Monday, December 30, 2013

The Devotion of Suspect X

Author - Keigo Higashino

Genre - Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Murder, Japan, Detective Galileo

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4 (a high 4)

December 2013

The most brilliantly convoluted plot for a murder mystery story you will ever read. Not a whodunit (you know who is the murderer in chapter 1.. or do you?), not quite a whydunit (pretty obvious), but a masterful howdunit, probably the most difficult to convert to a very good book, and indeed the best of its type you will ever come across. You will find mystery stories that are better-written, you will find mystery stories that are better, fullstop; but you will struggle to find another with a more incredibly labyrinthine plot-twist.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (short story)

Author - James Thurber

Genre - Short Story, Adventure

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

December 2013

The most melancholy of stories, and Ben Stiller does a great job reading it, in a rushed at times, slow and lugubrious at times way. Great listen

Wolf Hall

Author - Hilary Mantel

Genre - History, Politics, Non-Fiction

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

December 2013

This is an incredible achievement. Really one of the books where even while reading it you know that this is a piece of high art. Hilary Mantel is a genius. How many book have you encountered where in the middle of an exciting passage of events you suddenly stop to marvel at a piece of sparkling prose? And you are never over-burdened by the literariness of the piece (something that, I must agree, happens to me often), the book, all 24+ hours of it in Audible, flows through. I am not the Booker-prize-reader kind, in fact, I am the exact opposite. This however was brilliant. Will have to start on the next part in a few days.

India After Gandhi

Author - Ramachandra Guha

Genre - History, Politics, Society, Non-fiction

Source - Print

Rating - 5

November 2013

Re-read. This should be re-read once every year. Masterful. A page-turner, it reads like a thriller. Even on the second read.

Monday, August 19, 2013

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Author – Bill Bryson

Genre – Science, Popular Science, Non-fiction, Humour, History, Physics, Geology, Paleontology, Anthropology

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

August 2013


I have been having great luck with books in recent times. Or maybe I am easy to please. But really, this book here is a definite read-this-now. The dexterity is not in the physics, the geology and paleontology and anthropology, a fair bit of which (gloat gloat) I was to an extent in the know of, but in the presentation. Bryson is an awesome storyteller, and he weaves these superb, fun, and exceedingly funny stories around the mysteries of nature and creation and the men and women who solved these mysteries for us – this is the perfect book to read beforehand if you are planning to babysit a particularly inquisitive nephew or niece. 

Monday, August 5, 2013

The Cuckoo's Calling

Author - Robert Galbraith

Genre - Detective, Mystery, Thriller

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

August 2013

I am a fanboy, so let me get done with the gushing first. JKR is such a legend! Love her! 
Ok, let's talk about the book now. Ms. Rowling has an incredible ability of putting word after word, and making you look forward to the next word. A natural-born story-teller to compare with the very best. Even while reading the Potter novels, I had always thought that mystery would be her natural habitat, she is so brilliant and ingenuous at plot and storytelling. And this here is a proof. Does it hurtle through like, say, a Lee Child novel? Nope, the story builds up gradually -- this is a classic detection novel, the thrill is secondary to the detection -- but it is still effective, you can still not put the book down. I couldn't. 
Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott are both such interesting characters, that I'd very much like this book to be Cormoran Strike #1. And okay then, let's have the acid test for all private-eye books --- Could I guess the killer? Nope. Not till the very end I couldn't. 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Un Lun Dun

Author - China Miéville

Genre - Fantasy, YA, Coming-of-age, Message-fiction, Parallel-world

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

July 2013

Amazing, amazing! Put Harry Potter and Neverwhere together, mix it together, and then turn the whole concept around. You get Un Lun Dun. 
So you know that I am a bit of a Miéville fan. And I read YA fiction often. Put those together, and the expectation was high. The expectation was met, to say the least.
Just to add: like the best of message fiction, the messages come in to the reader subconsciously, never becoming even a slight bit preachy; and never interfering with the story. Pollution. Using lower countries as dumping ground for waste. The experience of a subcontinental-origin person in London. And the biggest hit for me was the sublime turnaround of the sidekick. The Neville Longbottoms of the world rise up to take their rightful position in this book, and how!

Monday, July 8, 2013

The Broken Ear

Author - Hergé

Genre - Comics, Graphic Novel, 

Source - Print 

Rating - 5

July 2013

This has to be the most violent and action-packed of all Tintin stories. And my favourite. And the first Tintin I'd ever read. Love it!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Prisoners of the Sun

Author - Hergé

Genre - Comics, Graphic Novel, 

Source - Print 

Rating - 5

July 2013

There is always great value in revisiting Tintin. And in my opinion this is the best series of his.

The Seven Crystal Balls

Author - Hergé

Genre - Comics, Graphic Novel, 

Source - Print 

Rating - 5

July 2013

There is always great value in revisiting Tintin. And in my opinion this is the best series of his.

