End of Eternity- Book review

All these years’ time travel looked like a ludicrous topic and any novel based on this was promptly shunned by me. It was only last month that I chanced upon a blog by a Bangalore based writer, wherein he had put out a list of his favourite sci-fi novels, judging that the writer had more literary common sense than me, I decided to  give the first novel in the list a shot. The novel was End of eternity by Isaac Asimov.

Asimov is a name very well-known and the reason for his being so famous came across while reading the book. Creating a world well into the future seems to be a task as difficult as walking on the edge of a blade, every sci-fi writer is an inventor in his own way. Foresight into possible technology developments and the ways in which it will influence the society keeping into account the sensibilities of the readers is an unenviable job. Asimov manages to maintain this fine balance with flying colours.

Harlan is an Eternal, the group which controls trade between different centuries as well as affect any changes in reality if bad things happen. Thus the Eternals try to weed out catastrophes such as wars and other disasters by going back in time and rooting out the cause. Harlan is a hard core Eternal and Eternals are not allowed female company, in fact the Eternals are solely comprised of male population pulled from different centuries. As is bound to happen, Harlan falls in love with a beautiful dame when he is on a mission (Seems like Salman’s Ek tha tiger has some reverberation with the story hereJ). The love blossoms and Harlan starts breaking the rules of the Eternity one by one. In spite of the fact that his misdemeanour could jeopardise the existence of eternity he continuous in his quest to save his love. Where will Harlan’s love lead him to and whether Eternity manage to save itself from the madness wreaked by its rules forms the crux of the novel. 

Time travel through more than one lakh centuries (the number made my eye to pop out, luckily the sockets were strong J) and questions on evolution of mankind based on past actions, whether it be good or bad raises some thought provoking questions. Overall, even though the novel is completely fictional, it is a very cerebral work and I would recommend it to a general audience as well and not just restrict it to sci-fi bozos.

No Easy day – Mark Owen

It is a grim life interspersed with adrenaline pumping action for the Navy SEALs whereas for normal mortals like me it is a grim life interspersed with adrenaline pumping action when I try to cross the Outer ring road in Bangalore on foot. Facts apartJ, Hunting down the most wanted guy in the world is no easy job and the book gives a first-hand account from the SEAL who shot him down or rather pumped bullets into an already dying fellow (I wouldn't grudge it though, some guys are better dead than alive). If you have seen the movie “Zero dark thirty “then you have seen it all. In fact the movie manages to give a good account of the whole tracking process of Osama bin laden, whereas this book laps over the five year tracking process in a single paragraph.

 The first half of the book tries a hand at giving an erudite description of the hard and lonely struggle that a Navy SEAL would have to put himself through. This part has more personal anecdotes than any significant information about the training process. Maybe Hrithik in the movie Lakshya managed more sighs in this aspect from the viewers. However, some parts do manage to shed some light on how the rigorous process takes a toll on the personal life of the SEAL’s.

DEVGURU is the group comprised of the best of the best SEAL’s.  The author being part of it is suddenly called back from his vacation to take part in an important mission (In my line of work, it can mean only one thing, the firing squad is ready). Detailed description of the three weeks training process with a mock setup of the target building to the actual mission is well elucidated. The mission ends with Osama reduced to a body bag and flown back to the base with the tired SEAL’s seating on him for comfort. Being a high profile target, the tension experienced in the mission even for SEALs who had undertaken tens of such missions before is understandable.

Finally, it is every nation’s dream to have a military force that can undertake such an operation in the enemy territory. But after reading the book, I got a glimpse of the human side of such a military force. Maybe the movie failed to capture this facet while the book managed it well (But still go for the movie J)

Book Review: The Winds of Hastinapur (by Sharath Komarraju)

The clan of kurus ruled in the northern parts of India for centuries together. The high point of the dynasty came during the story of Mahabharatha. Mahabharatha has always been about the Pandavas, the Kauravas and Krishna. Even among Pandavas, prominence is given to Arjuna and Bheema. It is quite possible that this looming towering characters overshadow the different viewpoint or stories of the lesser characters especially the women. The epic started rolling with Shantanu, when he first wed Ganga and then later Satyavati. Bheeshma with his unthinkable vow steals the show during this period of the epic. The extent of loss faced by Bheeshma can be easily felt by the reader but the gains and loss of the other protagonists like Ganga and Satyavati hardly comes to the fore in the original Mahabharatha.  The book titled Winds of Hastinapur effectively brings out the emotional travails faced by the wives of Shantanu using a brilliant narration.

