The action builds up real fast. Desperation, passion, fear... foreplay, rape, submission... and boom! The most dangerous man in South Asia, the leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban in Pakistan is killed in a drone attack. All in the first 9 pages. Many wanted him dead. But who killed Baitullah Mehsud? It's explosive stuff. The subject couldn't be more relevant right now, the author's command on it indisputable.
As the story unfolds, you discover the journalist behind the author - solid on facts, trying to make a complicated story easy for the audience, unraveling the political and strategic equations between the ISI, the Taliban, the Afghans and the Americans. The story takes you from Arg-e-shahi (the Afghan presidential palace) in Kabul to a sophisticated American military station in Nevada, from the taliban's hideouts in Quetta and Makeen to Baitullah's father-in-law's terrace in Zanghara. It gives you a perspective on the infighting in the Taliban, the insecurity of its commanders and the double games played by the security forces. Amid all the ruthlessness, lust and power play, is an innocent love story with a happy end!
The book has love, deceit, drama and gore, all that you could ask for in a thriller. It could do with better editing though. Some passages read like TV news graphics, shying away from the use of pronoun, lest the audience forgets who is being talked about. There are times when you're grappling with too much info, keeping track of the numerous splinter groups of the Taliban and why they are at loggerheads.
Interestingly, the first part of the book ends with a list of "unanswered questions", something we relate to as TV journos. It's a complex plot and to the author's credit, you do get the big picture if you show patience.
A promising debut. Sound research spiced up with an interesting plot and characters. A seamless interweaving of fact and fiction. Do read!
The Eye of the Predator; Abhisar Sharma; Hachette India; Rs 250
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
TOP NEWS
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
