I have mixed feelings about “And Another Thing… ”. For one thing, it is hard to recreate the magic of a classic like H2G2 – the five-part trilogy. On the other hand, Eoin Colfer has enough experience of weird characters and crazier situations from his Artemis Fowl series.

The “part 6 of 3” starts almost exactly where “Mostly Harmless” ended. The Guide Mark II has lured Ford Prefect, Arthur Dent, Trillion and their daughter Random back to earth, in order for the Vogons to finish their paperwork, once and for all. Just as Prostetnic Jeltz is ready to check the last box in the form, they are rescued, quite improbably (once again). But this time, there is more than just “Heart of Gold” involved.

Unfortunately, Prostetnic Jeltz has found that there are more just these few humans from earth around, and he is on their way to finish the other survivors as well. Meanwhile, Zaphod needs to go to Asgard with a job for one of his old buddies (if he can remember the reason, of course). Meanwhile, Vogons may have on board a traitor. Or worse, a vogon who is developing conscious.

Right from the start, the book gets into a similar, but not quite the same tone as the original series. Some of the old (and lesser) characters and storylines come to the fore, while many well-beloved characters are missing from action this time around.

While Zaphod arriving to save Arthur Dent from a planetary destruction is the same old story, Nano’s quest for a God has no parallel in the original. The sulky but ambitious teeanager Random Dent gets a lot bigger role in this one. Won’t be a wonder if there is a book plotting Random’s rise to power next.

As I said, the tone of the book is somewhat similar to the original series, with crazy situations involving Arthur Dent in trouble intermingled with the froody entries from The Guide. The Guide notes come thick and fast, and sometimes feel like a bit too much. But then again, most notes involve weird deaths and genocides, so it is all fun (I know I sound like a sociopath, but you haven’t read the book yet.)

As a continuation of a classic by different author, It is hard to judge what was bent to confirm to the series, and how much is Colfer’s own creation. Which is why I am not entirely sure how the book stands as a continuation of the series. Plus, there are certain storylines and references which you will certainly miss if this is your introduction to the series, or you are reading the book as a stand-alone. Still, even keeping nostalgia aside, I would surely recommend the book, both to the fans of the series and newcomers.

Quote of the Day:

Stop talking right now, Earthman. The word tea has been flagged. The last time you asked for tea, you backed up the entire system during an alert.

- Left Brain

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Check out Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer – Books 1-5 and book 6. Also, other sci-fi books.

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.

The author starts with Maj. Gen. Stubblebine’s (US Army’s Chief of Intelligence) unsuccessful efforts to walk through his office wall. The efforts are provoked by Lt. Col. Jim Channon’s field manual for First Earth Battalion (FEB – I dare you to google that). Gen. Stubblebine’s efforts are mirrored in Special Forces, where among other things Guy Savelli once killed a goat just by staring at it (or close enough), and there are a group of officers of an underfunded, unacknowledged unit, in an abandoned building with no coffee budget, trying their hands at remote viewing.

What they are trying to create is a Warrior Monk, or a Ninja, a supersoldier. There is a psychic or supernatural war going on between Gen. Stubblebine and Panama dictator The descriptions of human potential groups and the Jim Channon’s vision of FEB is so bizarre, that you start wondering whether it is fiction. (And even if it was fiction, you would dismiss it as just too far-fetched).

And then, within a page or two, you start wishing the book was a work of fiction. We read about a man described by a trainer for Special Forces as ‘Luke Skywalker’. Except, the comparison would be with Skywalker Sr. in this case, as the man walked in United Airline flight 93, and hijacked it. Guy Savelli is contacted by various men from Axis-of-Evil countries, who are interested in learning about psychically killing a goat.

And on the home front, PsyOps have developed into something FEB and it’s proponents would never have guessed. Iraqi prisoners placed within containers are bombarded continuously with songs from Barney the Purple Dinosaur and Sesame street. A British citizen imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay talks about other forms of aural stimulation and other unusual tortures there. The scandalous pictures from Abu Ghraib take a whole new, and deeper aspect when seen from the author’s talks with members at PsyOps HQ at Fort Bragg. As the author says, the book is “about the changing relationship between Jim Channon’s ideas and the army at large.”

