Book Review of The Recluse Storyteller

The Recluse Storyteller Synopsis-

The twins, beckoned by an ominous streak of light across the sky, climb Harper's Hill to encounter an apparition of their missing father.

The reverend stands on a muddy ridge, the barrel of a rifle in his neck, looking down on a Vietnamese village, scarred by war and regret.

The brash terrorist, Red Hat, desperately tries to walk away from life unscathed and unattached.

The stories haunt Margaret every waking moment, but they are anything but random. A fractured view Michael Cheevers' red hat through a discreetly cracked door sends her off on adventure. A glimpse of the Johnson twins from apartment 2D transports her mind to the lonely hill on a Midwestern prairie in 1887. The regular letters from Reverend Davies bring her to the brink of exhaustion as she stares intensely into the heart of war, deep in the jungle of Vietnam.

Margaret is not insane, at least not in a clinical sense. She's like a midnight raccoon, painfully aware of her surroundings, gleaning crumbs of information at every turn. Her eyes peer incessantly in the night, stealing glances of the neighbors through partially opened doors.

But the tales she weaves were not meant to merely hold empty court to the receptive dead air of her apartment. Her stories were meant to embolden the lives of the inhabitants of that drab apartment block because her story is also their story--and everything would be different if they could only hear the prophetic words of the rambling recluse.

The Recluse Storyteller weaves five stories into one as the loner, Margaret, not only searches for meaning from her reclusive life, but also gives meaning in the most unexpected ways to the troubled souls of her apartment complex. Part adventure, part tragedy, and part discovery, The Recluse Storyteller bridges genres, bringing hope, life, and redemption to the broken relationships of modern society.

My Review

Splendid and an incredible piece of story! The story is thought-provoking and is a masterpiece. The emotional connection it has with the reader is incredible. And you won’t dare to keep the book, until you have reached the last page of the book.

Margaret the protagonist of the story did a wonderful job telling stories. The stories did touch the lives of the characters of the story in some way or the other.

I think the author has been a part of the stories for the emotional connection and the narration of events is only possible if you are a part of it.

In the beginning I was quite perplexed at the sequence of events taking place in the story, but latter to the end I did connect the dots.

Lastly, very few have the ability to understand the human emotions and yet few have the ability to project the emotions quite vividly and to give it that little extra edge that will make story a fine one is what makes Mark W Sasse an incredible author.

Thank you Sir for considering me to review your book. It is just an incredible book and for everyone reading this I would suggest buy it as soon as possible and you will be amazed at the beauty of description of emotions by Mark W Sasse. A Must buy book.

You can contact Mark at these links, and can buy the book.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Recluse-Storyteller-ebook/dp/B00FOBQ464/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381502108&sr=8-1&keywords=the+recluse+storyteller

http://mwsasse.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/markwsasse

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18454126-the-recluse-storyteller 

Book Review of The Prophecy of Trivine

The Prophecy of Trivine

The story starts within a college where Phil, the hacker is on the verge of getting caught by police for hacking the government’s website and leaking out sensitive information. Next as he runs away from the police he heads into the forest for protection and finds an old and dilapidated building which is not inhabited but latter finds that it is occupied by a scientist, Shiv. Now it was the turn of the authors to introduce the next character Arty, a painter who meets Shiv in the jungle, while catching a fish.

Now little did the three know that they hold in their hands the future of mankind, and much beyond imagination, they are connected through an ancient Prophesy that was long lost in the sands of time.

My review

I just loved the book, as such I love sci-fi books and anything that has alien on it is a must read book for me. The book is filled with all the stuff that keeps you in the hunt for what happens next as the pages are turned over. And once you have quenched your thirst, you are thirsty for more and it stops only when you have reached the last page.

                             Alien technology married to creativity and imagination is something that is what you will discover in this book. So, start imagining for the book will give you goose bumps as you turn the pages. A lot was expected from the ending, it wasn’t as much expected, and there should have been a twist in the end rather it ended without a hint. But overall it was on imaginations and the plot was based on the facts known to mankind, but the plot and the sequence of events were good and unpredictable.

I am thankful to Tnahsin for considering me to review this book. It was indeed fun and great to read the book. Hope, you fascinated the world with your imaginations and creativity with your next novel.

Authors

Pulkit Gupta- Pulkit is a computer engineer who has completed B.Tech from Thaper University and currently works as a technology analyst for Goldman Sachs in Bangalore.

Srivatsan Sridharan- Sridharan who has completed B.Tech from Thaper University and has earned a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Purdue University, United States and works as a software engineer at Yelp, San Francisco.

Tnahsin Garg- Tnahsin has completed his Bachelors in Engineering from India and has Masters in Science degree from United States and is currently pursuing a PhD from Europe.

Book Review of The Hunt for Kohinoor

The Hunt for Kohinoor

In the book, The Hunt for Kohinoor, Mehrunisa undertakes a nerve gruelling task on which, her father and Nation’s future is at stake. Mehrunisa knowledge on the Mughal History and in the Renaissance studies and being a natural linguistic, fluent in six languages makes herself the prefect bet to find his missing father and is lured up by RAW to save her country and in turn his father the “Snow Leopard”.

