The Mine was my first thriller novel in English by an Indian author, a refreshing break from all the romance at the 'premier' institutes.
If you are an ardent lover of stories that are absolute page turners, that make you chew on your nails, that you can't help finishing at once( and you find hard it to do anything else unless you've read the last word on the last page), then The Mine by Arnab Ray is your manna. This is one book where you'll not require the services of your bookmark however cute the dangling tassels may look from between the pages.
Somewhere in the deserts of Rajasthan is a mine, the existence of which is not known to the world above. Deep inside the earth an ancient shrine surfaces, the uncovering of which sets the ball rolling and a sequence of bizarre accidents occur. A team of experts consisting of calm and gentlemanly doctor, a snobbish toxicologist, a suave archaeologist, a pretty psychiatrist and our protagonist, an expert in security surveillance are summoned in an eccentric manner to evaluate the ongoing crisis and give there inputs. Halfway through the story they discover that their fates are engraved in the temple below. They are the only people left in the mine and trapped there perhaps for life, however long it may be. In the midst of different speculation on why this happened they find ways to escape. But route is full of life threatening hurdles for each one has to bear the burden of his sins. This is where the writer takes you for a to and fro ride between the character's past life and his present situation (a la Sidney Sheldon). . What follows is a sequence of gory details right up to the climax. Amidst the bobby traps and other invisible killing devices the author brews fine suspense, which is accentuated by poetic and Biblical verses, the Hebrew carvings below and the doctor's philosophy
The book in itself is a mine, the deeper you go, the more secrets are unveiled and shattering confessions made. The plot is an absolute maze that you are sucked into. It's the journey of the characters on their path towards freedom that will keep you on tenterhooks. And like what is expected of a good mystery the ending is unexpected. The protagonist finds that the answers to his questions were staring him in the face while he went around looking for them all these years. Evil is most where you least expect it. And just when you think all the gore was over and all sins were paid for, there is more for the protagonist to 'watch'.
If you are an ardent lover of stories that are absolute page turners, that make you chew on your nails, that you can't help finishing at once( and you find hard it to do anything else unless you've read the last word on the last page), then The Mine by Arnab Ray is your manna. This is one book where you'll not require the services of your bookmark however cute the dangling tassels may look from between the pages.
Somewhere in the deserts of Rajasthan is a mine, the existence of which is not known to the world above. Deep inside the earth an ancient shrine surfaces, the uncovering of which sets the ball rolling and a sequence of bizarre accidents occur. A team of experts consisting of calm and gentlemanly doctor, a snobbish toxicologist, a suave archaeologist, a pretty psychiatrist and our protagonist, an expert in security surveillance are summoned in an eccentric manner to evaluate the ongoing crisis and give there inputs. Halfway through the story they discover that their fates are engraved in the temple below. They are the only people left in the mine and trapped there perhaps for life, however long it may be. In the midst of different speculation on why this happened they find ways to escape. But route is full of life threatening hurdles for each one has to bear the burden of his sins. This is where the writer takes you for a to and fro ride between the character's past life and his present situation (a la Sidney Sheldon). . What follows is a sequence of gory details right up to the climax. Amidst the bobby traps and other invisible killing devices the author brews fine suspense, which is accentuated by poetic and Biblical verses, the Hebrew carvings below and the doctor's philosophyThe book in itself is a mine, the deeper you go, the more secrets are unveiled and shattering confessions made. The plot is an absolute maze that you are sucked into. It's the journey of the characters on their path towards freedom that will keep you on tenterhooks. And like what is expected of a good mystery the ending is unexpected. The protagonist finds that the answers to his questions were staring him in the face while he went around looking for them all these years. Evil is most where you least expect it. And just when you think all the gore was over and all sins were paid for, there is more for the protagonist to 'watch'.
No comments:
Post a Comment