Skip to content

Category Archives: reviews

Echoes of the Great Song, by David Gemmell

As you perhaps can tell, I’ve come to appreciate Gemmell a lot. I find his style of fantasy writing refreshing; in a world where almost all fantasy writing is all about good battling evil, his writings blur the distinction between the two and set the reader into new directions of thinking about them. This novel […]

The Swords of Night and Day, by David Gemmell

Although this is the last book of the Drenai series (none of which I’ve read) – it’s a perfectly fine read on its own. One really has to thank David Gemmell for keeping his series books more or less independent. This fantasy tale revolves around the resurrection of two legendary millennia-old heroes to fight the […]

Snow, by Orhan Pamuk

As usual, I have a backlog of a number of books to review, but I brought this one forward because it’s one of the most extraordinary books I’ve read. The book revolves around a poet, Ka, who returns to his homeland from exile – and travels to the remote town of Kars, ostensibly to investigate […]

Indian Summers by John Wright

One of the books that I’m really thankful I’ve read. Without doubt, a wonderful read for any Indian cricket fan. John Wright describes his whole stint as Indian coach; starting from his selection as coach to finish. Few can argue that since John Wright, Indian cricket has improved in a number of ways – professionalism, […]

Universe on a T-shirt by Dan Falk

Quite an interesting read about the history of physics. Falk starts from ancient Greeks who theorized that Earth was the center of the universe and everything was made from earth, air, fire and water and progresses to modern day theoretical physicists who talk in terms of string theory. Throughout the book, there is a common […]

The Afghan by Fredrick Forsyth

An extremely well thought out plot, marred by lack of detail and a poor ending. Forsyth bases his latest book in the modern world of terrorism, in which a British soldier disguises himself as an Al-Qaeda operative in order to gain access to their latest plans. The first half of the book is spent on […]

India: From midnight to millennium by Shashi Tharoor

I’ve been meaning to read this book for a long time, just never got around to it until now. The book was written around 1996 and presents the high points and trends of India’s history from independence till that time. One of the things that inspired me to finally read and finish this book was […]

Bloodlines by Karen Tarviss

Bloodlines is, by far, the worst Star Wars book I have ever read. The book is part of a new 9-book series called Legacy of the Force, only two of which have been released so far. It’s set in the future when Han Solo and Leia’s kids have grown up. The New Republic is being […]

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

Freakonomics is about how social and economic factors powerfully influence decisions that people make, and how data can throw light on a phenomenon that is otherwise inexplicable or misinterpreted. The authors go through a few case studies, among them – economic incentives for teachers to cheat on their students’ exams, the rise and fall of […]

Pundits from Pakistan, by Rahul Bhattacharya

One word: glorious. This book is a memoir of the 2003-04 Test series. Rahul Bhattacharya poignantly describes every aspect of the series, along with his own experiences and interviews as a freelance journalist. One of the things I really liked about the book was the description of the Pakistani atmosphere and culture around the matches […]