Blurb: Aditya runs a gaming company that is
struggling to break even. A banker slips off ahighrise building, plunging to her death. The finance minister has made some promises
that he is finding hard to keep. The LTTE has unleashed terror in America that sends
the FBI on a wild goose chase, bringing them to Mumbai.
Enter Varun, parttime
drug dealer and fulltime genius. He turns around the gaming
company before disaster strikes. Meanwhile, the investigators plunge headlong into
the shady world of bitcoins and the Dark Net, websites that only exist for illegal
transactions—drugs, sex and money. God Is a Gamer culminates in a stunning climax
where money means nothing, assassination is taught by the ancient Greeks, and nothing
is as it seems.
company before disaster strikes. Meanwhile, the investigators plunge headlong into
the shady world of bitcoins and the Dark Net, websites that only exist for illegal
transactions—drugs, sex and money. God Is a Gamer culminates in a stunning climax
where money means nothing, assassination is taught by the ancient Greeks, and nothing
is as it seems.
Verdict: ‘God is a
Gamer’ is the first bitcoin thriller written by Ravi Subramanian. Being
Indian’s one famous thriller writer, the author has presented a crime thriller
covering a vast area from banking, gaming to ATM heist and bitcoin frauds.
The cover looks stunning and will automatically turn heads
of the readers. As almost half of the incident takes place in the US, the white
house in the cover seems relatable. Unlike Ravi Subramanian’s earlier books,
this doesn’t have a mention of bank in the name. The name sounds interesting
and the readers will appreciate the author at the end for the game he has
played with the readers mind. ‘Indian’s No. 1 thriller writer’ tag in the cover
will raise the expectation amongst the readers. The blurb was good and
interesting too but doesn’t say anything about the story line.
The book starts with the heads of
MasterCard and Visa, seeking
help from an American Politician to avoid their loss in the Russian Market. As
soon as the
reader starts the book, they will understand that this book is also set with
the back drop of a bank, just the name doesn’t have the term. The murder of a
close aide of the US president will keep the readers hooked from the
beginning. Loads
of incidents follow,
a top banker commits suicide, an ATM heist happens in New York openly and a
senior banker dies
in an incident. A few more similar incidents follows in the frequent chapters which
will keep the reader busy and one question will linger in their head
repeatedly, how are
the incidents linked?
The bitcoin was mentioned in the
first half of the book and has been described wonderfully. Even those who
have never heard of the term, would easily go with the flow. The mention of the
originals names of people from the CEO of Apple, the RBI Governor to the
President of America gives the book a realistic touch. The author
has quite efficiently harmed the plot and disclosed the exact amount of
details which will keep the readers guessing till the end. As the book heads
towards the end, it picks the speed and the readers can very well intercept
that something big is coming their way at the end.
But the end was not that grand and
not up to the expectation. The author has proficiently made the readers believe that
they have found the culprit and the book is going to end the way the readers
have anticipated. But the readers couldn’t find the answer of the question
asked in the cover of the book, ‘Is revenge a crime’ until they read the very
last page.
The frequent distribution of the
chapters makes
the book crisp but could also confuse the readers because of the frequent jump
of scenes. I felt the author has introduced too many characters and couldn’t
connect all the dots till the end. There were few unanswered questions
and loose ends. After the initial introduction at the first half the bitcoin takes
a back seat in the middle and hardly played any crucial part at the end. So the
story line couldn’t match up with the tag bitcoin thriller.
Final Words: Ravi Subramanian has done it again with his new
thriller and have mesmerized the readers from the core with his experienced
writing. The speed of the plot, the vast area of crime it has covered and the
unanticipated thrill towards the end, makes it a hit.
Title: God is a Gamer
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Publisher: Penguin
Page Count: 310
My Rating: 4.25/5
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Publisher: Penguin
Page Count: 310
My Rating: 4.25/5
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