ,The New Age Traveller .She is in Goa on a holiday cum work assignment.She wants to party away to forget & forgive her boyfriends who were useless & brought her grief.To prove her point ,she tattoos her  hand with "Done with Men ".And then she meets with an accident .The holiday plan goes awry.She is being nursed in hospital by best friend Baani & her glued  boyfriend Kapil.

Is the hospital stay boring ? Kairavi has to warn herself that she will not fall for any more men though she meets the handsome doctor on duty, Dr Vivian,daily.It is sheer torture.Then ,she discovers that he may be married.No, still a bachelor and going to be engaged.Very confusing.

There is more drama.Her ex keeps meeting her in places she lands up.Baani & her fevicol boy friend break up.Kairavi's boss lands up in Goa.What happens when Kairavi's boss discovers that Kairavi was dancing with gay abandon when she met with an accident ? Do Kairavi & Vivian become a couple ? Is it mutual love or is it just one sided  love by Kairavi ?  What about Baani & Kapil ?

The book makes hilarious reading.All paragraphs from the first till the very end has a little humour in it.The thought bubble speaking & replying to Kairavi's questions are very amusing. Kairavi is just like any other girl who cannot take to high heels .She is not the slim & trim types.We can all identify with her & hence empathise with her !

The print was easy on the eyes & all is neat.Short chapters which egg me on to read faster.Language is easy & drama unfolds step by step.So ,the plot gets interesting as we flip pages.

A worthy book to keep smiling & laughing as we read through.

Thank you ,Storizen for this opportunity to read & review an E book !

Book Review : The Prophecy of Trivine

The Prophecy of Trivine is a coordinated effort by three engineers who studied in the same college.This is a surprise as it requires thinking & visualising similarly & even agreeing to the visualisation & ideas of others.This is a book divided into Prologue,20 chapters followed by Epilogue.All these are contained in 259 pages.The book came with two book marks.The book marks had the same print as is there on the  cover of the book.

The book cover,shows half a face which is silvery white with piercing blue eyes.It is a very chiseled face & a feminine one.The eye is blue.The background seems to be bluish black.On the back cover is a circle which could be the globe or the sky.It shows passing clouds & a hyena silhouette of a hyena which seems to be  wailing as the mouth is open, with canines  protruding from its mouth..Two more trees,both dried up, with no leaves,form part of the background.


This is a tale of a techie,on the run, who takes shelter in the jungle.This is also the story of a pharmacist,who is studying plants & herbs in the jungle.This is also the saga of a  person,who is a great artist.This story delves into the jungle & the happenings there.The jungle is paranormal or is it mutating ? Or maybe it is all just normal ?

What are the aims of the techie,the scientist & the artist ? Will they join hands together for making the world a better place ? Or  would they pull each other down, as that is basic human nature ?Are humans ever ready to argue,pick up a  fight and the like ? Can they ever aid & help each other ? There is someone who is keeping a watch & maybe even prompting .Who is that ? Is that real or paranormal or is it God ?Where is the world headed ?

The book is written visually .....especially the description of the forest is so vivid that one would love to explore such a jungle as described in the book.Not that it is without its inherent dangers.Still ,the beauty  of the jungle makes one feel adventurous to try it out.Telepathy & other terms like contact,teleporting make it very engrossing !

Current events are woven into the tapestry of the novel & this makes it contemporary. The language is easy & fluid.The story moves at an even pace.A little bit of humour would have been the icing on the cake ! Is paranormal same as Divine ? Not many will concur.Moreover is destruction the only option for God ? Almighty is capable of  repairing  & resurrection , isn't it ? That is what makes God so many notches above human kind.

The saga does get preachy at times.Some ideas  like  evolution of life as per the novel may be unacceptable to some.This is a good attempt to weave science fiction & magic.Trust, that very soon, cures for life threatening disease / s would  be revealed.....as in the novel !    

I am thankful to Storizen for this opportunity to review this sci fi fantasy.I would surely recommend this book for the vivid description of the jungle....it is so good that the jungle appears to be enchanted .

Book review :The Steradian Trail

The Streradian Trail by M.N.Krish, makes for an engrossing read ! From the contents of the book ,it appears to be the first novel penned by the author & that is what is indeed admirable.The author who is from IIT has written  for business magazines earlier.

The cover is yellow which goes to yellow brown & towards the top it is brown.Currency symbols are scattered in no particular order on the yellow brown cover.A reddish brown geometric symbol made up of many squares is also featured on the cover.It is just like a bird in flight, with wings spread out.The title of the book is stated on the cover followed by an infinity symbol.It says that that this is book 0 of the infinity cycle ! Follows that, the writer hopes to write infinite books !

This story is about  professor Joshua who is visiting India & as he plans to return to US ,his home ,he is held back for his safety.He starts investigating & is soon  embroiled in a  mystery ! His classmate Lakshman, is his confidant in this mission which has already taken away the life of one of his students.Initially,the duo face no dangers & as the plot progresses,their lives are in danger.

This is also the story of Divya who is knowledge personified &  nothing misses her keen sense of Mathematics. Her friend Veenu helps her with crucial inputs in demystifying the riddle.Do they succeed ? What happens to Joshua & his friend ? Do they remain alive as they dig deeper & deeper ? What is at stake which puts  their life in danger ? This book  is also a tribute to Ramanujan ,the world famous Indian mathematician.


I loved the read,as it is laced with humour.The author uses the tryst with destiny speech of our erstwhile Prime Minister Nehru in a very different context & it makes us guffaw loudly.Another instance is of the monkey menace in the laboratory which makes the reader smile a  lot.The practice of  bestowing honorary doctorates to all & sundry is featured in the book.And it makes a mockery of the people who are scholars This is indeed, a sad state of affairs. Instead,doctorates are generously granted to businessmen,politicians,etal who have no relationship,whatsoever with learning.

The book lists the cultural practices of the brahmins in Chennai with their idiosyncrasies like Sri Ramajayam,their faith in Gods ,their places of pilgrimage,vegetarianism, filter coffee etal. This makes it very delightful .The author seems to be in favour of vegetarianism though he tries hard not to preach it.

Though Mathematics is the subject tackled here,the author keeps it light & hence the book does not get boring or dull.  The description of degree coffee of Kumbhakonam,where Ramanujan's house is makes it very compelling  to visit Kumbhakonam just for tasting  the degree coffee !

The author laments that a museum dedicated to Ramanujan is hardly known to many, even in Chennai & is  all due to the efforts of a school teacher.

The language is simple & the book is divided into small chapters The result is, that I was egged on to finish the chapters as they were small.It is devoid of technicalities of Mathematics & hence interesting.It makes me take pride in the work of Ramanujan.

I would recommend this book to one & all as it is humourous  & has mystery & lots of drama.It informs us that the Ramanujan's theories are being discussed & debated even today so many years after his death ! In India ,we seem to have forgotten him.

I am thankful to Storizen for giving me this opportunity to review this book !