Review: Ford County

Ford County by John Grisham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A collection of seven short stories, I bought it with high expectations. Didn't live up to it. The first one "Blood Drive" is about three people volunteering to go to the city to donate blood to one of the residents of Ford County. This is a funny account of their misadventures. "Fetching Raymond" is about a family of three, a mother and her two sons, visiting their third son in prison. This is somewhat a tragic story including "Michael'sRoom". "Fish Files" is about a down and out lawyer prospecting for a fortune by cheating his clients. It was kind of boring. I liked "Casino" & "Quiet Haven" but the last one "Funny Boy" simply takes the cake. It is a beautiful story about how a young white man dying of AIDS ends up in a black township near Clanton and is looked after by a black lady after being abandoned by his family.

The protagonist is not the character in the stories but Ford county itself. Its residents are depicted as racists, bigots, misogynists, petty thieves, creepy crooked lawyers and gold-diggers. I think this is the first book of its kind where the author has delved into short stoy format. But I liked Archer's stories more than Grisham's. Happy reading for folks interested in reading short stories ! Nothing great about it. Maybe for Grisham fans only.

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Review: Disclosure

Disclosure by Michael Crichton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first time I saw the movie based on the book, it was fabulous. Normally i try to avoid books based on movies if I have already seen the movie. So i gave up many opportunities to buy this book. Finally I couldn't resist when I saw a bargain on this one and I bought it since it was almost 15 years since i watched the movie. I was not disappointed at all. The movie might have taken liberties with the plot subtly but it was not so obvious.

The plot is about our protagonist who is sexually harassed by his female boss and how he unravels the plot with the help of a female attorney. The subject of sexual harassment is equally relevant today. It might have been a novel thing 20 years back and to bring out a book on the subject where the harasser is a woman, is definitely commendable at that time. According to the author, it was based on a true incident.

The plot is wonderful and the climax is equally rivetting with its twists and turns. I couldn't put down the book. Real edge-of-the seat thriller.

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Review: Excise

Excise by Danielle Girard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A giveaway from Netgalley. I liked the book. At places I found it tedious and the plot drags. The killings do not tie in. There is another subplot of the medical examiner's (our heroine) husband in jail and due for release. The protagonist fears he would come after her for his revenge and suspects his involvement in the murders. This thread also is incomplete. The climax is good and the twist in the story is great. However, the book lacks in building up the suspense and the excitement of reading it for the what-happens-next moment is missing.


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Review: Yama's Lieutenant

Yama's Lieutenant by Anuja Chandramouli
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Note - Free copy from the author in exchange of a review. Thank you Anuja Chandramouli for the copy. I was intrigued by the title so I agreed to review this.

The book is a fantastically written (pun intended). It deals with a young lad Agni Prakash, a human being, who is anointed as Yama's lieutenant to fight the evil forces out to conquer the three worlds i.e. heaven, hell and earth with the help of a kritya, a divine woman with magical powers. Agni Prakash is heartbroken over his twin sister Varu's death and brooding over his sense of loss. One fine day, he is recruited by a goddess Taravarsha to save the three worlds from Naganara, a necromancer.

The plot flits between the mythical and the real world, weaving an interesting story of Agni Prakash and his travails in battling with the arakshas who have escaped the nether world and wreaking havoc on the earthlings. There is also another thread with a backstory of Yama in the form of a book written by Varu before her death. So little is known about Yama, the lord of death and the netherworld. This is like an eye-opener.

This was my first book in the fantasy genre by an Indian author. I am not a keen fan of books on fantasy, however I was not disappointed. Published by Random House India, you can expect a top-notch quality product, no less. After a long time, I have reviewed a book which is tightly edited and the language is absolutely superb. The author has a mastery over the language with a wide repertoire in vocabulary. The prose flows beautifully. However, I found the first hundred pages
a bit of a drag with so many multiple characters flitting in and out that I almost lost track of the plot. However, Varu's book on Yama and his emergence as the lord of the netherworld kept me hooked.

Overall, I liked it and for those interested in fantasy / mythology, go grab it !


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Review: Devil's Light

Devil's Light by Richard North Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The plot is about a missing nuclear warhead,threats by Al-Qaeda to annihilate USA on the 9/11 anniversary, chaos, mayhem and search for the bomb in the Middle-East. The plot is thin but interspersed with the political history of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan which makes it interesting. However, at those points, the book drags a bit and the reader tends to get disinterested. The book grips when you follow the bomb on its journey to its destination.

To sum up the book, a cat and mouse game to avert human tragedy of catastrophic proportions.

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Review: Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles

Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles by Ruchir Sharma
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Published in 2012, I picked up the book five years late. This is an extremely well-researched book, giving a general background and in-depth analysis of developing or under-developed economies of the world. Ruchir Sharma is a wealth manager and the chief of one of the biggest fund houses in the world. He has given a first hand account of the economic situation prevalent in select list of countries which he thinks will emerge as winners or losers in the long run over the next decade.

Each chapter is about a country and he delves deep into the problems or the plus points of the economy of each of these. The language is easy to understand without too many economic jargons and any layman would be able to soak in the facts provided. It is also interspersed with some trivia which makes it interesting to read. For e.g., how many of you know that Saudi Arabia imports refined petroleum or diesel as it does not have refining capacity to refine its oil produce although it is the largest exporter of crude oil. Or local glass manufacturers in the Gulf region have to import sand, a key raw material for making glass, although the countries are surrounded by sand all around. Apparently, the sand quality is too poor to manufacture glass so they have to import high quality sand from other countries.

If ever there is a sequel (probably he should write a sequel maybe in 2020), I would certainly pick it up to see if his research has borne fruit.

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Review: Amritsar: Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle

Amritsar: Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle by Mark Tully
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had always wondered about the reasons for Army's action in Operation Blue Star. This is a wonderful book detailing the history behind the storming of Golden Temple complex by the Army which also was a major cause for a rise in extremism in Punjab.

It chronicles the events leading to the decision of the Congress government to direct the Army to enter the temple to flush out Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his band of terrorists. It was a blot on the government and the most bitter consequence was the assassination of Indira Gandhi. It details the roles played by Akali Dal, Congress government, the Indian Army, Harcharan Singh Longowal, Zail Singh, Gurcharan Singh Tohra and significantly of Bhindranwale and his rise to notoriety.

Mark Tully and Satish Jacob, who used to work for BBC, has narrated a first hand account of the events leading up to one of the darkest moment in Indian history and it is truly commendable. The only minor irritant in the kindle version was the spellcheck errors which crept in. Being seasoned writers and journalists, the book would have been definitely edited thoroughly. So it might have been inadvertently crept in the electronic version. This can be a reference book for history buffs and people who are keen to learn about Operation Blue Star.

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