At some level, you understand the motivation of early proponents of the idea, the officers like Channon, Alexander etc. Post-Vietnam, when FEB was first floated, they wanted to create a supersoldier who was as much a deterrent as the atom bomb was post-WWII. Some of the ideas can only be a product of ‘60s, like the FEB soldiers carrying “symbols and sounds of peace” in enemy territories. And they have resulted in some good – some early converts have become advocates and experts on non-lethal weapons in army and law enforcement.

There are a lot of crazy-sounding excerpts from human potential, sublime sound etc. companies.  But what you don’t expect is to read about a Special Forces Colonel refusing a demo of mind reader machine, because he cannot risk divulging the classified military information in his stored brain. Or a General offering to bend spoons with his mind in a black-tie affair in front of his superior, only to be shot down because his superior believes that the Satan is bending the spoons. The psychic, supernatural battle between Gen. Stubblebine and Panama dictator Noriega has to be read to be believed, with psychic spying and spells involved.

At this point you are almost ready to believe that the author’s next book will be on how moon landings were faked. Even Ronson mentions that he felt like a conspiracy nut asking certain queries about subliminal messages or about if a person was “remotely affecting livestock”. It’s hard to keep yourself from chuckling while reading this.

And then, you realise that the techniques you found so crazy are being used in Guantanamo Bay, in Abu Ghraib, or behind that train station where prisoners live in cargo containers. And suddenly, phrases like aural stimulation control, subliminal messages start sounding a whole lot less crazy and lot scarier.

There are perhaps better reasons to read a book than the author’s interview on The Colbert Report, or an upcoming movie with George Clooney. But once you get into the book, you forget everything else.

During the aforementioned Sesame Street songblasting episode, there is a page or two, where the creators of Sesame Street discuss about how much royalty they should be getting for Army’s use of the songs (calculated for about 14000 or so times over three days). They discuss whether they should be getting money on per container, per prisoner basis, or should apply jingle rate, with some knockdown (and they joke how the music is being used to knock down prisoners). For me, this half-serious, half-joking, entirely surreal conversation caught the mood of the book perfectly.

Quote of the Day:

It’s not like selling coke. Sometimes you are trying to sell someone something that you know they might not want in their hearts. So it causes ambiguities, and problems.

- “Dave”, a Senior Cultural Analyst for PsyOps

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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.

Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich (#2 man in SS) is a man brilliant enough to see in ‘43 that the tide of war is changing against Nazi Germany. He is also brave (even foolhardy) enough to approach his superior, Heinrich Himmler, with his ideas for post-defeat Germany.

After V-E day, the partisans in occupied Germany start showing their hand. Before the Allies realise that they are facing more than a few scattered fanatics and get their act together, they have lost many men, including Generals and Marshalls, Paris and London are marked by the revenge of the “German Freedom Front”, and now famous Nuremburg trials are forever doomed. While Heydrich directs his movement he planned for 2 years, his enemies have to fight more against the crack developing in their alliance than his “fanatics”.

And they are not exactly helped by the situation back home. While Russians employ their “both eyes and nose for an eye” policy, a housewife in US, Diana McGraw, grieved by the death of her son after “so-called” V-E day, starts a movement to bring soldiers from Germany back. Before long, the Republicans have seen a political platform to get them back to power, and the few officers who are fighting in Germany to stop the countdown to WW-III are finding their jobs even harder.

Most of the characters in the story are pretty common. These include a housewife from Indiana, who sees the movement she started pushing her to national fame, a reporter who suddenly finds himself at the start of a huge news cycle are on the domestic front, while a private, and a couple of men from CIC and NKVD are fighting the asymmetrical war in the occupied Germany.

But, (in a very interesting similarity to “Inglorius Basterds”, I would say) it is the title character, Reinhard Haydrich, who looms over most of the narrative, by his actions and his presence. A brilliant strategist, he may not be the man with a great imagination (totalitarian regimes frown on that quality in officers), but he is quick to understand the importance of any new development, and to use it to his advantage. He quickly adapts to the “new idea” Japanese came up with (Kamikaze pilots), or uses Diana McGraw’s movement to make Nazi survivors into “German Freedom Front”.

Sometimes you feel that the similarities with the current situation in Iraq are not just hinted, but typed in headline font. But it is also interesting, and sometimes scary, to read how quickly the walls between the allies go up even before the war is officially over, or how the efforts of a few officers fall fart short of success, for almost no fault of their own. Also, while the home front in US quickly dissolves in a political storm, it is quite interesting to see that once you see past the political and media attention, both sides have equally valid points.