“Do you know there has never been a verified unprompted leopard attack on a human being? The only time the cat might become aggressive is if its cubs are threatened or it is” is the quote that I liked the most.

My Review

The story started on a lower note and after a few pages it caught up the pace with the fast changing situations and is an must page turner. There are many revelations about the history of India and Pakistan, which is quite fascinating. The plot is well placed and the story takes a quite interesting note when Mehrunisa’s father comes into action, the Snow Leopard. Raghav, Mehrunisa and R. P. Singh love triangle was brought action but was abruptly ended as the story progressed. Let us wait for the next book “The Peacock Throne Prophesy” to find out whom Mehrunisa chooses.

                                                Long story short The Hunt for Kohinoor establishes Mehrunisa as India’s lady spy who can decipher the past with her skill that she had gained being the daughter of RAW agent, and it shows her character of putting her country in the first place rather than anything else like her father. And the story reveals the extent and the limits she jumps over to protect her country and her father.

A must buy for anyone who has interest on the history of India and Pakistan mostly and who has the taste for adventure.

My review is done on request of “Varsha Venugopal” for Westland Ltd. I am indeed very thankful to Varsha for considering me to review the book “The Hunt for Kohinoor”, by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar.

About the author

An award-winning writer (Commonwealth Broadcasting Association), and copywriter (Creative Abbey), Manreet Sodhi Someshwar is a popular blogger as well. Her skilful writing and story-telling has caught the attention of critics, with Khuswant Singh calling her a “literary star on the horizon.” Visit her online at www.manreetsodhisomeshwar.com and the-long-walk-home.blogspot.com, via facebook at www.facebook.com/ManreetSodhiSomeshwar, via twitter @manreetss.

And you can see the official book trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9dbLjD8sIY

An Incurable Insanity

an Incurable Insanity

Book review

Book Blurb:

Her heart fluttered when she heard the sound of the key turn in the lock. She quickly adjusted her maroon silk sari with the yellow border, the one that had caught his eye, and waited eagerly for his footsteps. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... Yes, exactly seven steps before he stopped, hesitated for a few moments, then removed his shoes one by one and arranged them neatly side by side on the shoe rack. She smiled. He had been mindful of taking his shoes off every day now. "I am not used to it, but I will if you want me to. It's probably a good thing to do anyway." As he settled down, he would pick up the TV remote and, without looking at her, would say in his smooth baritone, "So how did you spend your day, anything interesting?" Shaan Ahuja found himself bowing to tradition and agreeing to an arranged marriage to the beautiful Ruhi Sharma. He went through the motions but had no intention of carrying through on his vows. His last foray into matters of the heart with an American girl had left him scarred and unwilling to try again. Thoroughly disillusioned and disgruntled he wasted no time in making his intentions clear to Ruhi on their wedding night. But, he was completely unprepared for what his new wife had in mind. 

My Review

“Admit it boy, the harder you try the worse it gets. Love is indeed limitless.”

 “An Incurable Insanity” by Mrs Rao, depicts the life of an Indian girl who has arranged marriage and the values she has to uphold after the marriage. It’s a typical Indian love story and has its way of emotions and feelings as is India known by for the love it has for its loved ones.

The story introduces two lead characters Mr Shaan Ahuja (Mr. Grey) and Mrs Ruhi Sharma(Mrs Bee) and their married life. Things turned upside down for Ruhi when she confronts to the truth of Shaan, to which she responds.

She laughed. “That’s easy for you to say. You are a man! But

in this society, a woman rejected after marriage is like a pariah.

All the men who at one time used to flock around me would not

even consider looking at me again.” Smiling wryly, she continued,

“Besides, what about my parents, their dreams? What about all

that my father had to go through to get the best possible match

for his only daughter?”

Shaan closed his eyes…He hadn’t realized, but things were

much more complicated than he had imagined.

The story has all the mixed and raw emotions of a girl after being rejected quite surprisingly after her marriage. The emotions of love anger, anxiety, the longing for each other and the consequences they have to face, unfolds as the story moves from its first page to the last.

The subconscious mind thoughts in the story, that wouldn’t have been said instead, are first of its kind. The language is simple and it touches the Indian style of expressing one’s feelings and love.

Lastly I would say go ahead and grab a copy and a definitely a book for romantic book lovers.

About the Author:

Simi K. Rao was born in India and has been living in the United States for several years. Her contemporary romance novel An Incurable Insanity, published by Tate Publishing, was released on October 8, 2013. An Incurable Insanity is her first foray into writing. The inspiration for the story came from what she has seen transpire among and within the immigrant community. Some of the experiences included are her own; some have been garnered from friends and casual conversations with acquaintances. She also writes poetry, is an avid photographer, loves to travel, and is a practicing physician. She currently lives in Denver with her family.

My favourite season

The serene sunrise in the eastern horizon on a sunny day is just the treat for everyone’s eyes. It is brightest in the summer season and continues to grow as the month of May progresses.

