By Sandeep Sharma
Review By Ila Garg
Let the Game Begin, a novel by Sandeep Sharma, is published by Inspire India Publishers. The cover is impressive and at the same time, quite appealing. It speaks volumes about the plot of the book and manages to attract the readers. In India, the game of chess has been of great importance since ages, after all. The title too sounds good. It instantly made me turn to the back cover of the book to glance at the blurb.
Sandeep Sharma made his debut in the writing industry with Hey Dad! Meet my mom, the book which is still a hot topic of discussion amongst readers. He is currently working on his start-up venture named ‘Author Paradise’ that works for the benefit of Authors to provide them well-organised online and offline publicity. By profession, he is a civil engineer who graduated from JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida.
He is very passionate about writing and has been writing short stories for his personal blog for six years and they were published various times. He is deeply passionate about reading and writing and mostly prefers subjects which provide an insight into issues concerning contemporary Indian social reality. Other genres that he is fond of are travel writing, thriller and crime fiction.
Let the Game Begin is his second book.
The blurb reads as, “Two kingdoms, Chaturanga and Sarprakt, separated by a mystic mountain range are at war with each other since ages. Chaturanga, ruled by King Viratha, is soon bestowed with a dynamic heir, and the whole kingdom is drowned in rituals and festivity. On the other side, Sarprakt is executing a cruel conspiracy. King Viratha, crippled by the conspiracy, urges the mysterious man of the mountain to devise a method to recreate the conspiracy and that gave birth to 'The Game of Chess'.
Serial killings shock the nation as the police are rendered clueless. The killer leaves behind a trail of chess pieces with a strange message. Random people are murdered. Connoisseurs of different fields - History, Chess and the Security forces - have united as the next intended victim is the most powerful person of the country. How is Chess involved in the whole scenario? How will they find a man who died 4000 years ago? Can a person defy the laws of nature? Does history really repeat itself? Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. ”
Intriguing, isn’t it?
From Hey dad! Meet my mom to Let the Game Begin, the author hasn’t disappointed his readers.
The 170 page book is laced with historical mysticism. It talks about the history of Chaturanga, the kingdom where the game of chess finds its origin. The rest of the story then unveils how chess became the central reason for the gory history, bloodshed and the destruction of various other kingdoms.
This is the story that makes you believe in karma philosophy—that our previous births do carry forward—our previous deeds do make us pay for! This is also a story of revenge. Without revealing much of the plot, I would just say that the story is quite intriguing and enthralling as the revenge angle comes into play.
4000 years is almost unthinkable time period, but in view of a soul burning in vengeance—it is still not that long! Hence, the son of a lovable father dies only to return and take his revenge—paint the kingdoms in blood.
This story surely has the caliber to be expanded in a series of novels penetrating deep into the unknown world of history, the dark alleys which need to see the light NOW!
The story moves in a flow and nowhere will a reader feel any disconnect. People who enjoy thriller and mystery will find it engaging. The subject is tackled beautifully by the skillful author.
The detailed account of the game of chess and the two empires sharing a history of revenge becomes the crux of the novel and also the USP. The language is easy to comprehend. There were some editing and proofreading flaws, but they can be ignored in the light of a good plot.
How the game of chess originated, how it became the reason for bloodshed and destruction, why were the two empires seeking revenge are some of the many reasons why you will keep turning the pages to find out what happens in Let the Game Begin.
Sandeep has a long way to go! Let’s wish him good luck till his next book comes to take us further into the plot!
Ratings: 4/5
Buying Link: Amazon
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