Book Review: Brutal

Brutal by Uday Satpathy

Source: http://bloodygoodbook.com/images/books/05d37e2110591b0a7e33e19883361bc0_54f153e526df0.jpg

Brutal is the first publication to come out of the Bloody Good Book and Westland stable which is being lead jointly by Niyati Patel and Rashmi Bansal. This is a unique venture in the sense that it gives new and upcoming writers the chance to live their dream of becoming a writer.

Writers are required to send in their manuscripts of which 3 chapters are published online and they are rated and reviewed by the readers as well as go through an editorial process. The best ones are selected to be published. So does this thriller work? Let’s check it out.

The blurb goes like this –

You are in real, real danger’ – a school teacher gets a creepy warning in his mailbox. Seven days later, he massacres eleven of his own students. Two months later, he is gunned down in broad daylight by an obscure militant outfit.

Justice served. The nation pacified. Case closed, the police say. But, two crime reporters think otherwise.

Seeking redemption through this case are Prakash and Seema, ace journalists in their professional lives, but broken individuals in the darkness of their personal hells. As they dig deeper into the mystery, they are led into the ominous forests of Bandhavgarh where an eerily similar massacre had occurred eight years ago.

Little do they know that they have kicked a wasp’s nest.

One by one their leads start turning up in body bags and they are chased by assassins at every corner. Soon they would realize that they are pitted against evil powers pervading the business and political DNA of the country, with an unbelievably sinister agenda.

As a massive terrorist strike looms over the nation, will Prakash and Seema survive long enough to uncover a conspiracy of unimaginable proportions?

With a partial view of an individual’s face (teeth, nose and eyes) covered in blood, the cover makes for interesting viewing. More than a thriller, it seems as though one is about to embark on a journey of zombies or something of that sort. Nonetheless, it does pique the curiosity of the reader.

The thriller genre seem to be the name of the game in the Indian literary world these days. But if it’s an interesting concept, then why not go for it?

The story starts of 8 years back in the Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh. What starts off with a chase and a murder moves onto a massacre and then a wild goose chase which involves conniving politicians, businessmen, journalists and even foreign powers.

The story moves at a breakneck speed throughout keeping the reader guessing on what would happen next. Thankfully, the author (Uday Satpathy) doesn’t concentrate on additional angles to the story like love and the likes. He stays true to his word in providing a superbly thrilling experience.

In terms of characterization, Uday has done a fairly good job. While the characters of the journalists are given ample scope to be effectively developed, I felt that the characters of the antagonists could have had many more layers.

Negatives?

The way the journalists encounter the rogue elements throughout the story seems a bit too far fetched. It just left me wondering whether journos are really that capable to tackle these kind of situations so effectively.

All in all, if you are looking for an interesting thriller, go for this one. You won’t be disappointed.

Rating – 4/5

Linking to Indispire Edition 74

Linking to NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month – July – My post no 21 for this month.