Stranger than fiction

If ever there was a book which personified conspiracy theory version of Poe’s law, “The Men Who Stare at Goats ” by Jon Ronson is it. The history of PsyOps in American security forces often stretches credulity.

Echoes of the times present

One thing historical fiction (and sometimes, fiction) can do pretty well is to show the present in an entirely different light, thereby changing our perspective. “The Man with the Iron Heart ” by Harry Turtledove does it pretty well, mirroring some major events in our time.

The Holy Bullet

It is very hard to place  a book like “The Holy Bullet” by Luís Miguel Rocha. It involves murder but is not exactly a murder mystery. It involves catholic church and its secrets, but is not religious thriller in the sense we are now used to. But apart from all this, you can still enjoy it as a nice action story.

The man who rebuilt Maratha Empire

After the death of Aurangzeb, Maratha Empire rose to prominence in central India. While the titular heads of empire were the Chhatrapatis in Satara, the military might was mostly concentrated in the hands of Peshwas (Peshwa/e = Prime Minister), the post made hereditary by Chhatrapati Shahu.

Madhavrao Peshwa, on whose life “Swami” (= Master) by Ranjit Desai is based, was the third Peshwa to inherit the seat.

Tale of a soldier

Once you get past the main action (Denise Richards and Dina Meyer) you start getting a distinctive “1984” feeling about the whole proceedings, especially about the newscasts. Which is why I was curious to read the actual book, Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, on which the iconic movie is based.

And unexpectedly different as it was after the movie, the book was interesting in its own way.

Movie: Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince

So, I finally went ahead and did the fanboy thing. Grabbed my cloak, tucked in my wand (not in my jeans back pocket, I am safety conscious), and Continuing the tradition started with “Order of the Phoenix”, I went ahead and watched the “Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince” almost a day before it is released everywhere. And since it is hard to review a film like this for me, here are just some of the thoughts, fresh from watching the movie (maybe a long one).

TV Miniseries: Andromeda Strain

Perhaps it is the indication of how little known Michael Crichton’s first novel (as Michael Crichton) “The Andromeda Strain ” is – the 2-part A&E TV miniseries came and went without making much of a splash. Although, there may be other reasons for that (see below).

The King Speaks

First off, I don’t like to read “business” books. Secondly, I love books which have chess as a theme (though not core chess books). Fortunately for me, Garry Kasparov’s “How Life Imitates Chess” definitely falls in the second category, though not rigidly belonging to the first one.

Movie Review: Angels and Demons

Once again, it’s time for lost religious treasures, Secret Societies and Harvard Symbologist Prof. Robert Langdon to the rescue.

Personally, I think “Angels and Demons”, the book is much better than “Da Vinci Code”, the book. The same holds true for the movies, if you ask me.

When Mary Russell came to town

In what is turning out to be a (mostly) Sherlock Holmes-themed month (not that I am complaining), I decided to check out the latest stop in the author Laurie R. King’s book tour.