Review of Book -God is a Gamer

I am a big fan of novels based on mystery and thrill genre.
Dan Brown and Jeffrey Archer are among my favourites but slowly another author is also making to this list, India's mystery king Ravi Subramanian.

About the Author:
Ravi Subramanian is an alumnus of IIM Banglore ,working as a Banker for last two decades.
He is one of the bestselling author in India. His previous novels include-:
If God was a banker(2007)
I Bought the Monks Ferrari(2007)
Devil in Pinstripes(2009)
The Incredible banker(2011)
The Bankster(2012)

What the cover speaks:
When I got the book in my hand I was fascinated by its cover. Perfect for a thriller .
God is a Gamer title deceives the reader of what is stored inside the book for him.
Bitcoin coined as the O in GOD suggests that the story is going to revolve around the bitcoins world which turns out to be quite true.

About the story:
The main characters of the story includes
1. Malvika - CEO of New York International Bank India who desires to be a lot more then this.
2. Tanya - Her daughter who loves a guy called Varun.
3. Swami - Head of retail banking NYIB who hates Malvika. He is a good friend of Adtiya and
                   Sundeep.
4. Adtiya - Founder of eTIOS (leading BPO of India) & Indiscape (India's biggest gaming company.
                  Former Retail Banking head of NYIB.
5. Sundeep - Aditya's business partner and a very good friend.
6. Varun - Adtiya's son.
7. Gillian Tan - Senator US government.
8. Nikki Tan- Gillian Tan's wife
9. Gloria - Gillian and Nikki's adopted daughter.
10. Adrain & Tony - Special Agents US government.
11. Mike Hendricks - Chief of staff of President of America.
12. Josh - Admin of Cotton coil, an online website which deals in drugs, child pornography and other
                illegal activities. The transaction only happens in bitcoins.
13. Dan Malloy- Head of CRRU, US government.

Story starts with the assassination of Gillian Tan which shakes the US government specially the President.
Special Agents Adrain & Tony are given the case.
In India millions of dollars are stolen from NYIB customers because of a phishing mail.
Another incident of theft is reported in America where 5 millions dollars are stolen from various ATMs using cloned Credit cards. This is the biggest ATM heist ever reported.
Malvika commits suicide in a party thrown by her while she was with the finance minster.
Tanya claims it to be a murder.
Indiascape's most popular game Townsville spreads malware all over the world stealing bitcoins and using power of thousands of laptops, tablets and smartphones for that.
Cotton coil , the online website which deals in numerous illegal activities and accepts only bitcoins for transaction is considered to carry all the secrets of various incidents happening round the world.

Who were involved in the assassination of Gillian Tan ?
Were the same people responsible for the suicide cum murder of Malvika ?
Who is the founder of Cotton Coil ?
Will Adrain & Tony with help of their mentor Dan be able to solve this case ?

Its really interesting to read how answers to all this questions unfolds.

What I liked :
The story is gripping and makes you eager to know further.
Suspense and mystery the most important ingredients of this story are intact till end.
There are no loopholes.
Description of characters is good.
The flow and narration is quite impressive.
Best thing about this story is it introduces you the Bitcoins world explaining its details in a layman language. Full marks to Ravi for his detailed analysis of the Bitcoins World.

Things that can be improved :
There are too many characters in the story which sometimes make it difficult to relate their past and present actions.
The end of the story seems to be unrealistic specially the part of Varun.

My Verdict
One of the best books of Ravi Subramanian till date.
Perfect blend of suspense, thrill and mystery.
The detailing of the Bitcoin world is just superb which makes you aware about a completely different world which in future can replace today's currency.
All I will say is get your copy now..:)


Title: God is a Gamer
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Publisher : Penguin Books
Pages: 310
Language: English
Cost : 299


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Book Review : The Bankster

This is my first ever book review and I am glad that it started with
"The Bankster" by Ravi Subramanian.

About the Author:
Ravi Subramanian is an alumnus of IIM Banglore ,working as a Banker for last two decades.
He is one of the bestselling author in India. His previous novels include-:
If God was a banker(2007)
I Bought the Monks Ferrari(2007)
Devil in Pinstripes(2009)
The Incredible banker(2011)

What the cover speaks:
When I got the book in my hand I was fascinated by its cover. Perfect for a thriller .
As my eyes moved down I was introduced to the author as "John Grisham of Banking" by The wall street journal. A big compliment indeed.

Something about the Story:

I love reading thriller novels, mainly those from Sydney Sheldon.
They are a perfect balance of suspense,thrill and sex..
So I had the same expectations from the Bankster when I started from Page1.
The name of book "Bankster" is a blend of banker and gangster. And true to its name the story revolves around fraud,crime,sex and deception in an International Bank, The Greater Boston Global Bank(GB2).

The GB2 Bank has build a solid reputation over years which is put at stack with a series of murder. Who is behind the murders ? What is the motive ?....
As investigation starts the people involved are killed off as they come across some vital evidence.
Then Karan Punjabi , ex banker of GB2 and current press reporter comes into picture to unveil the mystery of murders.
As picture gets clearer he realizes it to be a global conspiracy that can have devastating consequences if not stopped now.

With only 36 hours at his disposal, he needs to unravel the mystery and bring the truth out.
Whether he succeeds and if yes, How forms the climax of the story.

What I liked :
1. I could connect all the dots in the story and never found myself lost. All the action in Anglo,Vienna ,            
    Kerala and Mumbai are properly linked.
2. To my surprise there were no typo or editorial error which you could easily find in an Indian fiction.
3. Then banking jargon used is easily understood.
4. The story is well paced and I never feel like a void is been developed. Keeps the interest intact
5. The entire plot is well woven, specially the end.

Things that can be improved : 
There are too many characters in the story and sometimes its really difficult to relate their past and present actions.There should be more emphasis on their background which is missing.

My verdict:
I would surely recommend it to all the thrill lovers. The only point is don't consider it to be a classic and you won't be disappointed.

Title: The Bankster
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Publisher : Rupa publication
Pages: 364
Language: English
Cost : 250


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