| Book Review of Khayaal Patel's Tarikshir: The Awakening |
Tarikshir: The Awakening
1. Un-original and Plagiarised Content:
Take Game of Thrones. Remove all the sex, violence, and political intrigue. What do you get? You get this novel. Not just GOT. The Writer has lifted scenes from half a dozen hits. Here is a short list. Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom, Shrek, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Mummy, Star Wars, and Gladiator.
2. Foreshadowing that is not:
The writer litters the first half of the book with direct and indirect hints of what is to come but never really completes the circle. And when it does, please refer (3) or (4)
3. Unintentional Comedy:
a. Ok. There is, not one but, two secret cults in this book. One is called the Red Tigers but, comically, their leader is a called a Lion.
b. The hero's fight with Shera – the biggest lion in the world -is more a dance than a fight. What renders it worse is that it happens, not once but, twice. And this is seconds after an equally comical fight with a ... oh forget it.
c. At least two major characters lose consciousness in the middle of a tricky situation. It happens to both, not once but, twice.
d. A person just died a gory death and our hero finds time here to appreciate the interior decoration and the wall-painting of the place.
4. No Respect for our Intelligence:
In the novel, a father tells his son.
“Son, these fellows are just like parasites. They take over a healthy host and destroy it from inside.”
The conversation looks quite harmless na. Wait. This is supposed to have happened in 1826. Science didn't propagate into day-to-day conversation then. Only a few learned scientists knew of parasites and they were still not sure about it. To put things in perspective, the most popular parasite – Malarial parasite- was discovered in 1880.
And a dozen other instances.
5. Opportunity Knocks but.. :
The novel has a big giant of a man. Killing and threatening people. This is an outright take on that big wildling in GOT, Wun Wun. The death of Wun Wun was an event in itself. Mega. A big send-off to a big fellow. One cannot forget that last arrow that hits a badly injured Wun Wun right in the eye. Do you know how the giant dies in this book? He goes to sleep and never wakes up. Khalaas.
6. Real-life Experience:
The writing lacks seriousness, depth or maturity. Makes me think that the writer has no real-life experience. He has not seen things. Leave Dubai. Come back to India. Buy a sleeper class ticket and travel from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. See. Learn.
If this review sounds too vitriolic, it’s because the writer a) made the reviewer read 330 pages of done and dusted puerile work. B) has touched a raw nerve by plagiarising from the reviewer’s favourite superhero movie. Hell Boy. He will pay for this.
One positive aspect of the book has to be highlighted. The English is quite good. I learnt a few new words myself. It's so unfortunate that the writer has the tools but not the content.
However, my only question is - who are the readers of such books?
Take Game of Thrones. Remove all the sex, violence, and political intrigue. What do you get? You get this novel. Not just GOT. The Writer has lifted scenes from half a dozen hits. Here is a short list. Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom, Shrek, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Mummy, Star Wars, and Gladiator.
2. Foreshadowing that is not:
The writer litters the first half of the book with direct and indirect hints of what is to come but never really completes the circle. And when it does, please refer (3) or (4)
3. Unintentional Comedy:
a. Ok. There is, not one but, two secret cults in this book. One is called the Red Tigers but, comically, their leader is a called a Lion.
b. The hero's fight with Shera – the biggest lion in the world -is more a dance than a fight. What renders it worse is that it happens, not once but, twice. And this is seconds after an equally comical fight with a ... oh forget it.
c. At least two major characters lose consciousness in the middle of a tricky situation. It happens to both, not once but, twice.
d. A person just died a gory death and our hero finds time here to appreciate the interior decoration and the wall-painting of the place.
4. No Respect for our Intelligence:
In the novel, a father tells his son.
“Son, these fellows are just like parasites. They take over a healthy host and destroy it from inside.”
The conversation looks quite harmless na. Wait. This is supposed to have happened in 1826. Science didn't propagate into day-to-day conversation then. Only a few learned scientists knew of parasites and they were still not sure about it. To put things in perspective, the most popular parasite – Malarial parasite- was discovered in 1880.
And a dozen other instances.
5. Opportunity Knocks but.. :
The novel has a big giant of a man. Killing and threatening people. This is an outright take on that big wildling in GOT, Wun Wun. The death of Wun Wun was an event in itself. Mega. A big send-off to a big fellow. One cannot forget that last arrow that hits a badly injured Wun Wun right in the eye. Do you know how the giant dies in this book? He goes to sleep and never wakes up. Khalaas.
6. Real-life Experience:
The writing lacks seriousness, depth or maturity. Makes me think that the writer has no real-life experience. He has not seen things. Leave Dubai. Come back to India. Buy a sleeper class ticket and travel from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. See. Learn.
If this review sounds too vitriolic, it’s because the writer a) made the reviewer read 330 pages of done and dusted puerile work. B) has touched a raw nerve by plagiarising from the reviewer’s favourite superhero movie. Hell Boy. He will pay for this.
One positive aspect of the book has to be highlighted. The English is quite good. I learnt a few new words myself. It's so unfortunate that the writer has the tools but not the content.
However, my only question is - who are the readers of such books?
Review by Hemant Singh
If you feel I was too harsh, go ahead and buy the book at Amazon.
