Review : LET THE GAME BEGIN By Sandip Sharma

The Story:

This story dates back four thousand years ago when two kingdoms Chaturang and Sarprakt, separated by a big mountain, fought with each other relentlessly. To win over the Sarprakt, King Viratha urges a mystique man to hatch a foolproof conspiracy. Consequently, a deadly game, the game of Chess was invented.

Then the focus of the story shifts to present time when something strange starts to happen—a series of murders where the killer leaves the evidence by planting a piece from amongst the characters constituting the game Chess as a challenge to catch him. Everybody gets baffled and suddenly a professor Dinesh Gandhi is kidnapped by a group of people and taken to some unknown destination.

To know more, read the novel Let The Game Begin by Sandip Sharma, published by Inspire India.

Pros: Historical fiction has always been a challenge to the writers due to involvement of long painstaking research. Sandip took the challenge and woven a complicated story mainly keeping in view of the origin of the game played world over called Chess. And to some extent he’s become successful, though partially.

Cons: To write a book is far more difficult than giving a review. But, there’s no other way out to improve mutually. And, it’ll be a disservice if we don’t apprise our take to the author. As far as its cons are concerned, they are many. First, the challenge of writing a historical fiction took its toll on the writing prowess of the writer. Second, the introduction of too many characters and too many subplots have made the story very complex—beyond the comprehension of a normal reader keeping him confused all the time. This has occurred mainly due to the story which swings from ancient era to present era, not only page by page but sometimes paragraph to paragraph. In one paragraph, the writer tries to make the reader intrigued by arising enough curiosity, and suddenly the focus shifts from it to some other happening in the next one, snapping the concentration of the reader then and there. Third, introduction of too many subplots based on history, mythology, forensic science, genetics and the tactics of Chess etc. has made the plot of the story a very complicated one. Fourth, half of the book has been italicized which produces a distraction due to cumbersome reading.

And the last—had the editor took her work seriously and advised the writer not to adopt non-sequential style and not to italicize half of the book, the impact of the book would have been different.

I would have suggested Sandip Sharma to come in two parts of this book; one dealing the ancient and the next dealing with the present as a sequel.

However, writing is not easy and I wish all the best for Sandip for his forthcoming books.

Rajeev Pundir