The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Herbert George Wells, a distinguished English author from UK, has always been one of my favorite ever since I started reading his books. His unparalleled skills in English language presentation have been my reason for addiction to his classics.

One more feather in his cap is this wonderful eye witness narration of invasion of Earth by Martians. The reader is taken through live experience of the mere havoc created by the Martians through merciless massacre of human race and bringing it to near possible extinction. Every minute detail of the men from Mars, right from evolution of their physical form to the description of their food habits had been penned down after great research. The fact as to how weak the human race could be against the extra terrestrial weaponry and intelligence is well elicited. But for the mass destruction caused by the Martians on London and its surrounding counties killing countless humans, they see their end pouncing on them in a quite unexpected way.
How the hell could one think that these powerful men from Mars could be killed by just the invisible microbial bacteria of the Earth, to which human race has already taken immunity? The great moral of the narration, as understood by me, is that, however strong a destroying force is, its final fate is decided by something which they can never even think of, as in this book. The possible impending danger of such extra terrestrial invasions of humanity in future is cautioned by the author for the Governments to work upon.
Somehow there was some boredom experienced in the middle of the book wherein some unnecessary characters were included to drag on. Otherwise, it is a great classic to find a place in one’s library as the reader would be triggered to learn more about such science.

My rating is 4 out of 5


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The Bride's Gift by Raine Cantrell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A peculiar story of a newly wedded couple, that came together through an arranged marriage. Nicholas Dowling, an extremely short tempered laborer working in a mining camp somewhere in Mexico, gets a new wife through his cousin Patrick from Ireland. On his first night, Nick discovers that his new Irish wife Brianna, is too young, illiterate, and not suitable for his manly figure, but too beautiful to be resisted. The entire story revolves around the couple trying to understand each other and please each other until one day Brianna decides to gift a surprise to her dear husband, given by her mother. The surprise comes in the end in the form of riches grown in a garden grown by Brianna on her self. This is when, the duo discover the immense love that each other have developed in such a brief period.

The initial hatred among the new couple during the first interaction slowly transforms into true love over a couple of days. This transformation of hatred to love is quite well paved by the author. The English language used is more that of native Irish mix and is entertaining sometimes. One wonders why the new bride was hiding the precious gift from her husband until one reaches the end of the story.


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Betrayal and Other Family Matters by Felix Bearden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

All of us know about how men working in military service of peace keeping nations strive in foreign lands on behalf of their country and sometimes lose their lives for their country. But what if their own country uses one of them as pawn against the terrorist organizations of the enemy country in order to protect their image in the eyes of the world?

This is one such story of a happy American family who served in the Marines wing of the American Army. This family, unknowingly get entangled in a suspected crime against American Government due to their Muslim neighbors who one day suddenly disappear from the neighborhood and surface somewhere in Afghanistan, due to their close ties with the Taliban. Since then this innocent American family fall under strict surveillance of the FBI. The family gives refuge to the children of the Muslim family who still oppose the ideology of the Taliban and escape to USA and in the process discover a dangerous plot of the American Government to negotiate peace terms with the terrorist outfit using one of their family friend’s son as a pawn, an American soldier, under custody of the Taliban. The head of the family, Colonel Ben cleverly rescues the soldier with the help of his friend in Afghanistan and also simultaneously fixes the vices of FBI along with the State Government in negotiating a deal not to harass them in future. One must read the book to know how he did it by using latest technology toys. Though most of the story is in USA, the tough conditions of war and lives of people, living in Afghanistan is once again exposed.

A beautiful story of a clever family who work together to get out of a serious suspicion, harassment from the FBI and at the same time teach an astounding lesson to the Government as to what it might lead to if it uses innocent servicemen as pawns for personal gains.

I would recommend this book to readers in order to salute the sacrifices of servicemen in various armies of countries and to know how their parents and well wishers react if such dedicated lives are used for selfish motives by their own Governments.

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The Communist Manifesto by Kark Marx & Frederich Engels
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Communist Ideology briefly explained in complex terminology. The reader is taken through the history of origination of Communism with emphasis on the need to stabilize the living standards of the people of the world under one common principle of equality.
Some basic principles of Communism like abolition of private property acquiring rights, abolition of inheritance rights and nationalization of production are worth noting down. The emergence of the powerful Bourgeois (middle class) from the feudal lordship and its dominance over a period of time leading to subjugation of the Proletarian (working class) has given a new meaning to Communist ideology.
The major aim of Communism is to raise the Proletarian to the stage of political ruling class thus overthrowing the Bourgeois supremacy. The Communists therefore support every revolutionary movement against the existing social and political order of things in the Bourgeois society.
The reader might not understand many terms used by the authors unless and until he has an idea about the economic scenario of his country. Quite complex at times and the ideology goes above the heads of many until read more than once. This hand book gives the basic idea of how a Communist Manifesto works but does not spell out much about the benefits of the ideology at large. It could have been better if some illustrations were included in between, for easy understanding.

