'RIP' by Mukul Deva reviewed

Just finished reading a fast paced thriller by Mukul Deva titled ‘RIP – Resurgent Indian Patriots’. Had never read any of Mukul Deva’s earlier books, and he has written eleven so far, and this is the ninth. Thanks to Blogadda, I got this book to be reviewed, and had a great time reading it.

Mukul Deva has an army background. His profile on his site states ‘Completing his education from La Martiniere College, Lucknow, the National Defence Academy, Pune, and the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun, Mukul was commissioned in the SIKH LIGHT INFANTRY of the Indian Army in 1981.

An eventful Army tenure, which included a decade of operational service in India and overseas, ended in an equally remarkable transition when Mukul turned his attention to the corporate battlefield.

The result was MSD SECURITY PVT LTD which, in the ensuing decade, grew into a dynamic, professionally managed company. 

Another twist in the tale followed when Mukul turned to his first love - writing. The result was a series of books spanning genres as multi-faceted as his personality.’

I mention this because his writing has that crispness of the the military induced discipline. And he does seem uncomfortable writing about romantic relationships. Actually it would have been much better if he had not devoted as many pages as he has to the romantic interludes in his book. It takes away some of the hard hitting moments.

The book is very contemporary and talks about the present state our country is in. There are also references to present political leaders though slantingly as also the movement led by Anna Hazare. This is what forms the core of the book wherein a group formed by ex paratroopers take on the mantle of saviours and decide to wipe out the corrupt leaders. It makes for very interesting reading and rarely do you feel you are reading fiction. It feels like reading a current news magazine! One also hopes all that one reading is true!

There are times while reading I felt as if I was watching a commercial Hindi movie. This is possibly due to his Indian roots, though he has been touted as India’s answer to Ludlum. The pace slackens when he indulges in sentimental family scenes. It is a 286 pages book filled with plenty of thrills and does not let you keep it down.

This excerpt will give you an idea of how exciting the book can be ‘Unwittingly he checked his watch. Twenty past midnight. It was almost as though his watch was on speed. Wasn’t that always the case when on a mission?

Within the next twenty-three hours and forty minutes one of his targets would be dead. Possibly less. The RIP message had said within twenty-four hours… hadn’t it?

Raghav re-opened the mail and read the RIP threat again.

RIP! Nice name. Raghav’s lips twisted into a bemused smile. Very appropriate… considering they were trying to make a lot of people rest in peace. The ones whom they’d killed at least. The ones still alive, but in their gun sights, were certainly not getting any peace. He was unable to stop the laugh. Whoever had thought it up, definitely had a sense of humour. Wacky? So army! Yeah, the acronym was very army… like the damn code words and nicknames they used to select. Unwittingly memory swept him back… back to the day he’d joined his unit.’

A definitely must read!

Find out more about Mukul Deva at www.mukuldeva.com

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