But above all that, while I love the historical fiction which “predicts” the future, I have a special place in my heart for historical fiction which predicts future literary classics.

Quote of the Day:

Sergent Benton: If I do me a crappy job, I get my sorry ass blown up. If I do me a great job, they make me stick around – so I can get my sorry ass blown up. Ought to be a name for something like that.

Capt. Weissberg: Yeah, it’s a heller, all right. One of these days, I will bet there will.

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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.

A retired agent of CIA is killed in Amsterdam station, leaving the CIA field office in London in chaos. A journalist working for a reputed British daily narrowly escapes a bombing attempt. A priest is sent to summon a member of Holy Alliance back to duty. And all these events are tied to the events of 13 May 1981, and its cause.

The story jumps back and forth between the days of John Paul II (and before) and current time, filling in the gaps and providing back story of the events. In present time, it mainly follows the trio of Sarah Monteiro, Father James Phelps and the Vatican spy Rafael Santini on their quest to safeguard and understand the vital information placed in their hands which provides the clue to the conspiracies plaguing the last two papacies. But it also gives enough time to developing other characters and plots, bringing all of them together near the end.

As I said, the book is hard to place in a generic plot outline. Although there are twists and revelations right to the end, the main mystery is solved about half-way through the book, leaving the characters’ mission just to get to the end safely (not easy, given the forces against them, but still). And given the ancient church secrets and conspiracies we are accustomed to read about in recent years, the conspiracy here is much more mundane (which actually makes the story different and hence, more refreshing than other religious thrillers).

As a sequel, the story refers heavily to the events of previous book “The Last Pope”, although I don’t think I missed anything important in not reading that book first. But there are a few plot points whose significance I didn’t understand. Maybe Rafael stating that the story is not over yet means those will be tied up later on.

A word of warning though, this is not a book to be started lightly. Till about half-way in the book, I found myself wondering (like Father Phelps) where exactly the story was going, given the complex plot and multiple threads running parallel through it. But still, by the end I feel the bit of patience in sticking to the book was rewarded amply.

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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.

When Madhavrao assumed his post at the age of 16, Maratha empire was reeling from the devastating loss at the third battle of Panipat. The war lead to loss of almost an entire generation, while Madhavrao’s elder brother, Vishwasrao was missing in action. Old enemies like Nizam of Hyderabad and Haider Ali of Mysore were waiting to take advantage of this weakness in Maratha empire, while Europeans, specifically British East India Company, were gaining power in the Indian subcontinent. Not to mention, there were factions inside Maratha court which were resentful of the power wielded by Peshwas.

By the time of his death at the age of 27, Maratha empire had risen back to almost its old glory. He beat Nizam at Rakshastagadi, and Haider was twice forced to sue for peace. In this, he had the support of various experienced generals and councillors. But he also had acumen to acknowledge and safely use able but treacherous men in his court.

By necessity, Madhavrao’s short reign was the period of rebuilding the empire, and themilitary and political battles which come with it. And it wouldn’t be hard to say that he was the man best suited for the job. A canny general and a fair ruler, Madhavrao led ably on the battleground and in the court. The novel does a very good job of showing not only the overt history, but the personal and family life of this remarkable Peshwa.

Because at the end of it all, it was his own family which was his main strength and main enemy. While he was forced to penalize his maternal uncle, and fight his father in law, Madhavrao’s uncle Raghunathrao (later Peshwa) remained his biggest ally and staunchest foe throughout his life. It was Raghunathrao, led by the ambitions and machinations of his wife and his counsellors, who fought Madhavrao twice on the battleground, beating him once.

Although Madhavrao Peshwe never could come close to fulfilling his dream of rebuilding Maratha empire to its former glory in the days of Bajirao, Maratha armies did put Shah Alam on the throne of Delhi, thus demonstrating their supremacy in India.

Ranjit Desai does a very good job of humanizing history, putting the actions of various men (and women) in Peshwa family in context of their nature, ambitions and the external forces acting on them. The novel is as much a retelling of history as a story of a young man building his own legacy, fighting against his deteriorating health, enemies bent on destroying him and the pall settling on the empire in the wake of the defeat at Panipat.