My rating is 2.5 out of 5


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Olympus Rises by Jim Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of the most wonderful action thriller book I have come across in recent times. One cannot stop after starting at the first page. The author has brought out the book in such a way that a serious reader can visualize the entire story in front of him in high definition images. I am sure that the reader will enjoy reading this book more than he watches this in a movie version at a later stage.

Storyline: Olympus, a secret powerful private military owned and operated by an unknown businessman develops a secret war code much more advanced than any known form of CIA’s technology, in order to take control of the entire world at one go. All this happens in a secret base in a country called Kazinistan, north of Afghanistan. NATO forces accidentally discover this secret mission of Olympus and set off a mission to capture the secret Code of War. One must read this action filled book to know whether they were finally successful in achieving their mission or not. The acts, plots, ambushes, are so thrilling that one would detach himself/herself completely from his world to finish the book at one go. It’s worth getting to know about the deadly weapons developed by CIA and Olympus to counter each other, using technology that is generations ahead. Whisper Suit (a powerful exoskeleton to enhance the physical and mental strength of the user), Volare flight packs ( a kind of jet packs armed with latest guns that can melt a man like ice), Dushka machine gun, Hyperion VTOL aircrafts, Composition 9 (C9) detonators (powerful enough to bring down an entire fortress and a near earthquake), Hind E helicopters, anti radar Black Hawk helos are some of the few wonders of latest weaponry the reader gets to learn. It’s quite terrifying to understand that such secret private military outfits can go to an extent of developing weapons much more advanced than those available with the best in class of CIA.

I strongly recommend one to read this book to get to foresee the kind of wars the future is going to witness on this earth. Weak governments of weak countries may all be the slaves of such powerful Private Militaries, if our super power nations do not curtail their dangerous progress into mass destruction weaponry.

Though the story doesn’t end with this book, I am sure that the reader would jump at subsequent books in series to know what’s next.


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Tears from Kabul by Michael P Buckley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A short story, from the land of continuous wars, where women are expected to be at home. Taliban – the most dreaded terrorist outfit of Afghanistan, goes on to terrorize all Afghan women who are either pursuing education or want to study in schools and colleges. They either kill them, gang rape them or deform them completely through brutal acid attacks. This calls for an emergency mission from NATO appointed special commandos to rescue a group of Afghan women led by a beautiful lady called Niki. The special force takes the help of the locals and relatives of these women to try and trace the leader of the Taliban group, Nasser, who is in charge of this insane murder of women folk.
The reader is taken through a lot of plots and ambushes on both sides. One gets to know how women suffer in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime. One also gets to wonder whether there is any safe place in any city or town of the country to lead a peaceful life. The book ends abruptly in the middle of the mission to capture Nasser, only to be continued in subsequent serial books.
On the other hand, Taliban is said to honor the Islamic tradition of taking care of their women at home thus protecting them from foreigners and external dangers. And there are scores of Muslims who support this ideology too.
Who is right is a million dollar question.

My rating is 2.5 out of 5


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Afghanistan and the Anglo-Russian Dispute by Theo. F. Rodenbough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Anyone who is interested in history and geographical representation of Afghanistan and its surrounding countries will find immense knowledge in this wonderful book.
The author very successfully brought out the unknown facts about this great country with beautiful illustrations at regular intervals.
This book is nothing but a brief account of Russia’s Advance towards India, based upon the Reports and Experiences of Russian, German and British Officers and travelers, with an elaborate description of Afghanistan and of military resources available with the Power centers concerned at that time.
Its more of a history-geographic representation of the country devastated by both Russian army on one side and the British Army on the other side just to gain access to this land locked territory and ultimately hoist their own supremacies over each other. The culture of Afghanistan over centuries and its blend with the beautiful and serene landscapes of the country is well explained. The personal experiences of many famous Russian and English Generals who lead the invasions and the way they ended up have been an exquisite reading experience. The reader will be awestruck when he/she comes to the point where the exact resources of Russia and England giving details of the number of soldiers in Cavalry, Infantry and Artillery along with number of Horses, Guns and Camels used is really awesome. The Russian intention to capture Afghanistan and gain access to Indian Ocean through Indian subcontinent seems to have taken its toll on the pristine land of Afghanistan and its people.
Also the excellent description of how the animals like camels, mules, horses and elephants used in the war used to be maintained and trained for the war is mind boggling. The author must be appreciated for his research and efforts in bringing out the minutest details of each and every part of Afghanistan along with the names of various tribes and lifestyle found in each part.
This book is a very valuable resource for all those who are interested or pursuing a career in studies related to geography/culture/history/lifestyle of Afghanistan. Particularly for guys like me who love to travel and get to know the different cultures of various countries across the globe, this book is like a ready reference.
Finally, I would like to state that reading such books would efface the myths about some countries and cultures which are carried in the minds of people and elicit the beauty of each and every religion, culture and tradition prevailing on this globe for a peaceful living by our present and future generations.

