Vijai's Book Reviews

My second try at Mr. Ben Bova's style of sci-fi after a much hated experience of reading voyagers. I liked this book.Realistic depiction of a refugee's fear - safety of their women. I liked that sensitive touch to the story. Dorn got a little irritating in the end with his anti-violence sermon in the face of imminent death but I guess that's the deliberate handiwork of the author. 'The artifact' was a little loose sub-plot but brilliant character development saved any further trouble with that minor setback.Not a good book, definitely not a bad one and not mediocre either. It lingers in the deep black space like the story is set in.

I am sorry, I just cannot accept the thought of Earl Swagger getting beaten up. Nope, can't do. This book scores a two for just that.

This book promised and disappointed in equal measures. The premise of a serial killer being so in the illusion of an narcissistic prophesy come true sounded so awesome that I bought this baby in the blink of an eye. Only to be kicked in the nether regions by an almost Dan Brown-ish approach to the story treatment. It was almost nausea inducing with the author face punching you with one hypothesis after another in every page doing little justice to character and story development while at that. My pet peeve? noticed how Saini "smiled" every time he laid out a trivia? Boy! I felt like being scratched by sandpaper every time I read that. Still, I would give this a 3 star rating for what seemed to be a decent proof reading effort on the publishers part which so happens to be the single most deficiency of Indian authored books and also what seemed to be adequate research by the author. Good premise, terrible story, unbelievable plot and too much of trivia.

Look, I am the guy who unashamedly asks the waiter at the restaurant to pack the leftovers after a dinner so that I don't have to bother making stuff at home for my pet. Call me cheap, middle class or stingy but one thing is certain, I will be a very unwelcome guest at Mr. Suhel Seth's house party.For instance, the author has a whole room dedicated to Arun Jaitley (a BJP politician for the uninitiated) because he is a dear friend and likes to discuss politics and the author doesn't. So, when his politician friend comes home for a party and likes to discuss politics with someone, he goes to the "Jaitley Room". If that isn't name-dropping, I don't know what is. If your thirst for triviality is not quenched yet, let me assure you, there is copious amounts of it and more in this book.So, there's good stuff, bad stuff and (mostly) irrelevant stuff in this book. Let me tell you why I emphasized on irrelevant; Parties, according to Mr. Suhel Seth seem to be the only reason why you would want to have a cordial relationship with your friend's wife at your party. Not for genuine respect for the person, not because she is you know a lady at your house as your guest but for the author's reasoning that she can veto you out of their party guest list. What? Who does that kinda shit? The page 3 crowd, that's who. Come on, who are we kidding here? chances are that you (yep, you who is reading this) are a middle class character like me who's idea of a party is the DJ night at a friend’s marriage where you are obligated by basic middle class upbringing to say 'Namaste' to your friend's bride and stay away from the booze when your friend's parents are around. So, with that in mind, imagine the nincompoop who has the gall to ignore a friend's wife and disrespect her so much so that the author has taken upon himself to be very specific about this scenario - as I said, that would be a page 3 bimbo/ stud.That said; let’s not throw this guy under the bus, OK? He does now and then in the book give some genuinely good advice and I particularly liked about how he mentions the need to maintain a tradition. I do that with some of my friends. Also, he talks about how to maintain a distance with friends far more powerful in the society outside and that's good as I have some who are way beyond my reach and maintaining my respectful distance has kept those friendships intact.So, if you are a rich person failing miserably at kitty parties, this book is God's way of telling you how much he loves you. Others can turn to books written for lesser mortals.

To think that someone did what kids do on COD online servers for real is so amazing to know. I mean, you would have to re-spawn like at least twice in easy mode to get through in COD MW2 (which has the most unintelligent AI) and here we have these brave gentlemen who can say "been there done that"; what a legacy!It is quite clear, the author has done his homework to perfection. The very realistic depiction of the longing the rangers have to be among the "D boys", the living conditions in the hangars, the confusion among the armored vehicle movement among so many other details does justice to the sacrifice the men and women of the peace keeping force have made. You cannot help but admire the sheer badass bravery of the two snipers who stayed with the downed pilot.

I had almost believed that I would never be convinced about the completeness of a love story; That is until I read this book. If you could excuse the adolescent age of the female protagonist in the story (come on! we are talking of pre-independence India here) you will like myself experience or may I say relive that one serious first love (unsuccessful) story of yours. No kidding, this book hit very close to home for me, don't ask, long story. There were some situations in this book that almost made me hold my breath at times. The love story in this book is not the kind of puppy love bordering on naked beach culture that kids of these days have. This is serious stuff, the kinda love story where you walk out on your near and dear ones for. Where the heartbreak is so severe that the only antidote is more pain. Where loneliness is sweet release. I could go on but I will stop my infliction by saying this - only a broken heart will attest to the journey of rehabilitation that is depicted in this book. I do.

This is one of those books you pick up from the darkest corner of the book shop because you just felt like it. I have no idea who the author is or what his specialty is but he seems to be quite convinced about Jesus and India. Whether or not he ties the two contexts together with enough research and authenticity is matter that needs to be left to the warring groups. As for us bookworms who now and then buy off-beat books for their wierdo-books shelf, I would say the writing is engaging and does not bore you. Has some pictures but not a whole lot or of good quality (no good quality cameras back then?) Verdict: total time pass material, could have been a few bucks cheaper.

