God is a Gamer by Ravi Subramanian: A Book Review


The story begins with a high octane conversation between two corporate biggies: Vijay Banga, President of Mastercard International and Joseph Saunders, the CEO of Visa International. A surprise visit sets the tone for the story. The reader is promised a thrilling ride by the master of banking thrillers: Ravi Subramanian. 

 Then Wikileaks happens and bitcoins are the new rage. People are using the virtual currency everywhere: to pay for drug deals, to transact in underworld terror plans. Suddenly, there is an onslaught of virtual terorrism spilling over into the streets.   

In the midst of all this drama, Aditya Rao (remember??) makes an entry. He runs a gaming company and along with his friend, is a very satiated businessman. He has a few skeletons to hide and is a mentor to Swamy, a brilliant but frustrated banker friend. A lot of backstabbing, betrayals, undercurrents, and a terror plot defines "God is a Gamer".  

 The story moves forward very quickly with the entry of Varun, Aditya's estranged son. Varun's closeness to a prominent female banker's daughter teases you to unravel the murky truths behind the scenes of this action packed thriller. A high profile banker gets killed during her birthday party and the finger of suspicion swerves naturally to a very senior minister who is close to the deceased banker. The plot lets you think about umpteen possibilities but never is there a dull moment where you are left wondering, "oh ho, why am I bothering to read?" The intricacies in banking transactions, the ATM heist leaves you overwhelmed in certain places.    

 As is always the case, Ravi has done impeccable research and has used his abilities to weave an astounding tale about the harsh realities of the banking world interwoven with the terror outfits lurking in the murky corners of the steel and glass international banks. 

 Ravi has effortlessly woven an intense drama with his characters. There are a few weak points, standing out like small thorns in the excellent narrative. The heist for example, one cannot just break into accounts as easily as they have described. Most banks employ the 2-level authentication. Damn, it is difficult even for a genuine account holder to access their account if they forget their credentials. There are certain points which force you to think, "are you kidding?" but otherwise, the narrative is fast and engaging. But, then nobody said this was a theory book and one had to abide by it. Creative freedom can be used to brush aside a few factual mistakes.

 My rating: 3.5/5 | I read it in 3 sittings and feel it is a good read.   

 Book Details
Title: God is a Gamer
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Publishers: Penguin
ISBN: 978-0-143-42139-9
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 309

MRP:  Rs 299 (Now sells at Rs 199 on flipkart)
   
This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books! 

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