The cry is heard!

Ah! Those were the days – very carefree years. Lucknow then was a quiet, sleepy town. Between getting whacked by the monitors and teachers of La Martiniere College (my alma mater – and yes, corporal punishment was more the norm than the exception…) life was a blur of flying kites, playing marbles and gulli-danda. What I remember most about Mart was the adaptability that it taught us – something that held me in good stead all my life. It was at Mart that I acquired the reading habit – thanks to Mrs. Dignum, my teacher and housemaster's wife. She was the one, who made me fall in love with story telling. I vividly remember sitting under the trees by the cricket / football field (yes, barring mind games, I was not much interested in sports…) and spinning yarns to other shammers like me….

Next came the National Defence Academy and then the Indian Military Academy. The sudden move from Mart to NDA was a shock to the system. All at once the carefree days were over. Life in NDA was fun and amazingly transformational, and certainly more gruelling…horse riding, hang gliding, sailing, all kinds of (some very insane) sports, firing and grenade throwing. NDA gave us exposure to a world we were not even aware off. Being a first generation soldier it was horizon widening for me.

Full report here Hindu

Of terror in our time

When I finished reading Mukul Deva’s Blowback, the blasts in Pune hadn’t happened. At the time I was torn between a sense of disappointment with the writing, and respect for the author’s chutzpah.

After German Bakery, everything changed. Let me start at the beginning.

Whenever I read Robert Ludlum, or Tom Clancy, or (especially) Frederick Forsyth, or any of the many writers who thrived in a world poised on the brink of destruction during the Cold War, I always enjoy the fact that the story they are telling could have been true. That the conspiracy could be real.If you think about it, all conflicts breed stories where the storytellers take clear sides — where the good side, the right side, is obvious.

Full report here Asian Age

Terror Trail

Mukul Deva's back in action, with Blowback. He's got a licence to thrill...India’s first military action thriller writer.

Mukul Deva is back with a bang with Blowback, the third in the four-part series on global terrorism, after the best-selling Lashkar and Salim Must Die. Mukul was at the Capitol Book Depot to promote Blowback, and was in conversation with Neelam Man Singh, with Vijai Vardhan reading excerpts from the book.

A former Indian Army officer and security consultant, Mukul’s been there and done that, with an eventful Army tenure, which included a decade of operational service, one that gave him a close insight and experience to write on a subject as tough and sensitive as terrorism.

Full report here Indian Express

Mukul Deva's new book launches on Wednesday

The third in the action thriller series from India’s ‘literary storm trooper’, Mukul Deva is launching at Delhi's Promenade Mall on Wednesday, February 3.

Blowback follows Lashkar and Salim Must Die.

A warlord in the rugged Tribal Areas of Pakistan pushes his way to the crest of the jihadi wave, seeking to forge an alliance of terror groups to take on the American surge. One of his allies appears to be Pakistan’s ISI. But are they using him to attain their own goals? Or is he using them? And for what?

Facing the brunt of this deadly double game is the spirited Force 22 represented by Iqbal and Tanaz, just back from Pakistan after their search-and-destroy mission to eliminate Salim, who are catapulted into action as lethal intelligence operations begin to unfold. The third in the action thriller series from India’s ‘literary storm trooper’, Blowback will keep you riveted with its tight plotting and heart-stopping pace.

Don't be a bystander

Salim Must Die
Mukul Deva
Harper Collins
Rs 225, Pp x + 417

Rating (on 10):
Plot: 5
Idea: 6
Style: 5
USP: Updated on geopolitics. Placing India on the thriller map.

A military thriller from a an ex-army man. And a follow up to Lashkar, one of India's first Ludlumesque thrillers, which was written in response to the 2005 bombings in Delhi's Sarojini Nagar market.

Well, Salim Must Die takes the tale forward. Some of the character remain - Salim of course, besides Colonel Anbu and Iqbal, though in a peripheral role. This one far more ambitious, and the reach is global. Salim and his henchman Cheema have a lethal plan to exceed '9/11' and they plan to do so by using biological weapons on kaffirs - at ten leading destinations including Delhi.

The story takes a while to start, as nearly a third of the book is expanded on politically correct sounding bytes on how terror is a global phenomenon not limited to any religion, how terrorists have no religion, how people are divided into -"idiots, wimps, bystanders and terrorists" - figure out where you are , dear reader! Unfortunately, as the novel progresses, Muslim minorities across the world become the actualised breeding grounds for those who can carry out the deeds of terror. And they are drawn from the Uighur minority in China to Muslim immigrants in the US, Canada, UK, Jamaica, India, Denmark, Germany etc.

The build also takes time as it introduces characters on the Indian intelligence side - most of whom are caricatures and unremarkable despite attempts to add colour to their histories. Salim remains the pivotal figure in this cops and robbers tale.

Interestingly Bush comes out very badly. And Osama dies. It is instead the shadowy Salim who is wreaking havoc with the help of his henchman Cheema. With the help of a Chinese scientitst.

As a thriller, it works. Editing, plot could all be better. But as pioneering steps from the expanding Indian literary firmament, these are good steps. the publisher and the author need to be congratulated.