Book - God is a gamer
Author - Ravi Subramanian
Publsiher - Penguin Books
Pages - 324 pages
Price - INR 299
Background - Described as the ‘John Grisham of banking’, by the Wall Street Journal, Ravi Subramanian, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, is the author of five bestselling commercial novels—If God was a Banker (2007), Devil in Pinstripes (2009), The Incredible Banker (2011), The Bankster (2012) and Bankerupt (2013)—based on financial crime. His latest book God is a Gamer, releases on September 12th.
Having been a banker himself, he has a unique insight into the industry he writes about and a flair for spinning intricate plots that keep readers on the edge of their seats
His debut novel, If God was a Banker, won the 2008 Golden Quill Readers’ Choice Award and, more recently, The Incredible Banker won the 2011 Economist-Crossword Book Award in the ‘Popular’ category. He won the Crossword book award for The BANKSTER in 2012.
Storyline - Aditya is an entrepreneur, running his own gaming company. The arrival of a part-time drug dealer and full-time genius named Varun turns Aditya’s struggling company’s fortunes around. However, things are not as they seem. A banker slips from the rooftop of a high-rise building and falls to his death. A finance minister with his heart on his sleeve discovers that he has made some promises which will cost him far too much. An explosion in Washington D.C. leads the FBI to a chase in Mumbai. The investigators begin to plummet down a world where bitcoins are the only meaningful form of currency. Here, everything is governed by the Dark Net, a group of nefarious websites dealing with illegal transactions. In this world, God is a Gamer, martyrs are villains, the hunters become the hunted and the ancient Greeks teach the secrets of assassination. In this new novel, nothing is what it seems.
Merits - I would say the marketing of the book was it's biggest merit. Selling it as a first bit-coin based thriller and from India's no.1 thriller writer created a lots of interest among the avid readers. The cover of the book is very well designed and looks attractive too.
The writing can be said to be normal and using day to day and common words, something which many writers in India are following these days so that it could reach to mass audiences. I hope it does reaches to the masses.
Quoting an example for page 188
'Saar, you don't understand. If money not go, I will be in big trouble.'
'That's your problem'
'No saar. It is your bank's problem too'
'My bank's problem?'
'Yes,saar. I am telling you in strict confidence.
Demerits - I have gone through few thriller novels this season and I find it amusing that authors think that writing short chapters means the book is fast paced. Yes, the chapters are ending fast but then the book is having 99 chapters. I feel chapters must be given in the book so that people can reach to a particular twist in the plot or a particular section. Too many chapters means too many jerks if the story is not dealt properly.
I felt the book is written to cater to masses hence the language is too plain. I wasn't which fond of the presentation and the way the suspense is created either.
Verdict - I feel if you like the genre of thriller, you can give it a read. If you like thrillers about money laundering and revenge then you should definitely purchase it. Honestly, I wasn't much hooked up while reading it so won't tell that it is must buy.
Rating - 2 and half Stars out of 5.
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