Baramulla Bomber

Baramulla Bomber is a science fiction espionage thriller and India's first mythological thriller written by Clark Prasad.^[1] Baramulla Bomber is touted as the planet's first "Techno Mythology Thriller",^[2] a techno-thriller with mythological elements. It was published in July 2012 and then republished by Niyogi Books^[3] in August, 2013. It was launched by Javagal Srinath on October 5, 2013 in Bangalore, India^[4] and is Clark Prasad's debut novel.

Plot

The story unfolds with the occurrence of a mysterious earthquake that strikes Shaksgam Valley in Kashmir. All hell breaks loose within intelligence agencies across the world, as they suspect that a new weapons system has been tested by China and Pakistan. This new sonic weapon is based on ancient science from the Vedas, the Bible and quantum mechanics.

While investigating the case, atheist Swedish covert operative Adolf Silfverskiöld is led into Kashmir to keep an eye on a suspect, Mansur Haider. Mansur is an aspiring cricketer. He is absolutely unaware of the happenings transpiring around him. He faces the immense challenges that confront him with the support of his girlfriend Aahana Yajurvedi. He starts to play for the Indian national cricket team. Adolf and Aahana investigate the Shaksgam Valley incident for their own reasons. The Indian Home Minister, Agastya Rathore faces two battlefront scenarios, with both China and Pakistan, and the danger of the new weapon system which the world only witnessed and experienced in the ancient past.

Baramulla Bomber book launch

Literary criticism

Baramulla Bomber has received mostly positive criticism. As Deepa Padmanaban of The Hindu puts it, "Clark Prasad’s debut novel features an intriguing mix of religion, cricket, destiny and quantum physics".^[5] The Lucknow Tribune state that The Baramulla Bomber "takes Indian sci-fi to another level."^[6] The book deals with several complex characters with ease and gives ample opportunity to each character. The most common review from critics is that, a book like Baramulla Bomber could have been written only as a result extensive and thorough research.

"He is the promise of the emergence of a new writer who is steeped in mythology and science," says Nuven Rajendran from Deccan Chronicle.^[7] Few of the critical reviews point out that Clark Prasad's thriller loses its pace somewhere in the middle of the book. Nevertheless, it picks up towards the climax. Although, few incidents are left unexplained, the reviewers hope to find answers through the course of the two remaining books in the trilogy.

References