Book Review
Kaalkoot The Lost Himalayan Secret by S. Venkatesh
Kaalkoot by S. Venkatesh |
Author: S. Venkatesh
ISBN: 978-8193642450
Genre: Historical Fiction (Crime, Mystery & Thriller)
Length: 335 Pages
Publisher: TreeShade Books (7
December 2018)
My Ratings: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
My Ratings: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/2YU4AGK
About the author:
Venkatesh wears many hats. In his roles as private equity
investor, executive coach, business leader, entrepreneur and Board member, he
has helped businesses thrive and grow. He has spent a significant part of his
professional life in the stock markets with Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and JP
Morgan and continues to be an avid investor. Venkatesh has been keenly interested in Eastern philosophy
and mysticism right from his college days at IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta.
He has found his inspiration to write in rather curious
settings - while crawling through war tunnels in Vietnam, coming face-to-face
with a bear in the Nilgiris, chancing upon an Indus Valley ruin while on a road
trip, listening to “Madhushala,” or just drinking cutting chai by the roadside.
He is passionate about self-discovery and the power of stories to inspire and
transform.
S. Venkatesh at Higginbotham's, Chennai |
Follow him on Instagram: @authorsvenkatesh
REVIEW
Narration
Kaalkoot is a crime thriller with the backdrop of mystery,
as the subtitle suggests─
The Lost Himalayan Secret. The story has many aspects like the history and the
warfare. The book initiates from the time when Quit India Movement was
launched. The story is narrated in the third person point of view. The voice is
very clear and gives the exact information the reader would want. The narration
doesn’t follow any character in particular, it narrates thoughts of every
character being followed. The structure of the book is clever and evenly spaced
out.
Location and Setting
Kaalkoot has covered many monumental places which includes Mumbai,
Kolkata, Goa, Delhi and locations of Himalaya terrain. The novel takes place in
June 2018. The story starts with a Prof. Bani living in Kolkata who is poring over
some conspiracy theory he had come to know thirteen years back. Damini is an
agent at underground Anti-Conspiracy Group (ACG) formed by Indian Government. The
setting really complements the plot that absorbs the reader into the world full
of agents, hackers and the danger imposing on them all.
Theme
Kaalkoot is a crime thriller with the adventure that comes
along discovering the truth and revealing mysteries. In the prologue itself, the
author mentions the destruction of the whole earth. Sameer Rajan is the
protagonist for the novel and he is one of the strong and courageous characters.
While searching for his missing girlfriend he comes to know about the looming
threat to thousands of lives from bioweapon called Kaalkoot. These three
characters cross their paths only for what fate has destined for them and
that is keeping the evil from succeeding in their plans.
Plot
The story is divided into five parts each focuses on the
different task and revealing something new. The book is packed with action
scenes and others are intriguing ones. The baseline being the conspiracy theory
and the study of history, a history geek would love to reflect on past
events. Along the story comes various characters of distinct background from
across the country and some foreign. Mostly they are experts, mountaineer,
agents and professors. The story doesn’t halt for a second, thus the characters
are always in action making their lasting impression, e.g., and agents who don’t
get the luxury of time to make a decision. Meanwhile, only three of them (Bani, Damini
and Sameer) knows the forthcoming ruination. And they are being constantly
followed by the minions of the antagonist. They have to make their choices wisely
and quickly for saving those thousands of lives.
My Views
I completely loved Kaalkoot. This is one of the ever
progressive novels I have read in my life. The book has many aspects covered
from which I liked reading about the history and bioweapons. One of the
interesting parts was warfare and international alliances. This might not
seem different but it is very different in its own way. The Himalayan secret
and the conspiracy theories are very fun to read about literally burying face
into the book.
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