P.S. Old viewers of Marathi Doordarshan will also remember the brilliant TV series based on the novel, which ran in ’90s. (Can anybody post a link to this?)

Quote of The Day:

And the plains of Panipat were not more fatal to the Maratha Empire than the early end of this excellent prince.

- Grant Duff, History of Marathas.

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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.

The book is set in an alternate future earth, where only those who have completed a term in army service get  the franchise. Juan “Johnnie” Rico, the only son of rich parents, does not really need to be a “citizen”, but he signs up anyway, for no reason he can identify, to the chagrin of his father. Halfway through the boot camp under Sergeant Zim almost pushes him to turn his papers in, but he gets over that.

Narrated by Johnnie Rico, the story is his progress through the Mobile Infantry, through boot camp, as a rookie, NCO and then an officer, set against the background of intergalactic war of humans against a species called “the bugs”.

As I said, the newscasts of the movie almost give an impression of a fascist state, what with the recruiting ads of “everybody doing the part” and so on. The book has almost totally different background. Agreed, the franchise is limited to a few people, but nowhere is feeling that “civilians” are in any way inferior in the society compared to “citizens” (veterans).

Indeed, in sharp contrast to the movie, the recruiting officers in the book do their best to discourage the candidates, and getting out in boot camp is as easy as turning in the papers and walking out. (Running away is another matter altogether, and the discipline is army standard).

Even more interestingly, Johnnie Rico in the book makes a completely unlikely hero. He is a disciplined soldier and conscientious leader who challenges himself, but he is not exactly hero material or college star as in the movie (e.g. his grades make is necessary for him to settle for his last combat choice in army: Mobile Infantry). Either too humble (as a narrator), or too common a soldier, you never find yourself cheering him on as you would for heroes in most sci-fi/fantasy books. Of course, this makes Rico more approachable, and I found myself identifying with narrator, instead of wishing to be a hero.

The first person narrative structure of the book makes it one person’s story only, other characters’ lives seen only through, and limited to Rico’s perspective. Also, true to the nature of MI trooper’s life (long periods of inactivity/training interspersed with short bursts of action), the book lingers more on his training as a soldier and later officer, his own psychological growth into those roles, with only 10-15% of the book devoted to actual fighting.

In short, narrative of the movie? No. Action story? Mostly no. Enjoyable? Definitely.

P.S. Can anybody read that story summary again and tell me how different it really is from “Lakshya”?

Quote of The Day:

Anyone who clings to the historically untrue — and thoroughly immoral — doctrine that "violence never solves anything" I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and of the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon.

- Lt. Col. Jean V. Dubois (Ret.), Mobile Infantry

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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).

First, for those who haven’t read the book, and (don’t want to read) my post on the book, here’s a short story, with minimum spoilers:

Due to events at the end of Order of The Phoenix, Harry Potter finds himself once more the darling of (most of the) wizarding world. While Harry and his friends return to the Hogwarts for their sixth year, the war within the magical community continues to escalate, and even spills over to muggle world. So, while romance is the order of the day for the teens at the school, Harry also needs to prepare for his impending clash with Lord Voldemort. Meanwhile, nobody will believe Harry that Draco Malfoy is up to something sinister.

The movie opens with destruction of what most “spoiler-free” articles are referring to as “a prominent London landmark” (I did too, though anybody who has seen the trailers will know which one). This is immediately followed by a scene where Harry is flirting with a waitress in a cafe. This basically sets the tone for most of the movie, where the darker scenes, with Deatheaters and Harry and Dumbledore’s quest for answers, are interspersed with lighter ones, with romantic comedy between the various pairs.

The Half-Blood Prince storyline is heavily curtailed (which means less Snape scenes, for you fans out there), and you may miss its significance entirely if you haven’t read the book(s). Indeed, many subplots from the book progress more in the dialogs from different characters, than on actual screen. Even two memory-trips don’t find a place in the movie, one actually important, another not so much. The whole movie seems rushing towards the climax, and the end even foreshadows the next movie. This makes sense, since the book is recognizably the first part of two-part ending of the series.

Doesn’t mean the parts which are kept, or added, are not interesting. The lake scene is all it promises to be on paper, so is Ron’s unfortunate acquaintance with a love potion. Tom Riddle comes out properly creepy, while Horace Slughorn is the manoeuvrable, timid fellow we know. Thank god they kept Slughorn’s introductory scene, and the Slug Club Christmas party.

