Thanks to Vivek Tejuja, I got an autographed copy of Ravi Subramanian’s latest book “God is a Gamer”. Having read Ravi Subramanian earlier, I know what to expect and he does not disappoint in any way and delivers an easy to read, impossible to put down, pointless to criticize, globetrotting thriller that adds another feather to his already glorious repertoire. 

Touted as the first bit-coin thriller ever, “God is a Gamer” is the author’s typical no nonsense thriller that brings together the FBI, CIA, CBI, The White House and many more from the highest and the most powerful echelons of both India and US, including the finance minister of India, and the president of the US, in a murky plot which does not breathe easy until the last of the frenetic moments end in shocking revelations. Surprisingly, there are no red herrings here. Everything is connected.

I haven’t heard of bit coins before, so I found the book pretty informative on the virtual (digital) currency, and also intrigued me enough to google more on the subject, one of the key takeaways from the book. At 310 pages, divided into 89 Chapters, most of them 2-3 pages long, the plot is carefully constructed and brings all the elements of Banking, Gaming, BPO Operations, Investigation and Interrogation, into picture once it sets up all the key players and their stakes at a breakneck pace throughout.

The number of characters, their motives and their struggles which prompt their actions may overwhelm you by the sheer volume of them, and may seem difficult to keep a track of at times. Every stroke is broad and each page covers a lot of action, juggling between nations like an enthusiastic performer at a circus. Ravi’s plot is so vast that he does not indulge in any detailing or subtlety in dealing with his characters or scenarios. They lack any depth whatsoever and one can't invest anything in them and finds it hard to care about what happens to any of them.

The result is a delicious whodunit, which entertains with its rapid turn of events that grip the reader and cover for any inadequacies or loopholes in the plot. There is no way, one can look back and analyze what all he has read, till the end and that comes as the book’s greatest strength and its’ weakness as well, since it resorts to a lot of empty exposition, much of it towards the end, in a bid to bring closure to all the aspects it brought up during its course. There is not much showing done here, but Ravi tells you everything that you need to know, and connects the dots, in an underwhelming, but very much expected, climax. 

The identity of the killer can be guessed from a mile ahead, but that’s not the point of it anyway. Even if one can’t, it does not take away from the reading experience, since any one of the suspects can be made the killer at the end, and the story could be manipulated around to prove him to be the culprit. The characters lack depth and you don't really care about what happens to any of them since you are never connected to them emotionally.

If you have read Ravi’s previous books you know what to expect, but if this is the first one you are reading of him, then I have to say that God is a Gamer is his best work so far. It is neatly edited too. 

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