Predators and Prey by Abhinav Agarwal is a new experience. After reading many soft books, the young adult romance of the Chetan Bhagat and Durjoy Datta type and the mythological inspired books led by Amish Tripathi and Anand Neelakantan – Abhinav Agarwal comes as a new change.
No, there is nothing new in the book. It scores in trying to ride in top gear— there is no letting off- almost a multilevel multiplayer game of chess involving national security agencies. Everyone wants control of the encrypted disc with sensitive data on Indian celebrities, including politicians. Venkat is a scientist of Indian origin. He steals data from NSA-USA. His aim is to blow the lid on this regular snooping spying by the USA. He contacts his college friend Riya Kaul, a journalist – who tries setting up his meeting with Neeraj, the media giant. Unaware to them, they are now entering the dangerous world of wheeler-dealers, espionage agencies- ISI from Pakistan and China too in the Game.
And, when the chaos is supreme, enters our hero Devavrata Jatashankar Singh. A former army man and the trusted man of the JSR, the National Security Advisor of India.
It does not seem to be a debut novel—Abhinav Agarwal has delivered a page-turner. And I seriously endorse the statement by Bibek Debroy, ‘make no mistake. The predator is Abhinav Agarwal, and the reader is the prey. A gripping and engrossing thriller that cannot be put down until the last page’. There are few references to Mahabharata, and some may even enjoy them.
What is missing from the book? Some amount of sensuality and romance. Now it is debatable if that is even required in such a plot. Maybe not- but I would have loved some undercurrent of love somewhere.
Yes, it is a gripper. However, the last few pages are where the story and the play tend to get stretched and predictable. Though Abhinav has left enough loose ends for a sequel.
The book, with few tweaks, definitely has the potential for
a retired Tiger getting back to deliver for the nation.
There is a lot of stuff on data privacy and digital tracking that forms the story’s base and the tool leveraged by all sides. Everything is watched- recorded and analysed. The brutal analytical powers can find the needle in the haystack and how innocent people may be contributing to the process. Even as we carry our precious cell phones everywhere, we know that somebody is recording every move of ours even with the devices switched off. If they can, they will use it against us.
It is a contemporary story, and many times the real-life instances and hints are wisely woven into the story. There are definitive figures that come to your mind when you look at the national security advisor, media Mughal, the journalist and the senior journalist.
The big question- will I pick the next book Abhinav Agarwal write- and the answer is YES.
Abhinav joins the list of many management post-graduate authors from IIMs.
Predator and Prey by Abhinav Agarwal. Publisher: TreeShade Books. Pages: 373 Price: INR 350. ORDER here
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Disclaimer. The book was shared with me by the INDIC ACADEMY under their 1000 reviewer club programme.
