Book Review: The Winner's Curse

Author: Dee Walker

Publisher: Shrishti Publishers & Distributors

ISBN: 978-93-82665-24-3

Genre: Fiction

No. of pages: 283

Price: INR 195

On the cover: Orphan Harsh makes it to the billionaire club with a burning vision, sheer intellect and the blessings of his political Godfather. The favours must now be paid back, through a huge Guru Dakshina. To honour his Master's wish, Harsh, with the help of his fellow IITians, sets out to create a never-seen-before governance technology based on the national ID numbers that will change the face of democratic India.

Everything is at stake: money, reputations, egos and morals. Even lives.

Will they succumb to insatiable greed in the murky games of politics, backstabbing and subterfuge, or will they be redeemed by the "Ten Commandments" that once forged their ideals at college?

If you thought that the supreme technology and unalloyed power can bring lasting public good, or that e-governance and transparency can address the ills of our system. The Winner's Curse... will force you to think again. For, ultimately, what's at stake is YOU.

The Winner's Curse ...: the turbulent voyage of talent and intellect in the morass of turpitude.

Review: When I read the blurb it gave a feeling that the story will be something worth a read as I felt it to be unique and class apart from the rest of the thrillers that I have read till date. And when I got an opportunity to read and review the book, I grabbed it with a glee on my face. And I must say the book had completely arrested me, leaving me in complete awe and astonishment. And without giving out any plot outlines, I'll proceed with the review.

The book started a tad slow but caught pace rapidly with each turn of the page and got me completely hooked with it's engrossing storyline, strong and defining characters, excellent narration and twists after twists which is what keeps the story moving forward. The way in which the sub-plots are handled by the author and weaved around the main plot shows the author's complete control and direction over his storyline. And apart from that, how the story progresses from past to present to past makes it even more gripping.

One can easily relate to the characters shown in the story and can probably tell who is who in the real world. Similarly, few of the instances are strikingly similar to what's actually been happening in the recent past. And also, the characters are very nicely etched, in a way that brings out the subtle emotions of greed, dominance, jealously etc. perfectly. 

The writing is crisp and clean without any proof reading errors. The book is perfectly edited which keeps the readers on tenterhooks all the while. The page quality is perfect and the cover design is also apt.

The book is based on the Ten Commandments of IIT which are sadly forgotten in today's times. The author through the use of the ten commandments tries to show the people's mindset after passing out from the institute and how they get lost in the starry world of money, fame and power. In fact it is the author's way to reflect on the forgotten Ten commandments. 

And more importantly, the author carries the message of truth, integrity, justice and honesty through the story and as it is mentioned in the book - "For truth can only be saved by conscience."  

Overall: For all the book lovers especially those inclined towards thriller, I say, this is the book to lay your hands upon asap. An unputdownable, riveting political thriller that will leave you sitting on the edge of your couch! Highly recommended.

Ratings on: 

Plot - 4/5*

Characterization - 5/5*

Writing - 4/5*

Entertainment - 5/5*

Overall - 4.5/5*

And I would like to take this opportunity to thank the author, Dee Walker  for the signed copy of the book and also to +Yatin Gupta for getting me an opportunity to read this wonderful thriller. Thank you!

Disclaimer: This is not a paid review. The book will soon hit the stores. You can pre-order the book from Amazon.

Cheers!!