THE MODERN DAY HINDU

THE MODERN DAY HINDU,     

Surviving Twenty -first Century through Hindu way of living,

by Dr. Nikhil Chandwani, Publisher: WRC Publishers, part of Raindrops Publishers, Year of publication  2018, No. of Pages 141, Price : Rs. 299/=, $ 10, ISBN:  978-93-88259-22-4,

This book is an abstract work of fiction and imagination. According to the author, he has not taken any thing from what is existing. He has written based on his experience in imagining and organizing the things for this topic. It has references to Hollywood movies, music and social media.  It explains Hinduism with the help of Science. Many of the Indians are under the influence of the western world, but it makes efforts to keep the Indian culture alive. In all, there are 14 Chapters in the book. Almost all Chapters contain one or more colourful figures, except Chapters 1, 3, and 11. Total number of figures in the book is 35. Chapter 2 also contains two tables, one flow chart and one sketch. Being based in USA, the author has generally used American terminology and spellings. About the author has been provided in detail & is impressive enough. The author has also given Acknowledgement in the beginning of the book, for the help, assistance and cooperation given, mostly by his parents & family members, in writing this book.

The author indicates inclinations towards creativity and positivity with the pictures of "connecting the dots". New things bring new experiences. We get ideas from nothing and then proceed from imagination to physical realization. He discusses about two laws of Creation, solitude, loneliness, free will and Cosmos. The author depicts seven spheres to define concepts and evolving of the models of items of use. A problem solving flow chart is depicted as a typical way of dealing with the world. Author discusses about cycle of life, changes, evolution and revolution and observation of data and finding meaning in it. There can be several options in life, including reactions from the environment and things may be bad. Author talks about Common Consensus Reality and Personally Experienced Reality. Some of us inflate our balloon of reality. Our education is continuous and we learn from each other. Everything is a system, which consists of sub-systems. Interfaces allow for exchanges between inside of the system and the environment. Roles exist in many areas and are like opposite ends of an interface. He continues to discuss about positive thinking, positive vibrations, our connections in a matrix, thinking and feeling, love and lust, giving and accepting and aspects of freedom.  A system has boundary on the inside as well as on the outside, which work together to interface the system. Further discussion takes place about desire, destiny and fate etc.  Life is a set of never ending set of semicircles and bubbles connected, not fully spherical and that interfaces affect our behaviour.  With computer generated animations, it is difficult to differentiate between tricks and the real movie, leading to fear in our mind. Neutrality is close to observation. We should think that all things happen for the good.  He discusses about our having set of preferences and dislikes and clash of preferences. A question is also posed as to whether everything is fixed and whether we are driven by fate. He talks of hotness, temperature and absolute zero etc. Science appears to have become complex. We need adapting in life and we could be happy even without having anything. He discusses about the keyboard as an interface, recycling for better work, miniaturization, intelligence and consciousness.  Concluding, he states that triangle or trinity embodies stability. In the same vein, he mentions about bubbles, spirals and gravity.

The design of the Cover of the book is colourful and appealing. About the book has been given on the back cover of the book. He has used several abbreviations and coined new explanations for some words. This book is insightful and gives inspiration to live the life.  It has narration in simple language which is easy to understand.  Though one may be curious to know, about the contents of the book, but for an orthodox Hindu, it is a difficult effort.  It differentiates between the modern days and the olden days. People in the modern world are very busy and are unable to find time for such things. Choosing this topic for writing this book is courageous. The book can be considered to be of interest to those who have neutral considerations, like imaginations, new perspectives on existence and out of the box discussions.  

                                                                              ------------------Reviewer: vijaiksharma

KILL CODE: A DYSTOPIAN SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Kill Code: A Dystopian Science Fiction Novel,

Author: Clive Fleury, Publisher: Tck Publishing ( Dec. 2018), Paperback: 148 pages,  ISBN-10: 1-63161-056-2, ISBN-13: 978-1-63161-056-1, Price: Rs. 1202/=

This book is an unusual work of fiction, totally based on the fertile imagination of the author. All names and incidents etc. are fictitious. It is said to be a Dystopia novel, which means an imagined state or society, in which there is great suffering or injustice. In the beginning, one is unable to anticipate about the many terrible and terrifying events which follow. Catastrophe is said to be due to climate changes. Temperatures are high and turbulence in the ocean is terrible, leading to ocean water rising and creating havoc frequently. The world scenario appears to be dark, with poor economy and high unemployment. Therefore loss of a job may lead to loss of food and even to loss of life. The rich and corrupt become powerful, do not allow general people to come up and may even starve them and thus dictate and rule the world. In future, due to climate change & overpopulation, a large number of the inhabitants of the earth, may struggle to earn a living, scavenge for food from the waste of the rich & get oppressed by corrupt and rich people, since they feel that with the survival of starving people becoming a serious problem, it is easier to control the world.

The main narrator in this novel is Hogan Duran, who is a painstaking person. At first, he was in the army, then became a police person and then resigned. He too is one, struggling to earn a living and adding income by obtaining things free from the garbage. National Security Council (NSC) is an elite and secret special force, which was formed to protect the rich, privileged and powerful. Entrance into this force depends upon passing a series of potential deadly entrance tests. Added to the location is a rebel group known as Krails. Hogan gets an invitation for joining NSC along with others, for which all of them are subjected to several rigorous, challenging and deadly tests one after the other. If he clears the hard process of competition with other candidates, he is likely to be selected. Being a former police person, Hogan was hopeful to pass the tests based on his experience and thus improve his life. But the things are not that straight forward. He faces many difficulties, but keeps his integrity. The other characters in the novel are Captain Beecham and General Stoker of NSC, Ms. Ruby, who was also in Army, Jake etc. There are several incidents which cannot be forgotten easily, e.g. shooting of his friend Max Creeling, which led to his paralyzed leg and living on wheelchair. While being escorted back to the Base, they are attacked by Krails. But with the earlier experience in the Army, Duran and Ruby escape from Krails. General negotiates with Krails. Later on, Hogan and Max live in a small apartment. But ultimately Duran gets disappointed to observe that both NSC and Krails are together in enjoying wealth and power.

There are 21 Chapters in this book. In the end, Photo of the author and About the author have been provided, followed by “Connect with Clive Fleury”, “Other books by Clive”, “Get Book Discounts and Deals”, and “One last thing”. In the last note, the author is requesting readers to post brief comments/reviews on the relevant page of the book on Amazon. It is a relatively short, well written, thrilling science fiction novel. It has several combinations of climate change, injustice, survival, life threatening competitions, individual strength, feelings, simulation etc. While going through the book, it appears that the whole action drama is taking place in front of us. The characters are strong and clear cut, who play their parts well and action is adequately fast paced. The well thought out plot of the author has many catastrophic events having turns & surprises, against which the people must fight. It is interesting, entertaining and exciting and the reader gets engrossed into the incidents. The journey of reading this novel takes the reader on a futuristic ride. But question that arises is whether it is possible that such a position may arise in future on earth. This is the first book in the series of three being written by the author. The readers have to keep their fingers crossed, about the plots and nature and turn of the events in the next two books in the series. Concluding, it can be stated that this science novel will be found interesting and suitable by all those who like excitement and thrill.

                                                                                                       ------------------vijaiksharma