Not impressed. The juicy bit of this book starts way too late (the actual lift off to meet the goddamn alien ship) and ends abruptly like a hot chick dumping you on your second date. Jo, the Pope, Cavendish and Jeff had no business being in the book. Come on! why bring the love angle when it is as unnecessary as the Oscar's? everyone knows what the important part of the story is and want to just get on with it but no Mr. Bova needs to pull that supposed hot chick and do a bad job of it with all that sacrifice shit. The author tried his damnedest to sneak in a Forsyth style us versus them Soviet angle but it falls so flat, you could almost hear it. God, I think I have a headache.

Donated by an ex-boss who believed I may learn a thing or two from his idol. I did and bitching was one of the lessons. Man, this books reeks of Iacocca's hate of Mr. Ford and you will be reminded of it in almost everything Mr. Iacocca did at Chrysler.The very explicit hire-and-fire methodology justified is at the least very disappointing.

This was my second book on Stoicism after Seneca's teachings. My thoughts? it was a rather humbling experience to know that a better human being once lived knowing more than you have, achieved milestones of personal discovery than you could ever imagine achieving and all that with a healthy doze of humility (you know he was a emperor, right?). What a man! what a legacy! what teachings!

Horrible. I had planned to write a page or two of venomous review but on second thought, this apology of an novel deserves a review worth the same degree of effort as the author's skill at writing a novel. Four lines is all I could muster, go figure.

Although the two are of different genres - Mario Puzo's "The family" so well complements this phenomenal masterpiece by Machiavelli. I mention the similarity because many years ago when I read "The family" I had almost felt that the book was bordering on being vulgar. Uninitiated as I was with renaissance politics, the Borgias sounded to my ears as the imagination of a corrupted soul. I owe a sincere apology to Mr. Puzo since Machiavelli makes no bones about where he sides on Pope Alexander's actions - which in my definition is dastardly. In parts of India where I stay there is a saying that goes like this "if you live in hell, your obligation to your family is to become a devil for others" and by those standards, Machiavelli should be the teacher everyone should seek out. Machiavelli has this way of writing which reeks a no nonsense approach. Here's one of the many excerpts I love - "...men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared...fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails."If you are in early twenties and reading this, trust me, for roughly 20 bucks you will be inheriting the best lessons in strategy that anyone can ever give you.

When I got to about 70% into this book (you know at the point where the two lovers realize they are & ?) I was fervently praying this wasn't the twin of "The Shadow of the Wind" but it so totally was. Well, the archer fan boys are gonna up in arms by my claim but hear me out, go read "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and tell me this book's premise isn't similar. Fate's evil drama, mixed up destiny, call it whatever you want but anything within five kilometer radius of incest or whereabouts gets my goat. Especially when it is written with the expectation of a plausible chance of a movie adaptation down the road. Oh yes! this book is so screaming for Hollywood's attention that I would bet the author has a script ready already. Not that it is a sin but in my score book that just is a fail. The dark and almost bordering on depression type of treatment that Carlos Ruiz Zafón gave to "The Shadow of the Wind" is miles ahead against this made-for-intellectual-wannabe-teens novel. Read this if you are waiting for a bus and the local store refuses to sell you newspaper. Better luck next time Mr Archer.

Even the masters make mistakes or so I am to believe by this lack luster performance by Mr.Forsyth. I am not saying it is bad, it just does not register even a blip on the Forsyth scale - an instrument of fiction writing awesomeness that all other action thriller writers will be measured by - this is the man who wrote Devil's alternative and the Fist of God for crying out loud. I am a noob here and doling out details of the plot seems to be considered a cardinal sin here so I will keep it relevant to those who have read it - that part where Deveraux asks Cal to go somewhere to destroy something and Cal tastes it - now, why would he do that? that just illogical. Here's a man who went behind enemy lines (while negotiating something with someone) and escaped by a whisker to achieve Deveraux's master plan and suddenly he doubts the very man? does not add up at all. All said and done, high marks for research and amazing application of some novel ideas. Bad marks for lack of character development. May the Gods forgive this sin I have committed by criticizing one of their finest gifts to the world of fiction writing.

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. In my case a decade late, I guess. For those who yearn for nothing more but a word of wisdom during the dark days of self doubt and anxiety, look no further, Seneca has more wisdom to offer than one can imagine. My advise, don't treat this as an intellectual escapade into the world of stoicism but treasure this book as a go-to succor from day-to-day pressures. Trust me, as cliched as it may sound, in these pages you will find the answers to your questions.

This book had come highly recommended in an article written by a highly acclaimed book critic in the local newspaper. I must admit, I only understood Mr.Frankl's underlying idea on reading this book the second time around and he is almost telling you person to person - 'no matter what happens, you have the option of how you respond to a situation, take it from me I survived Auschwitz'. Mr.Frankl seems to be having this internal conflict while writing this book as he clearly mentions in the book's introduction that he wasn't writing yet another holocaust survivor tale but as the book progresses he seems to be under pressure to validate his idea with the weight of his experiences and significant number of them are from his days during the war. That and the edition was the one where Mr.Frankl had been coerced into spelling out his methodology of treatment (he was a psychologist) called logotherapy as an addendum to the original manuscript/ edition which did not contain it. Not a lot but just a few pages explaining it and about two or three case as examples. So, it takes a bit of time trying to understand what he is really trying to say but when it dawns on you eventually it bathes you in a light that will leave you refreshed for weeks to follow or even a lifetime. So, take your time, allow Mr.Frankl to talk to you. Listen to him as many times as you can until you understand his message because it is a lesson everyone needs to learn.