Ginny is, as in the book, much more aggressive and confident. And though Ron does the “hit by the love” perfectly, Harry with Felix Felicis behaves more like he has had a few fire whiskies too many (he does seem to be in a lot better mood than in the book overall). Hermione, for most part, spends her time as jealous and angry teen, than the Miss Perfect we have seen her elsewhere.

Ron finally gets his day in the spotlight, not just as a Quidditch hero, but as a prominent presence in most of the romantic scenes. Though Ron-Lavender love story is used to its utmost comic potential, it doesn’t really matter if he is a part of the pair in question for him to be on the screen.

Although the last battle is heavily reduced, it doesn’t take anything away from the movie overall. But given some of the changes and omissions over the movie series, I am wondering how they can tie up some inevitable loose ends at the start of first part of Deathly Hallows. Although, there are some important bits and pieces hidden here, in time-honoured HP tradition, which will merit a second viewing (yes, I am going back to watch it, this time in 3D).

But you may ask what is , at the end of the day, my biggest grouse with the movie? Well, we did get to see Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes in all its glory, but where are those big flashy posters for “U-No-Poo”?

Quote of The Day:

Dumbledore: You must be wondering why I brought you here.

Harry Potter: Actually sir, after all these years I just sort of go with it.

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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 book revolves starts with a NASA satellite crashing to earth near a sleepy little town. The Army retrieval squad arrives later in the night, to find the people have carried the satellite to the town, and the only surviving person in the town is an old man. The squad does not survive to get out of the town.

While authorities race to contain the contagion,  this activates Project Wildfire: a team comprising of five top researchers in areas related to pathology and epidemiology. The team is carted off to a state-of-the-art lab, where they race against time to identify and combat the disease agent, dubbed Andromeda Strain.

The book is mostly a biological/medical thriller, as it focuses almost entirely on the lab from the moment Dr. Jeremy Stone and his team arrive there. The outside events are peripheral, just taking the story forward. The story is as much about space-born killer as it is about 5 members of team, top talents in their chosen field trying (and almost failing) to make sense of unknown in a well-equipped lab, with limited data and even more limited time. You can almost see the elements which became common later in Crichton’s work: scientists dabbling in things out of their depth, almost complete futility of what we call our best technology etc.

In the miniseries though, the story loses this focus by introducing external characters, some elements from Jurassic Park and State of Fear and that ubiquitous Big Bad Wolf of medical thriller – Big Multinational. And although this makes for a bigger bang at the climax, the main fight in the lab comes as just another storyline, not as the main thread. While the book shows their team dynamics and tensions, the resultant triumphs and failures in detail, the 5 experts in the miniseries never seem as a single team at any point of time.

Though not all story changes are bad. The overall story is “modernized” pretty well. Characterwise, the book has all 5 scientists as white men, while the series has more multi-ethnical group with both genders. The series is also more contemporary (references to bioterrorism) than book, which is almost 40 year old now. If only the core of the story hadn’t gotten lost in the extraneous elements…

Quote of The Day:

Even in the time of Newton and Galileo, men knew more about the moon and other heavenly bodies than they did about their own.

- The Andromeda Strain

P.S. It’s nice to know that rule #6 of Thriller Deaths still applies. Only the minorities killed off first are different now.

P.P.S. It did take me a little time to get used to the fact that Jordan Sullivan was a caring, talented surgeon.

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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.

A chess prodigy, Garri Kimmovich Kasparov earned the right to challenge reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov for championship at the age of 21. The titanic championship fight would end up lasting almost 5 years, over 120 matches, going through many controversies, which ultimately ended up down the years with Kasparov creating a competing chess. This would create the longest lasting break in the world of professional chess, which he admits was the biggest mistake of his life. After his retirement after almost 20 years at the top, Kasparov is playing a major role in Russian politics, fighting for democracy under oppressive Kremlin rule.

Garry Kasparov uses the lessons learned during his early chess training, during his long climb to and the even longer stay at the top spot to draw parallels between the game of chess and life. He frequently talks about the knowledge gained from his matches (frequently referring to the championship mentioned above), as well as the quotations and experiences of previous greats in the world of professional chess (taken from his book series about previous chess champions).

