Monday 15 December 2014

God is a Gamer- Bitcoin Thriller (Book review)






“If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.” - Dorothy Parker

They say that the two most beautiful words in English language are “Cheque Enclosed”. We are all seeing the way “this money is making many things happen“. If normal money that comes with so many rules, constraints, taxes and conditions is that attractive and making us do many things to get it, imagine what a virtual “no-frills attached ” money can do.

Ravi Subramanian has picked this as the subject of his latest novel and created a gripping and page turning thriller that involves Politicians, Bankers, Gamers, Terrorists and the virtual currency- the bitcoins. The book is amazing and you can't put it down and the way things get shaped is indeed awesome. The pace of the story is good; the author invests the first 90-100 pages to do his initial setup, once we have all the basic stuff set up the book moves at berserk pace. You would never feel like putting the book down. The pace is awesome and the language is easy to read.

Coming to the characters and the way they were developed, the author does a good job with most of the characters. The book has many characters but almost each of them is given proper footage. Although initially look arbitrary these characters are linked with each other in a way. And the relationships are explored in layers one by one.

The book is filled with a lot of logic, information, twists and turns, and we also get to look into the personal lives of the characters with good detail. The way the personal lives and the way they dictate terms to their professional lives was brought out very well. The twists and turns in the plot and author’s info and the sketch of the characters make the book an interesting read. Ravi Subramanian always uses technology in his plot, he educates the reader about some technological aspect or the other with the plot of the book. In this book he gets into many things, he speaks about bitcoins, their evolution, the way they are traded, then he speaks about apps, networks, firewalls and the business models that the gaming sites follow.

A lot of research has gone into writing the book and this book is a treasure trove of information. This research and the lucid way in which the information was presented makes the book a must read. I respect and salute the author for the amount of research and effort that went into writing this book. It was a great job done. Coming to the aspects that I did not like, I don't know if this was the case with everyone else, but according to me, the conversations were a bit childish and there were some really strange and remarks in the book which I particularly didn't like.

It’s a gripping book to carry along in a long flight. However, it’s not a book you would like to read on a rainy evening with a cup of tea. The reason is simple, it entertains your heart, exercises your mind but doesn’t nourish your soul. These minor glitches apart, this is a blockbuster novel from the quill of Ravi Subramanian. I am really excited to read the author\'s other writings. Do read it, you are bound to get entertained and educated as you complete reading the book. Every penny you spend on the book is worth it. Happy Reading!!

Message

If you are an entrepreneur (or want to be one), this book can give you some of the effective tips about the business vision and importance of usage of social media in promoting your business.

About the book

Aditya is an entrepreneur, running his own gaming company. The arrival of a part-time drug dealer and full-time genius named Varun turns Aditya’s struggling company’s fortunes around. However, things are not as they seem. A banker slips from the rooftop of a high-rise building and falls to his death. A finance minister with his heart on his sleeve discovers that he has made some promises which will cost him far too much. An explosion in Washington D.C. leads the FBI to a chase in Mumbai. The investigators begin to plummet down a world where bitcoins are the only meaningful form of currency. Here, everything is governed by the Dark Net, a group of nefarious websites dealing with illegal transactions. In this world, God is a Gamer, martyrs are villains, the hunters become the hunted and the ancient Greeks teach the secrets of assassination. In this new novel, nothing is what it seems.

The book is targeted for the young readers and the author succeeds in his attempts. It is a nice thriller with some more real world stuffs to offer then just entertaining and thrilling story. If you like to read thrillers, you should go for it.

Author- Ravi Subramanian

Book details:

Publisher- Penguin Books India

ISBN- 100143421395

Book Type- Fiction

Book Imprint- Penguin

Number of Pages- 324 Pages

Publication Year- 2014 September

Language- English

ISBN- 139780143421399

Binding- Paperback

About the Author



Ravi Subramanian is an Indian banker turned financial-crime writer. His books If God was a Banker, The Bankster, Devil in Pinstripes and The Incredible Banker are all bestselling titles. Mr. Subramanian is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore. He is currently the head of a leading financial institution. He has won the Economist Crossword Book Award twice for his previous books.



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