                                                But on the 31^st of May the sun was amazed that it wasn’t the brightest star in the sky, for an even brighter and more glamorous star had taken birth on earth and the adorable smile of the baby boy, made the sun to soften its rays. It didn’t want to outshine the beauty of the baby boy.

                                                The summer season had just begun and, it brought the first fruit of the year with it. The birth of the baby boy was its first fruit of the year as the Mangoes are the king of all fruits; the baby boy was the king of the season, and the summer acknowledged it. Being a holiday it allowed everyone of the relatives to bless him and wish for his long life. The tiny eyes couldn’t decipher the world change around him that had gone crazy seeing him play with his tiny little fingers and hands.

                                                A hundred hands came to console him, if a tear dropped from the baby boy’s eyes. They just couldn’t let him cry for he was the star of the year. The butterflies, flowers, water in the pond and the fishes in it, made him even happier. The orchards of mango trees, blackberries, coconut trees, the palm fruit and the garden of flowers of every colour and shape amused the baby boy. He was in love with the season of summer.

                                                The scorching sun dried up everything in its way, the ponds, and rivers, each waiting for the rains to quench their thirst.

The thunder and the lightning gave a strong message to the rivers and the thirsty trees and flowers of the arrival of the rainy season.

The dust laden trees shook off the dirt and the flowers and trees quenched their thirst with the water poured from the clouds. The first rain drops gave a sweet smell of the soil. The farmers of the country side have waited long enough for the rains, and were ready to plant the paddy.

                   The baby is now two months old and the advent of the rains gave him a chance to enhance his curiosity of what the new season has brought for him with it. On finding no one to disturb him he put his hands out of the window to the pouring rain drops and found it fun playing with the water that fell on his cheeks and it ran down his face. His mother came running to the room, hearing his weird fun-making sounds. The thunder and the lightening frighten him and at the very moment amaze him also. Frightened, he runs to his mom and holds her tightly, closing his eyes. And after the lightning had gone he laughs almost simultaneously with the thunder.

                   The rain continues to pour for the next two months playing hide and seek with the sun.

                                                Now three months later the baby boy has stopped crawling and his curiosity leads him to learn a new skill of walking. It’s really fun walking with everyone encouraging him to walk and finds himself running to their arms. The first steps of the child give a feeling of intense happiness to his parents and instil new hope in their hearts.

                                                The harvest season was nearby and the baby steps are too small to walk to the paddy fields. His grandfather took him in his arms, caressing him all the way long. He had started talking by now. With every season he has learnt something new and the harvest season gives him the power of speech. His grandfather takes him to make a small tour to the golden paddy fields. The paddy dances with the winds blowing and the baby boy tries to imitate the dancing of the paddy fields. He yells out to his grandfather amazed at the beauty of the paddy and the birds that flew over the land.

                                                The nature created a perfect birth place for him and blessed him with its abundant beauty and a miraculous world.

                                                The paddy was brought by the labourers to the house where they are crushed by the cows to separate the rice from the husk. It took days to separate the rice. Once the rice had been separated they were filled in the sacks to be stored and to be sold.

                                                The winter season has made a peep into the life of the sweet baby boy to teach him a new lesson. His words were now clear could now be understood to a small extent. It was so cold that smoke came out of his mouth as he said to his mom. “Ma-ma”, “smoke coming out! My mouth.” which was duly acknowledged by his mom with a smile.

                                                Later that day, a calf was born to a cow. In a day or two it was galloping and was showing wonderful jumping tricks, and the baby boy couldn’t stop laughing and having fun with his grandmother. The calf was allowed to drink milk from the cow first and then it was milked. He tried his hand at milking but without much success.

                                                Nature had made many marigold flowers and roses to blossom in their garden. The garden looked like paradise from the top of his house.

                                                The year was now close to end and everyone was celebrating the arrival of the New Year with great pomp and show.

                                                The state he lived in celebrated thirteen festivals in twelve months, with the famous being the “Rath Yatra” at Puri. Puri is the abode of Lord Jagannath and the Lord of the Universe.

The baby boy was named Kishan on the 21^st day of his birthday and now has grown up quite a bit and is on his way to conquer the world in his own way.

                   I still feel jealous of the baby boy who had so much of fun playing in his village and I envy him of the wonderful days he had as a child that every child wishes to have cherished those days. Wish I have been as lucky as the sweet and adorable baby boy, every day of my life.

                             The summers, the rainy, winter seasons taught him many lessons of life. Of all the seasons the summers is the best, for it gives him a chance to look into the world beyond him, in the holidays.  It takes him to new destinations and gives him a chance to appreciate Mother Nature and the wonderful beauty it has created for every living being on earth. Seasons are the manifestations of Nature for every living being to closely relate with her and to unravel her hidden mysteries.This post has been published as a part of a competition in Indian Bloggers League. 

http://coupdeast.blogspot.in/ ,
http://www.writeupcafe.com/articles/1869/38/my-favorite-season/tab/2019 .