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Dec 08, 2013 Abhinav rated it really liked it

Shelves: the-cj-library, espionage, thriller, love-cum-like-zyada, popular-fiction, historical-fiction, 2013-reading-saga, i-own-a-copy

Move over, Mr. Ashwin Sanghi. Okay, not that much. Just a bit. Just enough to let Aroon Raman stand beside you, for he too is a strong contender for being "India's answer to Dan Brown" - that's atleast what their respective publishing houses claim.

'The Shadow Throne' begins with a murder at the premises of Delhi's Qutub Minar in mysterious circumstances. Inspector Syed Ali Hassan is in charge & he calls freelance journalist Chandrashekhar over to the crime scene. But before the two can uncover a Move over, Mr. Ashwin Sanghi. Okay, not that much. Just a bit. Just enough to let Aroon Raman stand beside you, for he too is a strong contender for being "India's answer to Dan Brown" - that's atleast what their respective publishing houses claim.

'The Shadow Throne' begins with a murder at the premises of Delhi's Qutub Minar in mysterious circumstances. Inspector Syed Ali Hassan is in charge & he calls freelance journalist Chandrashekhar over to the crime scene. But before the two can uncover any hard evidence, the body is whisked away by people with far more clout, most probably India's premier intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW).

As Chandrashekhar tries to work with the information on hand, he summons the help of his friend - history professor Meenakshi Pirzada. She happens to stumble upon a clue that points to a secret religious cult planning its resurgence with inside help & suddenly they all find themselves in the shadowy mirth of international espionage, as India is threatened by a nuclear strike. Chandrashekhar believes the answer lies in Afghanistan, but he does not know whom to trust since Hassan is apparently not what he claims to be & Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) is involved as well. Can one good man save his country from Armageddon?

'The Shadow Throne' is not the first novel the author has written, but it happens to be his first published one. And what an effort it is. The writing is good & the plot is tightly-paced, just like any decent thriller should be. The characters of Chandrashekhar & Hassan are well-written but I felt that Meenakshi Pirzada doesn't really get her due (something a few other reviewers have noted as well), but I'm willing to condone that in a debut novel. Except for one particular twist in the second half of the book (deus ex machina!) I felt each one had a perfectly logical explanation & never looked out of place, giving its narrative the dose of adrenaline & suspense as the protagonists battle time & hostile forces to prevent the catastrophic event.

Yes, the influence of Dan Brown's style is evident to a certain extent but it's difficult to find fault with this book on any of the major counts - the writing definitely matches the standards of good thriller novels, the dialogue isn't cliched & the plot is highly original & it weaves the current Indian political scenario into it & resonates far more than other books written on similar lines. And what really impressed me is that the author didn't fall into the trap of forcibly creating a romantic angle, which makes it stand apart from the usual fare.

So my rating for 'The Shadow Throne' isn't exactly 4 out of 5 stars - more of a 3.5 stars & upwards. Definitely recommended for readers of Indian popular fiction & those who enjoy a racy espionage thriller.

P.S. I received a copy of this book from the author & I solemnly maintain that my review was in no way influenced by the same. ...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Ravi Jain rated it liked it

Shelves: indian-authors, action-adventure

Since Chetan Bhagat published his first teen novel “5 Point Someone” in 2004, a plethora of authors have flooded the Indian Literary scene. Many giants have emerged like Ashwin Sanghi, Amish Tripathi and Ravi Subramanian. Similarly, there were many others who came & disappeared equally quickly like “Samit Basu of Turbulence” or “Anuja Chandramouli of Arjuna.” Aroon Raman gives me a hope that he is gonna stay here; but he has to work on his writing style and climaxes a bit.

Full review here: The S ...more

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Dec 13, 2013 Sundeep Supertramp rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime, indian-contemporary, favourites, suspense, action, adventure, mystery, thriller

The review of this book is posted on my blog...

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