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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Risk above all!

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk.In a world that changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks” When Mark Zuckerberg speaks such elaborate lines on risk- taking, the world stands up and takes notice. Risk has definitely been one of the prime- driving forces of human civilization since times immemorial. The concept of stepping out of one’s comfort zone and doing and achieving something out of the blue- that has led us to where we are today in terms of all the technological and social advancement that we are today on our planet. In Financial markets, there is a famous theory of risk and rewards. It says the higher risk you take, the bigger reward you get. Though the possibility of failing miserably is always present, what is life without the fun of risking losing something? If you cannot dare to face your fears and move ahead of them, you do not deserve success in you endeavor. It is this idea which has inspired Mountain dew which in its simple stories but in an effective way passes the invaluable message to face our fears and emerge victorious. Some of the great inspiring stories I read about Mountain dew are available here. While risk- taking may mean undertaking those activities that your body or mind feels can harm you if not done properly, it may also mean doing those activities which may give you nightmares, or choosing a path which not many people would choose. Watch this video to get a better idea of risk- taking: In my case it was a career decision, which is considered to be one of the most important decisions of one’s life- which I took risk for. I was determined to practice Chartered Acccountancy as a profession ever since I joined my junior college. However, the idea of doing it differed a bit from others. While I confidently and very easily cleared the enterance level of CA (CPT exam), many of my friends chose to enroll themselves for IPCC (the next level) immediately thereafter. Now IPCC exams are conducted twice in a year- May and November. While nearly all my friends enrolled themselves for May attempt, I somewhere knew that November would be the better attempt for me- the reasons being- that I knew that even if a large majority of them appear and pass the May attempt examination, there would be a scarcity of CA firms looking to hire articled trainees (for more information regarding the CA course please visit here ), Secondly I wanted to register for my IPCC exams as well as arrange for the classes fees( which are an expensive Many of my friends could not clear the exam as the pass percentage was reduced by ICAI for that attempt and even those who cleared, had to struggle for getting articleship, while I fulfilled both my purposes- not burdening my parents for registration and classes fees by working in an MNC (which also helped me gain work experience), and cracked my IPCC in . This was the incident whrer I trusted my instincts and it came true. I advise everyone to take risks in life and be self- made as these are the only two things which can actually helped us realize our true potential

Diwali dil se!

Diwali is my favorite festival of the year due to a number of reasons : First being it that time of the year when the weather is at its best- Not too rainy, neither hot, nor that chilled as well (at least in Aamchi Mumbai!).It is also time of the year when we get to savor the choicest of dishes! For me the best part of Diwali is that I get those 3-4 days away from professional commitments (what a relief it is!) Even better, I get to spend these most leisurely days of my life with the most important people- my family! As far across as my memory goes, we always had great outings during Diwali to various places like Rajasthan, Kerala but the most memorable Diwali for me has to be the Diwali celebrations of last year when we decided that this year we will celebrate Diwali in a unique style – Inviting all our relatives and throwing a huge party at my place! We decided to plan everything to perfection- right from the decoration to making the best Diwali sweets at home. To plan it to perfection, we also hired a popular DJ. We rolled out an itenary to the invitees about the celebrations as we had planned to make it really grand! The itenary includes games for the kids like Coin from flour, shooting the balloons etc. as well as for the elder crowd we had a singing and Dance completion lined up. The main activity was Fashion Show, which we had planned towards the Grand Finale of the evening! Dress code for the evening was strictly traditional.

It was a night of excitement as everyone was dressed in their best traditional clothes for the evening. The house was sparkling like a palace with Diyas arranged in a perfect way throughout the house. My whole family came together and cheered the hosts for the evening- My parents. They played the perfect hosts and kept the audience in splits with their great sense of humor. This was followed by a grand dinner organized by us which had cuisines of different countries brought together in one buffet. And cold-drink is synonymous with Pepsi in our country. As everyone is fond of them, we had ordered large number of Pepsi cans for the event.However, the audience was so fond of them that the cans got over in less than an hour.

The best part about this entire celebration was that it was to be done in an eco-friendly way without burning a single cracker also. Watch Gharwali Diwali the film :

Now 3 times more immunity to house's happiness!!

Children are the soul of any home. Their laughter, chirps make the home come alive. Imagine how dull life would be if your son/ younger brothers/sisters were bedridden most of the time. It would certainly dampen the atmosphere at the home, wouldn't it!

In these times of ultra-high pollution and viruses spreading all over, what our kids need is a dose of fresh air, a life of relief from those morale- dampening diseases that would cut short their enjoyable childhood days. And what better way to do it, than having two spoonfuls of Dabur Chyawanprah everyday!! is certainly an effective boon to protect your beloved child from contracting that harmful infections. It fights diseases like a combat. It has certainly stood the test of time and has helped generations in maintaining a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. It has those vital anti-oxidents which strengthen the body's internal defence system. Certainly a must- have in the kitchen! I remember when my sister was very young she always used to find me munching on Dabur Chyawanprash in the early morning itself and ask me for it. At those times I simply used to give her a small teaspoon out of the Jar. Slowly, she developed a liking for it. It became an important part of her diet. And then the effects started showing soon. Within a month she started being more agile, more focused and was even able to beat me in Chess. Not only that, she outperformed herself in school as well, winning medals after medals in various school events. And the best miracle happened was this! Earlier, she used to feel very tired when she used to be back from her school. But ever since she started eating Chyawanprash, a miraculous transformation was brought about in her. She used to feel rejuvenated throughout the day, not feeling tired even for a second! Even used to do all the small works I took luxury in asking her to do for me being the younger sister! (And I’m writing this with devilish delight!) Not only that, she even started helping in keeping the house clean, was off from one end of the house to the other throughout the day

This hullabaloo in the house was somewhat pleasant for all of us. It almost became a tradition in the house for all of us to have 2 spoonful of Dabur Chyawanprash every day since then, and trust me; the house has never been fitter and healthier before. Various essential herbs like Amla (rich source of Vitamin A, best for our eyes and hairs) as well as Giloy, which boosts our immunity are present which gives our children a thick edge over others, both in terms of studies and sports. Having witnessed such an awesome transformation in my sister, I would certainly advocate people imbibing this habit of making children consume Dabur Chyawanprash at least twice-a-day to add 3 times more happiness to their homes.

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