8 December 2016

Review #570: Sultan of Delhi: Ascension by Arnab Ray


Welcome my fellow readers,
This is the blog tour for the book, Sultan of Delhi: Ascension, by the popular Indian writer, Arnab Ray. So guys get your seat belts on and enjoy this super-exciting roller coaster ride that awaits you at the next turn!


 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid.”

----George R.R. Martin


Arnab Ray, an Indian author, pens a gripping action packed urban noir, Sultan of Delhi: Ascension that revolves around a self made man from the scratches with a business of gun supplying to high-end clients along with his partner, but following his partner's death and the affair with his wife in the past now threatens to rip apart his family of two sons, one daughter and his wife along with his stand in the society. But the skeletons from his past haunts him and no matter what, he needs to protect his family from those.


Synopsis:

When a path is forged in blood, it is hard to find peace.

The son of a penniless refugee from Lahore, Arjun Bhatia has worked his way up from being an arms smuggler in the badlands of Uttar Pradesh to the most influential power-broker in Delhi.

But when the shadows of the past, of a friend he has lost forever and of a woman he can never be with, finally catch up to him, Arjun finds himself fighting the biggest battle of his life. For at stake is not just his iron hold over the government, but something even bigger---- his family...and his soul.

Spanning five decades and two generations, Sultan of Delhi: Ascension is an explosive saga of ambition, greed, love and passion.



Arjun Bhatia, the young boy who ran from Lahore to UP with his father losing everything in the hands of the Muslims rioting against the Hindus, made himself up into a smart and clever businessman by smuggling guns to high end clients from politicians to rich businessmen to government officials. Today he and his family has a reputation in the society as his sons run the import -export business and some garment business and his daughter pursues fancy degree in American college. But the past skeletons like his friend-cum-business-partner's death and the affair with that friend's wife is threatening him as well as his family too. But Arjun has forever been protective, maybe a little too overprotective towards his family. And if it requires, he would get his hands dirty at any cost to protect the security of his family members. When the past is closing in on him and his family, can he somehow find closure without increasing the body count?

Its better not to spill any more beans for this story as that would mar the charm of those mind-boggling twists and turns, that the author has meticulously incorporated into the story line. The story is addictive as well as arresting from the get-go itself and it will get latched to the minds of the readers in such a way, that it will be difficult for them to turn away their heads from this book even for a single second. This is the first time that I read any books by this author, but after reading this book, I'm looking forward to read the other books by the same author.

With a coherent writing style of the author, it will make it easy for the readers to contemplate with the story line. The story is laced with packed and tensed action scenes that will leave the readers anticipating for the next turn. Moreover, I was sweating hard to find out whether Arjun could protect his family, although in the middle of the story, it felt a bit dull as there weren't much happening events occurring thereby slowing down the pace of the book. The narrative is highly engaging and interesting enough and the author has used some hard-core native (Hindi) language to spice up the tale and to increase the tension among the readers. The pacing is often fast enough that will keep the readers glued to the pages of this book till the very end.

The author has depicted post-independent India during the 60s extremely vividly, that will make the readers feel like hopping on a time machine to experience the then India. The backdrop too is brightly painted by the author, that syncs well with the theme of the story line. The scenes are penned with utmost details that will help the readers to visually imagine those scenes right before their eyes.

The characters from this book are projected with realism, honesty and flaws to make them look believable in the eyes of the readers. The main protagonist, Arjun, is really well crafted out and his demeanor reflects as someone with a sad and tragic past, yet that makes him strong enough to rise from the ashes and make himself almost invincible in the eyes of the law and his enemies. At times, Arjun might make the readers angry because of his actions but the readers will find it easy to comprehend with his fight for survival. The rest of the supporting characters are also quite interesting and holds the power to leave a lasting impression with their small but powerful demeanor.

In a nutshell, this is a must read story for all Indian contemporary fiction readers who love to enjoy a story with handful of twists and layers and where the characters evolve throughout the entire length of the novel.

Verdict: A compelling and action packed drama about love, family, friendships and desire.

Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Hachette India for providing me with a copy of this book for the blog tour.
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Author Info:
Arnab Ray, better known as Greatbong, is one of India's most widely read bloggers who blogs at Random Thoughts Of A Demented Mind. He is known for his sarcastic takes on the Indian film industry, Indian politics and society in general. His blog was awarded the "Indiblog of the Year" at Indibloggies in 2006[1] and 2008. He has written for several media outlets like the Washington Post, Outlook magazine and Live Mint. He graduated from Jadavpur University as a Bachelor in Computer Science and Engineering and went on to finish his PhD in Computer Science from State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is presently employed as a research scientist at the University of Maryland and resides in the suburbs of Washington DC. His first book "May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss", published by Harper Collins, was on India Today's Bestsellers list.
Visit him here



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