He talks about how the different stages of game (opening, middle game and endgame) correspond to situations we face in real life, how looking at the game, or preparing for the game helps you prepare for challenges outside. Although different talents, strategies and preparation is necessary for triumph at different stages, the underlying principles remain the same, and it is more important to understand when the stage changes.

During all this, he makes some very interesting points about strategy, tactics, preparation, memory. There are some surprising points about use of imagination, talent vs. (or is it “and”) discipline, even analysis and hindsight, which may seem to be against conventional wisdom. He even devotes a chapter to people who almost made it to the top (the uncrowned “Best Player who never became a Champion”), and what we can learn from them, to avoid as well as to emulate.

Although it is very hard in business books to avoid that “I have read this before” feeling, the occasional use of humour in proper places, as well as how the stories tie up to Kasparov’s personal experiences at the chess board, and in life make all the difference at the end. It also helps that the book never devolves into a "cookbook for success”, as he terms it.

In short, if you need just one reason to read the book, remember that it comes from the pen of a man who survived the brutal psychological world of professional chess, with record time as the top ranking player, with 15 years with highest rating ever.

Quote of the day:

“What if?” often leads to “Why not?” and at that point we must summon our courage and find out.

- Garry Kasparov, on the importance of “fantasy”

P.S. There are two kings on a chess board, each meaningless without other. Calling Kasparov a king, still leaves place for another one. Do I need to say who?

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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.

For those who haven’t read the book, here’s the plot:

The Christian Catholic world is waiting for The Papal Conclave to begin. On the auspicious (and fateful) day, a dangerous explosive goes missing from CERN, and is hidden somewhere in Vatican. Also missing are 4 preferiti (members of College of Cardinals who are favourites to become Pope), all courtesy of an age-old enemy of the Church, bent on the destruction of the Church.

It is up to Robert Langdon to uncover the Path of Illumination as told by Galileo, and follow it to its end, to save the cardinals and find the explosive before it destroys the Vatican.

The movie (as opposed to the book) makes a lot of references to Da Vinci Code. But that won’t confuse those who haven’t see the …Code or haven’t read the book (is there any such person?). Robert Langdon has enough of “attitude”, and the Church officials enough animosity towards him, to convey that whatever happened was pretty bad from church’s point of view.

Camerlengo Patrick McKenna isn’t the potential leader he is supposed to be in the book. Except for one or two scenes, the character is definitely charismatic, and probably decisive, but not the authoritative, determined clergyman of the book. That does take away a bit from the reactions of the characters at the end, but I doubt people will recognise that if they haven’t read the book.

For most part, the battle is between Langdon, Inspector Olivetti (Vatican Police) and Il Camerlengo on one side, Commander Richter (Swiss Guards), Cardinal Strauss on the other side within the church and the Assassin haunting them from outside.

I haven’t mentioned Vittoria Vetra, because some changes in the storyline have severely reduced her role, leaving her as almost a secondary character. Which is probably why the romance between Langdon and Vittoria is almost absent.

(SPOILERS for those who have read the book)

The movie does have some changes which make the events more contemporary (*cough* large hadron collider *cough). Which does make the basic premise a bit more believable.

After an initial sequence at CERN, the movie confines itself exclusively to Rome, thus taking out the entire back story of Vetra, leaving her just as a scientist working on the project, not as a bereaved daughter. Even the involvement of CERN leading to climax is limited, with Vatican characters taking over for others.

Even the assassin’s character is severely reduced from the religious fanatic to just a hired gun. I can see how putting another controversial factor was not exactly necessary (the storyline is not affected all that much), not to mention two for two maniacal killers is bad enough. But that leaves him just as a ruthless killer, rather than manic ruthless. Of course, the end matches perfectly with this characterization.

(End of spoilers)

Overall, the end is more “Crime doesn’t pay” than “Good triumphs over Bad in The End” as in the book.

The basic premise is much more believable than …Code, and Langdon is also more believable (less “action hero”, more professor) than …Code. Keeping him out of fights was one change I didn’t really mind. But as long as it is viewed as a religious thriller, and not as a religious film, the movie is enjoyable.

P.S. It has been some time since I read the book, so in case of errata, mea culpa.

P.P.S. On the first visit to Vatican’s Secret Archives, Langdon tears up a book. On the second visit, he damages (and possibly destroys) a lot more books. If it was up to me, I would keep him as away from the Archives as possible, not give him an all-access pass.

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