 Jhanavi is the daughter of Ganga who is set to take over from her mother the duties of a river maiden. Residing on mount Meru, life is pretty peaceful. The Ashta vasu’s who being cursed by vashista require the help of a divine maiden to be born on earth and fulfill their penance. Ganga (the daughter) is chosen and she decends on earth to wed Shantanu. The mysterious ways of the Meru people, their life and beliefs is well brought out in the book. The mysterious Crystal lake adds to the suspense in the first half. Most of the story is well thought out and creatively written. On the flip side, some aspects relating to the trinity seemed quite unnecessary to me, it looked like a forced addition to sew in most of the mythology into a logical coop. But since the book makes only passing references to it, it does not deviate too much from the original story.

For me the enjoyable part comes in the second half, when the dark and sensuous Satyavati discovers herself. A forelorn recluse whom nobody even cares to even give a second look due to her fish like smell, transforms herself after she encounters the sage Parashara. The divine gift of smell was conferred on her by the sage in return for her virginity.  The book weaves Satyavati’s tale with a glitter of colors. The emotional turmoil, her desires and the final feeling of helplessness is well brought out in a griping narration.

The book is a refreshing take on the initial stories of the epic through the eyes of the two women protagonists. Finally,  the vividly described scene of  Satyavati lying alone in her boat drifting on the waters of Yamuna, gazing at the stars and trying to find the fish constellation, will instantly relate to everybody’s own inner search.

Empire of the Moghul: Book series

One man’s ambition led to a dynasty of rulers in India. Babur being a heir of a small kingdom of Ferghana which was close to Samarkand, dreamt big. All through his travails he never lost sight of his vision, a grand one at that, to gain a big empire and to establish his dynasty.  His travails were no less trivial, from losing his birth kingdom and becoming a mere bandit, to conquering the Golden city of Samarkand three times during his life time and losing it after a short rule and to surrender his sister to his sworn enemy so that he could continue to live and fight another day. The duels with Shaibhani Khan and his loss and struggle makes for an eminent read in the first book of the series, Raiders from the North. A stroke of luck in his getting hold of the gun powder based canons finally enabled him to overcome a 1:10 numerical inferiority to gain control of Hindustan. The book gives great insight into the thought process of Babur as it has based itself heavily on Baburnama which Babur had written as his diary.

The second book “Brothers at war” is about Humayun, the most able son of Babur. Humayan is usually portrayed as weak link in the whole dynasty, but after reading this book you will think otherwise. Humayun looses the hard won empire of his father by callously underestimating his enemy Sher Shah. His struggles to keep his family and hopes alive by roaming around in the deserts of Rajasthan is heart rendering. Being completely driven out, he finally gets help from the king of Persia, with his support he goes on to conquer Kabul back from the clutches of his brother Kamran. His patience with his half-brothers is simply commendable more so because later in the dynasty even full brothers don’t show any mercy to each other. Finally in the end Humayun seeing an opportune moment at the death of Sher shah, rides back to conquer Hindustan after a gap of 15 years.

The third book “Ruler of the world” is about the most famous moghul emperor Akbar. Akbar having inherited the empire at a very young age is initially chaperoned by the famous general Bairam khan. After some years of remaining in the shadows he comes out and assumes full command by abruptly retiring Bairam khan from his services. His brutal attack on the fort of Chittorgarh to establish his supremacy and his later tactics of marrying Rajput princesses is vividly written. His famous association with the Salim chishti is well brought out. Being one of the astute rulers, he didn’t fall into any major vices and caught the pulse of the nation very well. In the later stages, animosity with his son Jahangir regarding his capabilities to be a future ruler and his great love towards his grandson ShahJahan makes a good read even though the fast paced action is sorely missing during this phase. The episode of Anarkali made famous by the movie Mughal-e-azam finds a mention in this book as well.

The fourth book “The tainted throne” covers the life of Jahangir who after his father’s death inherits perhaps the most prosperous empire. His infatuation with Mehrunissa and his plot to get her husband assassinated forms for a gripping read. Marrying Mehrunisa, who later on becomes Noor Jahan, Jahangir starts slipping into his own world of opium and liquor making Noor Jahan more powerful by the day. Seeing a challenge to her authority in the rise of the young prince Shah Jahan, she tries her best to strangle his ambitions of becoming the next emperor. With the death of Jahangir, the struggle for the throne again begins.

The fifth book and the last one in the series till now is “The serpents tooth”. Shah Jahan is now reigning supreme over Hindustan. With his loving wife and family by his side he sees no reason why the Mughal Empire can’t expand into newer horizons. The building of the great Taj mahal at the death of his wife is described in sufficient detail. Finally his great attachment towards his eldest son Dara neglecting the other sons results into a crisis which makes him the first Mughal emperor to get dethroned when living. The brutal tactics employed by Aurangzeb to annihilate his own brothers one by one to eliminate all contenders to the throne shows you how much you can debase yourself for getting the big prize of Hindustan.