Dune

Author - Frank Herbert

Genre - Science-Fiction, Fantasy, fiction

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

July 2013

The fault is probably in my expectation that I didn't go absolutely crazy about this book. But this is immaculate, a work of high art. Frank Herbert has created the world of Arrakis and Caladan to perfection -- they are there somewhere, or will be. And are there greater creations in all of science fiction than the Fremen? The audiobook performance is brilliant. Paul Atreides is a little unreal, and the sequence of events are a tad predictable. But this is a high 4. I'd love to read the following parts.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Family Portrait

Author - Jon Ronson

Genre - Fiction, Humour, Short Stories

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

June 2013

Excellent. Very Funny. Everyday. And endearing. The soup incident totally made me laugh out loud. Request to Audible: More such free snippets please.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Another 'Best Thrillers' List: and I like this more

I like this list more: The link is right here.

Here's the excerpt (Highlight: Have Read)

1. The Spy Thriller
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John le Carré (1963) is the quintessential espionage thriller. Set during the Cold War, this rich tale still captivates with its spellbinding portrayal of the world of secret agents. And don’t miss The Avenger by Frederick Forsyth (2003) the 21st century’s top spy pulse-pounder, by the author of The Day of the Jackal.
2. The Techno Thriller
Gadgets, gadgets and more gadgets. Ian Fleming started it all with James Bond and his arsenal of clever, useful gadgets, some not so far-fetched anymore. The best Bond book? From Russia with Love (1957). Get to know the real Bond, not Sean, Roger, Timothy or Pierce, by imbibing him on the printed page. For a more recent techno thriller, The Blue Nowhere by Jeffery Deaver (2001) stimulates the imagination with its truly surprising twists and turns, and a fascinating computer-based plot.
3. The Classic Thriller
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (1898) was one of the world’s pioneering thrillers, introducing this genre, unknown at the time, to worldwide acclaim. And the story is still alive and well today. We agree: Tom Cruise is cute, but treat yourself to the real deal and snatch up the book. For a more recent classic thriller, try Whiteout by Ken Follett (2004), the latest gem by the author of Eye of the Needle. It’s the chilling story of what happens when biological weapons fall into the wrong hands, and the blizzard that builds over the course of the book will cool you right off at the beach. Visit www.selecteditions.com for excerpts from Whiteout and info on Ken Follett.
4. The Psychological Suspense Thriller 
If you get your adrenaline rush from mind games rather than chase scenes, psychological suspense is for you. For sheer creepiness and terror, nothing beats The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (1988). More recently, Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (2003), will not only scare you silly but fool you as well. Just try to guess the ending. Our one admonition: Don’t read these books home alone at night!
5. The Legal Thriller 
Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow (1987) features terrific characters, a deftly executed plot, and fascinating legal insight, making it the definitive legal thriller. And for an exciting new author, don’t miss In the Shadow of the Law by Kermit Roosevelt (2005), a firecracker of a debut by a former clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.
6. The Medical Thriller
Medical paperwork these days is pretty terrifying, but you can get true terror in these two great medical thrillers. Read Coma by Robin Cook (1977), the unforgettable saga of patients who check into the hospital for “minor” surgery and never wake up. For the strong of stomach, The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen (2001) is gruesomely chilling and addictively page-turning.
7. The Sci-Fi Thriller
Sure he’s done dinosaurs and television emergency rooms, but Michael Crichton’s first novel, The Andromeda Strain (1969), still ranks as one of the top science fiction thrillers of all time. What could be scarier than microscopic killer germs run amok? Representing the larger end of the weird-creature spectrum, Mammoth by John Varley (2005) imaginatively spins a yarn starring a billionaire, a brilliant nerd, and a gifted animal wrangler whose newest charge happens to be a woolly mammoth.
8. The Military Thriller
You’ve seen the movie, but don’t miss the book. The Great Escape Killing Floor (1997) or Child’s latest bestseller, One Shot (2005). Or, for that matter, pick up any riveting Reacher book in between.
9. The True-Crime Thriller
Yes, real life can be stranger than fiction, and true-crime thrillers prove this. The most famous book in this nonfiction genre is Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood (1966). The author spent months in the Midwest painstakingly retracing the steps of two young rural killers — and then wrote about it chillingly. Another excellent and more recent true-crime book is Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule (2004), the true story of the notorious Green River serial killer who terrorized the Seattle area for decades.
10. The Action / Adventure Thriller
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read (1974) set the gold standard for heroic survival stories, with this true tale of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashes, resulting in an incredible 10-week physical and emotional ordeal. Changing altitudes from mountains to the ocean floor, Shadow Divers, the hit 2005 book by Robert Kurson, re-enacts the story of an extraordinary deep-sea discovery and adventure.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Our Lady of Alice Bhatti

Author - Mohammed Hanif

Genre - Fiction, Pakistan, Religion, Humour

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

May 2013

Very well written. Incredibly bleak and bereft of hope, depressing even -- and this is just next doors, in Pakistan. But Hanif knows how to do humour, some parts are laugh-out-loud funny. Definitely worth a read.

