23 December, 2013

#BookReview :: Baramulla Bomber by Clark Prasad

Multiple intelligence agencies are tracking Mansur Haider, a god-fearing aspiring cricketer from Kashmir. His girlfriend, Aahana Yajurvedi, is trying to locate her missing mountaineering team, who vanished after a mysterious earthquake strikes Shaksgam Valley.
Investigating Mansur and the Shaksgam Valley incident is Swedish intelligence officer, Adolf Silfverskiold, whose only relationship to god consists of escorting his girlfriend to Church.
A dual China-Pakistan battlefront scenario facing the Indian Home Minister, Agastya Rathore, whose ancestors carry a prehistoric secret linked to the stars. He is faced with the challenge of finding a lasting solution to the Kashmir crisis.
Which Biblical Weapon was Tested in Shaksgam Valley? Why is Mansur Haider Important? Is There a Solution to the Kashmir Crisis? Can Destiny be Controlled? Does a Cosmic Religion Exist?



The book cover and the blurb promise its reader Science Fiction, Espionage and Thriller. As a mystery/thriller fan that is all that I needed to pick up this one.

Mansur Haider, an aspiring cricketer from Kashmir is being tracked and investigated by multiple takes intelligence agencies. At the same time his girlfriend Aahana is looking into the matter of a team of mountaineers that disappeared after an earthquake that hit Saksgam Valley. These two seemingly parallel incidents are enough to get the readers curious enough to turn the pages of the book. But then lands the Swedish intelligence officer, Adolf, who is looking into both these situations… What follows then revolves around a mysterious weapon, some cricket and some politics set in a multiple locations that build up a story that promises a rollercoaster journey.

The good parts first. The best thing about the book is its plot – interesting and had huge scope. Kudos to the author for coming up with it. There are many facets to it which kept it from becoming monotonous over time. The second thing that I liked was the accompanying diagrams. As voracious readers we are quite used to forming a mental image of everything that we read, but accompanying diagrams of symbols do help it to make it clear and easy to understand and remember. I also enjoyed the build-up of the story that which was rather exciting. Now, am moving on to the not so nice parts of the book. There are a whole lot of characters involved in this story but they were all very bland and uninspiring. If I had to choose one, I would probably say that Adolf was the one I liked out of them but even he is very much a forgettable character once you put down the book. Also, the climax was a rather let down after the build-up that the novel provided.

End of the day, this is a debut novel and as such this can be regarded as a good book. The author still has time to work on his characters in the upcoming two installments of the trilogy. Hopefully he will mature over the time and provide us with more hours of reading pleasure and lovable characters.



Buy this Book


The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve.

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