Review: Congo

Congo by Michael Crichton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book was interesting in the second half with the first half using lot of technical jargon which almost made me abandon it halfway. Once you overcome the first half, it becomes interesting and edgy. The author has described the African jungles so vividly that you visualise it right before your eyes. All about an organisation's quest to explore blue diamonds which sends a woman, Karen Ross accompanied by a primatologist, Peter Elliot who becomes the central character along with his pet gorilla, Amy. You feel for Amy when she converses with her handler Peter Elliot. The expedition is led by a mercenary turned expert jungle guide Munro. There are the unusual twists and turns given the jungle backdrop, the tribals and the gorillas. The whole technical stuff appear a bit outdated today since this was written way back in the 80s. Otherwise this is a good book to read.

After reading Congo I will see monkeys and apes with a lot more respect. The gorilla is described to be far more docile creature than the chimpanzees, however fearsome they appear. Don't judge a book by the cover (pun intended). I was actually surprised by such tidbits in the book regarding primate behaviour. Enjoy the adventure !

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Review: The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Till now I was never tempted to read this. When I saw a bargain on Amazon, I bought it just for the heck of it. How did this book become a best-seller ? I could neither make head nor tail of the story. Written as a motivational book, this is least bit motivational and utterly disappointing.Have read better books than this.

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Review: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a hilarious and funny book. All about a chef's life in the kitchen. Anthony Bourdain has nailed the profession perfectly in this book and seems to have good writing skills too. There are some interesting titbits about the kitchen like the one about fish on Mondays, the right kind of people to be hired as kitchen staff etc. I was however expecting a bit more dirt on the restaurant industry, but was disappointed. It was more of a professional biography of Mr. Bourdain. Would give it 3.5 stars.

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Review: The Boy

The Boy by Nrupal Das
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was a short story of about 14 pages. What started off as promising and interesting, tapered off with a straightforward ending. The author has written a beautiful story about a boy who has gone missing and his parents' despair and the uncertainty that awaits their fate. The prose is good flows beautifully. However, due to the short length the author could not etch out the characters in depth.

PS: - Free copy in exchange for a frank review.

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Review: A Gambler's Jury

A Gambler's Jury by Victor Methos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As usual Victor Methos never lets you down. This is the second book that I have read and I loved it. Initially I was a bit skeptical after reading the blurb about a mentally challenged boy wrongly accused of drug dealing and a lawyer who is forced to adopt him under strange circumstances, fighting to keep him out of jail. But as the story unfolds, it becomes a larger conspiracy involving the State and turns into a David v/s Goliath kind-of-a-fight, it becomes interesting and you don't want to put the book down.

I loved the character of Danni Rollins the almost drunk lawyer, who has a I-don't-give-a-damn attitude and Will, the rich private investigator who helps Danni in her investigations.

The author's note says that the story is drawn from the author's personal experience as a lawyer. For all ye legal thriller fans, one more author to watch out for.


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Review: The Fragile Thread of Hope

The Fragile Thread of Hope by Pankaj Giri
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On GR the punchline for this book is "A gripping emotional inspirational fiction about love, loss, and finding hope in the darkest of times". It was not gripping, but it certainly lived up to its punchline - emotional and inspirational fiction. This is a decent book on human emotions of love, loss and a sense of hope. The main characters are Fiona and Soham who go through the lowest points in their life - losing loved ones. How they overcome their loss and find each other forms the main plot. Being fed on a heavy diet of thrillers for a long time, this looked like a breath of fresh air, when the author approached me for a review. And I don't regret it.

The setting is Gangtok and the author has beautifully described the place with its wonderful climate, the heavy rains, narrow roads and alleys, the tea shop, the local bookshop and Kanchenjunga at sunrise. Believe me, when I say that the Kanchenjunga at sunrise is one of the most beautiful sights to behold, it is an understatement. Also one gets a bit of an insight into the Nepali culture, traditions and language which I feel the author should have been more liberal with.

The main grouse is the author has spent too much time going into the details with a heavy dose of wordplay. Somewhere the story drags and the reader tends to lose interest. The author seems to have a very good vocabulary but I couldn't help notice a few grammatical mistakes (syntax errors ?) in some places. The first fifty pages, I was lost in the chronological order in which the author had written the book and couldn't keep up with it, having to turn the pages backwards a couple of times to check what was written earlier. Once you get used to it or maybe ignore it, it becomes easier to read.

Being a debut work, this was a decent one and I wish him all the best for the future.

PS: - Free copy in exchange of a review.

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Review: Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fantastic book. If you want to turn an atheist, read this book. It debunks all myths about religion and God. The author tries to wed science with religion and concocts an immensely interesting and edge-of-the-seat thriller.

A priest-turned-scientist at CERN (the organisation where the Hadron Collider was built - remember God's particle ? ) is killed and investigations reveal that he was on the cusp of a mind boggling invention which is about to turn religion and faith on it's head. Enter Robert Langdon, the renowned American symbologist, who is called upon to investigate the murder. He teams up with the scientist's daughter Vittoria and the trail leads them to Vatican City and papal domain.

What is interesting here is the way Dan Brown recreates Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel, the Pope's Office and residence and the CERN environs in detail. The book contains beautiful illustrations of the symmetrical ambigrams. I commend the author or the artist who has conceptualised these ambigrams which forms the core plot. The only part which I found a bit over the top was the helicopter ride towards the end of the book. Overall, this was one good thriller with a healthy dose of religion thrown in.

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