God is a Gamer: Ravi Subramanian; Penguin Books, Rs. 299, pp.310

The present day world has been completely invaded by the internet and computers. We access to any information and get connected easily and these provide ample opportunities with just a touch of the mouse. Well, any scientific or technological invention brings with them certain negative impacts too which is inevitable. So we read nowadays a lot about cyber crimes. The plastic money and credit facilities force people to indulge in a variety of luxuries. The ambitions fly high and felony manifests in many forms.
 
Ravi Subramanian’s latest release ‘God is a Gamer’ deals with cyber crime mostly with banks playing in the background since that was his forte.
 
We have isolated incidents of assassination of a senator in Washington, bank ATM heists in the USA and India, a sudden suicide of a CEO of an international bank in Mumbai, the unsavory ways of a finance minister, the board rooms of Mumbai, the craze for video games and the unethical ways followed in creating games, the unexpected twists and turns of incidents and behavior of characters, the interference of FBI and CBI with cross country crimes fill the pages of ‘God is a Gamer’.
 
The story cramps, in fact, too many incidents and information which leave the reader baffled at times. All the unrelated events are connected in the last bunch of pages. Can one feel the story ended? No, there were another few pages which quickly recapture the leading events to the murder, frauds and crimes.
 
The book may create a lot of interest in the younger generation of computer savvy kids. At the same time surprises the regular readers with moral values and references on the ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates.
 
No doubt Ravi Subramanian’s cerebral exercise could be felt in piling up the intriguing incidents leading and leaving almost many chapters with cliff hanger endings. But, on the whole one also feels the journey was, indeed, a bit tiring too.
 
Every character almost carries a grey side and a sense of vendetta prevails throughout the novel. The suspense is well maintained galloping to an explosive climax and what follows it was an anti climax.
 
‘God is a Gamer’ is a thriller of different genre; confusing yet captivating.