Monday, May 13, 2013

The Club Dumas

Author - Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Genre - Fiction, Thriller, Book-about-books, Mystery

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

May 2013

Excellent! This is a thriller for the book-lover, yet isn't a highbrow one like Eco. Not as thrilling as an 'Eye of the Needle', say, but mazy and intelligent.

Monday, May 6, 2013

The Virgins

Author - Siddharth Tripathi

Genre - Indian English, Fiction, Thriller

Source - Print

Rating - 4

May 2013

If this is the direction commercial Indian English fiction is taking, I am very proud! The book flows through quickly, does not get boring, and is rather busy and eventful. Things keep happening. I liked it. Captures the psyche of testosterone-driven high school kids quite well, as well as that of life in the 'wild north'. As for his depiction of Banaras, which I've never visited, I am not the best judge of. 
I say this with no trepidation, I would have complimented this book even if it weren't written by an acquaintance from college. There's quite a bit of good in this book.
If I have to critique something: The writer should have gone easy on the capitals and the italics. 

Full disclosure: the writer was my junior at Bschool. I paid full market price to buy the book, was not requested by the writer or publishers to write this review.

Anita

Author - Keith Roberts

Genre - Fantasy, Magic, Fiction

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

May 2013

Fine, fun short stories. Sixties witch, a bit of a wild child, is this Anita. But good. Breezy read. 

Thursday, April 4, 2013

The City and The City

Author - China Miéville
Genre - Science Fiction, Detective, Society, Cops

Source - Audiobook
Rating - 5

April 2013
I am lucky in that I have read quite a few extraordinary books this year. This is certainly one of them. A masterpiece of the genre. Miéville is the superstar of the genre, and I was intrigued to find out why. Now I know. His acclaim is well deserved - This is top notch social commentary, a breakneck, hurtling detective story, and the best sci-fi novel I have read in a long, long time. Please read. Highly recommended.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Netherland

Author - Joseph O'Neill
Genre - Cricket, New York, Society

Source - Audiobook
Rating - 5

March 2013
This is incredible. This book tells me that I am relevant. Best book I read this year.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Pride and Prejudice

Author - Jane Austen
Genre - Romance, Classic, Society

Source - Audiobook
Rating - 5

March 2013
Beautiful. I read (listened to) this with a lot of apprensions - I don't like classics per se - but really, this is beautiful. It did not move me, it did not embrace me with its language; but all that is trivia. It engaged me. It was 14 and a half hours well spent.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Eye Of The Needle


Author - Ken Follett
Genre - Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, Spy, WW2

Source - Audiobook
Rating - 5

Feb 2013
Everyone should stop bothering to write thrillers after this book. Robert, yes. Fred, John G, yes, all of you. This is the definitive thriller.  

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Norwegian Wood

Author - Haruki Murakami
Genre - Fiction
Source - Audiobook
Rating - 4 (skewered towards 3. A 3.8-ish 4)
Feb 2013
 
Not crazy about it. It was nice, wonderful even, to visit the world of Toru Watanabe. But it didn't evoke great feelings either way. Little aftertaste.

Monday, February 4, 2013

The Brotherhood of the Rose

Author - David Morrell
Genre - Fiction, Thriller
Source - Audiobook
Rating - 4
Feb 2013
As Ludlum-esque as a non-Ludlum book can get. And one of the top 5 thrillers read, all time. Slightly unsatisfactory ending, though.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

The Shadow Lines

Author - Amitav Ghosh
Genre - Fiction,
Source - Print
Rating - 5
Jan 2013
This is a fragile, delicate, beautiful thing, this book. Turn the pages with care. Be gentle. And re-read, dear reader. Like I would.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The Monkey's Raincoat

Author - Robert Crais
Genre - Fiction, Thriller,
Source - Audiobook
Rating - 3 (3.5 if possible. Closer to 3 than 4 though)
Jan 2013

Solid Pageturner. The standard hardboiled American Detective Fiction. Hasn't aged well.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

The Racketeer

Author - John Grisham
Genre - Fiction, Thriller
Source - Audiobook
Rating - 2
Jan 2013

Somewhat average by Grisham standards. Sometimes does not remain a pageturner.

Friday, January 4, 2013

The Casual Vacancy

Author - JK Rowling
Genre - Fiction

Source - Audiobook
Rating - 5

Jan 2013
Stark, poignant, bleak and not unfunny. Loved it.