R.I.P: Resurgent Indian Patriots – Mukul Deva – 'Thrill-a-minute book'

Name of Book - "R.I.P: Resurgent Indian Patriots"
Author - Mukul Deva - ex-Indian soldier
Publisher - Westland
Genre - Action-Political Thriller
Cover - Paperback
Price INR 200

This is my second book as part of the Blogadda Book Reviews Program. "R.I.P: Resurgent Indian Patriots" by Mukul Deva is like watching a fast-paced 'Mission Impossible' movie or rather an episode from the hit TV-series '24'.

Are you frustrated at the growing corruption around you? The never-ending scams from fodder-scams, Bofors, coffins for dead soldiers, plot allotments, 2G scams - do all these scams anger you? The growing sense of disappointment that successive governments have tried to create a welfare state doling out freebies and keep the mouths of the general public shut hurts one and all.

The media for all its worth with the likes of Arnab Goswami and Rajdeep Sardesai can go hammer and tongs and provide the same 'breaking news' again and again of one scam or the other; the nation has been bled dry by successive generation of corrupt politicians and a section of public who know that 'We the general public' are screwed!

Well you may ask why I rant like this for a book review?

The book has a lovely cover with the silhouette of a soldier in battle-gear and the image lingered in my mind for quite some time. I am a sucker for secret-ops and assassins and political thrillers and this book has it all. Well my dear friends because this book does not make any bones and goes about in detail about a group of vigilantes who assassinate powerful politicians and judges. The book starts with a set of three killings in three different cities. Close aides of three corrupt politicians are killed by lethal injection at a public place. One at a marriage party, one at a public art gallery and the other in a seedy hotel bar.

Set in modern India riddled by scams and corrupt politicians - the author cleverly plays around with the names of real politicians to give us characters with similar sounding names and equally corrupt natures. Sample these: Ranvijay, Kamble, Karunakaran --- there is a dig at a silent PM and an all powerful Madam head of the ruling party as well. All major scams the 2G scam, defence deals, plots for Kargil warriors find a mention. Anna Hazare has been replaced by Hazarika!

The story is about how a group of ex-paratroopers and special operatives calling themselves RIP go about systematically killing corrupt people. They issue a threat stating that if the government does not take strict action more deaths will follow. RIP is led by by Colonel Krishna Athwale a widower who lost his wife an airhostess during a plane hijack shoot-out.

Colonel Krishna and his renegades are pursued by two groups one led by mercenary and disgraced soldier Raghav and another Vinod Bedi from the CBI. A three-way cat-and-mouse game plays out with shootouts, bomb explosions and killings.
To complicate matters Raghav's wife Reena who is in the process of getting a divorce and Krishna find themselves mutually attracted to each other and this makes Raghav extremely jealous.

There is an emotional aspect as well with Raghav and Reena's son Azaan and Krishna's son Sachin being best friends. The scene where Raghav's son longs for his son; but also knows that he can never be faithful to his wife or any woman for that matter and goes on to have sexual intercourse with his maid-servant brings out the manic nature of a man with clearly disturbing schizophrenic tendencies. If this book gets made into a movie; I would love to see who gets Raghav’s role.

Other emotional scenes are Reena's doubts on whether to forgive Raghav and go back to him for the sake of her son. The turmoil as she realises that she is falling in love with Krishna. The scene where she accompanies Krishna to the temple on the death anniversary of Krishna's wife is well written.

Read this book to find out if RIP team succeeds in its mission or if Vinod manages to track down the renegades or if Raghav and Krishna have a final showdown.
Published by Westland this book is enjoyable; has all the potential for a slick movie-production and at Rs 200 is definitely worth a read. Will rate this book four stars out of five!

This review is a part of the biggest Book Reviews Program. for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

When the Millennium Trilogy got translated into English - the mammoth size of the first book with an intriguing cover was too tempting for me to resist buying it. I bought it at the Chennai Book Fair at a 10% discount. I finished the book over three days - essentially seven hours of reading on my train-ride to and from work.

It was undeniably good the next purchase was buying the remaining two books.

The books have been successfully made into movies in Swedish. When David Fincher was named director for the English version - I was really happy after Se7en and Zodiac David Fincher has been a firm favourite. Please note I have not seen his earlier movies that cemented his name as a man who could muddle your mind with his movies like - Eraserheads. Daniel Craig after a pathetic show in Quantum of Solace and The Golden Compass redeems himself to an extent as Michael Blomkvist the journalist.

The movie belongs to but one character like the books - the girl - Lisbeth Salander - a hacker / researcher par excellence - a thin and frail girl with body art, rings, and openly bi-sexual a ward of the state because she attempted to kill her father when she was 11. Naomi Rapace truly deserved an Oscar for this role.

The movie is about bilionaire Henrik who wants Michael to investigate the case of a missing girl Hannah. How Michael and Lisbeth solve this case and uncover a serial-killer who sexually violated women forms the crux of the story.

The movie is technically banned from a theatrical release in India as far as I know because of nudity and disturbing behaviour on screen. It's a shame but well torrents abound and you know where to go to get the DVDs be it Palika Bazaar, Chor Bazaar, Burma Bazaar, Singapore Plaza, Chandini Chowk etc...

Watch the movie......

The End of an Era, Sidney Sheldon dies-

I got my first Sidney Sheldon book at the age of 13, I think it was "The Other Side of Midnight." I was captivated by the sheer brilliance of the author, suspense and drama, that made me turn each page with eager expectation. As the years progressed I graduated to serious literature and philosophy, but Sidney Sheldon along with Robert Ludlum and Jeffrey Archer are my favourite authors.

Sidney died yesterday at the age of 89, because of complications related to pneumonia. He donned a variety of roles in his long and eventful life. Jewish by birth, he won his first prize of $ 10, for a poem that he wrote as a ten year kid. During the Depression of 1929, he held various jobs. He worked as a script-reader and eventually emerged as a script-writer himself, writing plays that were staged on Broadway. He served in the War as a pilot and used his experiences in "The Other Side of Midnight." He wrote and produced serials for television, with "I Dream of Jeannie," being one of the most loved comedies on American television. He wrote his first novel at 50, and then there was no stopping him, as his books broke one record after the other. His works have been translated into more than 30 languages and will be cherished as an author who was loved by many people across the globe transcending all boundaries of differences.

My favourite Sheldon books are-"If Tomorrow Comes," "The Doomsday Conspiracy" and "Master of the game."

Adieu Mr. Sidney Sheldon, you will be missed...