All it needed was a few seconds of gunfire
All it needed was a few seconds of gunfire Review of ‘Red Maize’ written by Danesh Rana Terrorism isn’t all about mindless killings and search operations, it isn’t just about mujahids, aatankvadis and dehshatgards either. It isn’t about soldiers and martyrs, and nor is it about cryptic codenames like RP, Romeo Papa, Commander, The...
In perfect symmetry
In perfect symmetry Review of ‘In the light of darkness’ by Radhika Maira Tabrez Any book that talks of books is a book I love. Any tale that makes imagination seem real is a tale that must be read. Fiction that touches a chord in your heart is the real fiction. There will obviously...
Dawood is dead. Really?
Dawood is dead. Really? Review of ‘Dawood is dead’ by Avik Davar Do a Google search for Dawood and you’ll be confronted with more than three hundred thousand pages with assorted facts in .41 seconds! Even Quora and Scoopwoop have been talking about him… so it isn’t as if Dawood is a person who is...
War and terror redefined
War and terror redefined Review of 03:02 written by Mainak Dhar The best thrillers are one long terrifying climax. But terror isn’t something that only the terrorist brings along. And the climax? Well, it invariably begins long before the actual battle. It is all these smaller battles that add up for the final blast… but...
A synchronised eye roll with fiction
A synchronised eye roll with fiction Review of LOVE, whatever that means written by Aditi Mathur Kumar If reading certain types of fiction makes you overthink, I guess it is time to read certain other types of fiction. I mean, a genre of fiction where everything is ‘all honey and whiskey and chocolate’ or ‘totally...
Deep inside you’re a good man
Deep inside you’re a good man. Review of ‘Raakshas’ by Piyush Jha Getting inside the mind of a killer makes for an engrossing topic for an essay… but if the writer happens to be Piyush Jha, the film-maker, the visualisation of how this happens gets a bone-chilling clarity. ‘Raakshas’ by Piyush Jha is a book...
Between now or never
Between now or never – Review of DANGLE by Sutapa Basu Thrillers, I had written in some earlier post, are not just about guns and grenades, but about the impact of the battles of minds. The mind creates a thriller if it really wants to… and this is what Sutapa Basu has done in...
The feeble sound of that quiet voice
The feeble sound of that quiet voice Review of ‘It doesn’t hurt to be nice’ by Amisha Sethi This book isn’t a novel and yet it is full of stories. This book isn’t a boring sermon and yet it has lessons that stand on their own legs and walk straight into your heart. This book...
It is time for you to turn inwards, dear author
It is time for you to turn inwards, dear author Review of 3 @ a time There are writers who write what they see and they write about every minor detail that makes their work stand out and probably be read centuries later. There are others who see what no one else is able...
A thriller that is both young and sane
A thriller that is both young and sane – Review of ‘The girl who loved a pirate’ Thrillers tend to be either similar to creaking bones oozing with wisdom or strut with the irreverent arrogance of youth that has little to convey. It is rare to come across one that defies these clichés and...
Stories Within Us Wish to Live
NOTE: This story was first published in ‘Open Road Review’ dated 01 August 2015… . My father is 83 and still goes on his morning walks. He is fond of solving Sudoku puzzles and calls up long distance to remind me to get newspaper clippings with these puzzles. ‘We don’t get this newspaper here in...
Smell the coffee. Look at your pyjamas
Well, yes, that’s how you breeze through life, don’t you? It is attitude and the way you make others perceive you that is sometimes more important than just the boxful of talent that you may be. So it is necessary that you ‘Wake up! Smell the coffee. Look at your pyjamas’… just like Trish did...