Overall a very captivating series. Never a dull moment and most of the books read like a thriller rather than a historic book. 

It's not about the bike - Lance Armstrong

Well, what if one day you get up in the morning and you don't feel that good so you visit your neighborhood doctor, only to be told that you have a deadly disease called cancer and the chances of your survival is very bleak. The whole world becomes topsy-turvy, Almost all of life's priorities undergoes a drastic change.

This book is an Auto biography by the famous cyclist Lance Armstrong that talks about his initial days as a cyclist, his fight against the deadly cancer and then finally his journey back to life and what a comeback he has had by winning 7 tour-de-france races. The writing style is a bit brash hence in the beginning I failed to connect with the writer, but again the story is something that will make you think about how fickle life or fate can be. The book also gives some insight into the world of cycling. All in all a very good read.

The Motorcycle Diaries - Che Guevara

Traveling to different places, seeing the famous sites of the region and soaking in the varied culture is a desire present in all humans albeit in varying degrees. This compelling diary is a first person account of the journey undertaken by Che Guevara and his friend Alberto on the motorcycle named La Poderosa II. The journey lasts for more than 8 months and covers the length of South America.

The journey starts of just like that, with the one of them expressing his desire to go to North america on their bike. They seal the deal then and there without much thought on what it would take go on such an excursion . With an amount hardly sufficient to last them through a month and a bike which was as reliable as a sick horse they set out.
The travels take them through the five countries of Argentina, Peru, Chile, Columbia and Venezuela. The account of their incidents range from complete hilarious situations to deep contemplations. For most part of the journey they are dependent on the generosity of the people they meet, some help them out of compassion, some out of awe and some do it grudgingly. The two of them also tried to work their way out in most places, working as Doctors, Butlers, Fire fighters, Chefs and even going to the extent of cleaning the lavatory to secure a passage through a steamer.
The book also dwells into the life and culture of the people of the country through which they travel and also covers the history and geography of some of the famous sites like Machu picchu, Cuzco etc.
Undertaking such a journey without any bother of money or where you are going to put up requires a lot of courage and acceptance of things, something which currently I'm lacking in, but still I could sense the freedom and the accelerating sense of adventure both of them might have felt during this journey.
A paper had aptly commented on the book saying that " Che's trip might have been the trip of a lifetime - had his lifetime not turned into a much greater adventure". Will strongly recommend this book to all the trekkers and hikers out there.

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

I have now decided to review all the books that I read. The latest being the not so latest novel "A tale of two cities" by Charles Dickens. This novel was first published about 150 years ago, but still it manages to capture the attention and imagination of the reader.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,...."

The above often repeated quote is the starting sentences of this novel. The story is set around the time of french revolution in the late 1700's and begins with the homecoming of a Doctor named Manette. He was imprisoned in the Bastille by the French aristocracy for 18 years without a trial nor reason, literally driving him to insanity. At last he is released and is brought back to England by his daughter Lucie, who restores him back to health.
Meanwhile a young Frenchman named Charles Darney is accused of spying and is standing trial in London to which the Doctor and his daughter are summoned as witnesses. The Frenchman gets acquitted based on the defense argument that the accused might have been mistaken for someone else and this they try to prove based on the striking resemblance of Darnay to another person sitting in the court called Sydney Carton.
Darney falls in love with Lucie and gets married to her. Few years roll on in their blissful happiness to be broken by a letter from France. The letter is addressed to Darney who was an aristocrat by birth and had a vast property which he had denounced while leaving France. The french revolution had now taken place in France and all persons connected to royalty or aristocracy were put to death. The servant who was temporarily looking after Darney's property was standing on a death row from which only Darney could save him. Out of compassion Darney decides to go back to France little knowing what troubles await him there.
The moment Darney arrives in Paris he is taken a prisoner and put on a deathrow. The Docter and Lucie also come after him to do their best to save him. The Docter soon builds a reputation based on his past sufferings in the hands of the Aristocracy and his 18 years in prison. But a letter written by the Doctor when in prison denouncing the person who put him in prison and his whole family proves to be Darney's undoing. It turns out that the Darney's father was the cause of Docter's sufferings. The rowdy French crowd bayes for Darney's blood for the sins commited by his father and the jury orders for his execution within 24 hours.
The Climax consists of how Darney manages to escape from prison back to England.
All in all a wonderful read, This tells you the hopelessness of those times. The struggles of those times to build a free world, and the abyss to which France had fallen and risen.