My rating is 4.25 out of 5


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The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautiful classic of two Englishmen, who venture into Afghanistan from India, to become Kings of a part of that country.
The story is narrated by a journalist who happens to meet two Englishmen Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, in a train in the times when India was still under the British rule. These two guys worked as sailor, photographers, petty contractors, engine drivers, boiler fitters etc and eventually come to a conclusion that India is not the place for their dream, and that is to become King of some land. Hence, they chose Kafiristan, a place in Afghanistan where they find that the place is ruled by tribes and have no proper King under one rule. They take the help of the journo to get smuggled into Afghanistan cleverly under disguise and were successful in making the people of Kafiristan believe that they are Gods in human form. The people there though innocent in the belief but were not ready to accept them as part and parcel of their tribes. All goes well until one day Daniel wants to have a female, as a wife, from among the tribes. This proposal of Daniel was opposed by Carnehan as the contract between them states that they should never touch or want any woman in foreign land, but rebuked by Daniel.. This aggravates the situation and the tribes realize the fact that these two guys were just humans cheating them as Gods. They brutally kill Daniel and crucify Carnehan. The severely injured Carnehan, somehow escapes from Kafiristan and come back to the journo to tell him what happened. Ultimately, he also dies in an asylum, repenting for what happened.

Positives: The author’s regular style of narration in poetic form is once again replicated. A man’s ability to reach his goal through will power and intelligence and the same man’s downfall due to excessive greed and wrong decisions is well brought out in this book. A must learn moral for every aspiring man and woman. The book has a wonderful poetic narration which can be enjoyed until the last page.

Negatives: The brutality of the Afghan tribes in killing Daniel who according them had cheated the people of Kafiristan, creates a kind of negative impact on Afghan way of living.

My rating is 4 out of 5


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Reckless Nights in Rome by C.C. MacKenzie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This UK based author is a professional in finance, fitness, interior design, construction and of course writer of romance filled with passion.

Storyline: Nico Ferranti, a business tycoon who has an empire of businesses in hospitality industry across Europe, acquires Ludlow Hall, a prime property belonging to the Ludlow family. He partners with Alexander, a Ludlow family member wherein he comes across Bronte Ludlow, sister of Alexander. Nico, a cut throat businessman, who grew from dust, aims at acquiring The Dower House, inherited by Bronte and also running a successful wedding cake business under the name of Sweet Sensations. He first seduces Bronte in his own style, just like any other woman whom he wants to sleep with, in order to get his job done but later passionately falls in love with her, after his unending sexual encounters with her. Bronte also initially, hates Nico knowing his intention but later falls in love with him for the same reasons. Meanwhile, Alexander meets with an accident in Rome, while on a business trip. This is where and when, Nico differentiates his love from lust with Bronte. Both of them discover that they come from similar backgrounds of being alienated and cheated by their parents with respect to their births. Finally the story comes to a happy ending with Bronte getting pregnant and Nico marrying her and later being blessed with twins.

Positives: An exquisite book of extreme lust which matures into love later. The way sexual encounters between Nico and Bronte have been explained turns on any kind of reader. Once again, it is emphasized in this book that True love wins over all other emotions in this world. A woman’s orgasm has never been so well explained in any of the books I have read till now. The termination of a powerful man’s pride and arrogance at the sight of the woman he is destined to love is well brought out.
‘Monkey sex’ – a word used to describe frequent, reckless and untamed sex is quite innovative.

Negatives: A woman is once again shown to have succumbed to lust and power of an Alpha Male like Nico. Though Bronte initially could resist Nico, her will power could not stand long in front of Nico’s maleness and seducing powers. I somehow felt that the author pressed on the fact that however mentally strong is any woman, one day, she will have to surrender to a man, Lust seems to be the main agenda in this relationship between Nico and Bronte, through which Nico seems to have achieved his goal of acquiring the Dover House, which otherwise would have been impossible with a woman like Bronte.


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