God is a Gamer – A Book for all thriller lovers

Title: God Is A Gamer

Author: Ravi Subramanian

Genre: Thriller/Fiction

Number of pages: 324

Publisher: Penguin Books India

Review  – #NotASpoiler

‘God is a Gamer’ is the latest offering from Ravi Subramanian, the Numero Uno Thriller writer of India. As far as the book is concerned, I would like to say that the writer has not disappointed me.   The Story revolves around the lives of different individuals around different locations – Washington DC, New York, Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, etc.

Based out of multiple locations are multiple individuals who form the basic skeleton of the book. This book boasts of numerous characters that appear for a short duration but have completely fulfilled their task. The writer has not only made the characters connect with the readers but also ensured that the reader doesn’t get bored. There are surprising elements and twists every now and then. The story sails just like a ship on the Atlantic Ocean – Calm and Composed.

Lol on your couch, grab a bowl of popcorns, and read this book! At one point, when the prime ministers warn the Finance Minister not to recommend his favorites for the post of RBI Governor and at some point in time there is an assassination of a  US senator who also happens to be a close aide of the President. On the other side, the story exposes a drug scandal at Goa which introduces the union of two prime protagonists – Varun and Tanya, whose love affair gets steamy as the story progresses.

The good thing about the writer is that he has tried his best to educate the readers about different concepts and terminologies. This book is endorsed as the ‘first Bitcoin thriller’. Many of us like me must have left wondering – what the heck is this Bitcoin? Not to worry! Ravi Subramanian has gone miles and even cared to explain Bitcoins.    

I appreciate the writer for taking efforts to put some light on different banking concepts for layman readers who got zilch knowledge about Banking terminologies and technologies. He has given various insights about cybercrime which seems to be a bigger issue at the current stage. Also, Ravi has delved deep into the gaming industry.  There is a crime, passion, sex, thriller, slight humor, game launches, confessions, ATM heists, Investigations, and moreover there is Bitcoin in this book.

That sums up to be a good grab for a weekend! Last month I was left confused about whether to go with the Half Girlfriend or God is a Gamer. My mind knocked me hard and my hands involuntarily got hold of God is a Gamer from my bookshelf! Ravi Subramanian’s tweet to me of ‘Why even doubt?’ was a good amendment that woke up the somnolent reader in me.  As a reader, what I demand is too good a description.

Though what I see is that the description was too less or kept brief! That was a big disappointment. I personally endorse the views that a good book is something that has all the essential elements of the writing of which description is a major! While the tale exposes the romance between Tanya and Varun, it also shows the mounting tensions of Swami and his frustrations and hatred for Malvika Sehgal, the big shot of a famous New York-based Bank.

It speaks about the camaraderie between Swami, Sudeep, and Aditya while the former seeks Aditya’s advice for the issues he encounters at work.  Aditya serves as a good advice maven to him, shows his doting nature to an estranged son whom he meets after years. The father-son duo relationship hasn’t convinced me. Their interaction seems to me like a formal conversation and animated most of the time. And a few pages later, the epilogue would give you some light on this.  

But the character portrayal is brilliant but too many characters make me deduct a point. But that’s what the story demands! Writing Thriller is a difficult task and having known the writer’s previous offerings; I just have few words to say – Simply Outstanding. Perhaps at the beginning, I was worried about what would the technically handicapped people feel when they sit to read this, but the writer has made it easy.

A good application of the KISS principle – Keep it Simple and Straight! As I plunge deep into the book, the mounting tension intrigues me as I get to know the hidden connections and the arising mysteries behind the identity of the real face of Cotton Trails, a malicious website involved in drug trading and many things. As I shift gears and travel deep, I find some insights and details of a new character – A hooker, whose confession blog left America sleepless!

Not to forget the FBI agents – Adrian Scott, Tony Claire, and their senior Dan Malloy. These three gentlemen along with Indian CBI dude – Kabir Khan have ruled the book at the later stage. After reaching the last few pages, you would realize that all the characters are interlinked – the Tans, the Sehgals, Rao’s et al.

But how they are interlinked and what’s the connection that adds colors to this thriller tale?     Well, you have to read the book. It’s pretty interesting and very few books have amused me lately and this is one of them. It took me 2 days to complete this book, in two sittings – one from Chennai Express, to and fro!  On several occasions, I felt that the plot had given away too many things especially in the last few chapters but even then it was awesome!

Having said all this, the plot flows slowly and steadily from the beginning making the readers suspicious at several instances, it moves to the next gear and the tension grows big and the flow is maintained throughout but at the final stages the plot shifts directly to the fifth gear! That’s something I found weird. The epilogue looked like a hare racing to meet the tortoise while it was asleep throughout! 

Nevertheless, it was a good read and I strongly recommend this book to you if you are a great fan of Thriller! Trust me! Agent Scott and Tony are impressive!   Yes, God is a Gamer! My Take –Thrilling, Gripping, Intriguing, Sensational and I give a 3.5 Bitcoins out of 5 😉