God is a Gamer: Book Review

Title: God is a Gamer
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Publisher: Penguin Books India
ISBN: 9780143421399
Number of Pages: 310
Price [INR] : 299
Genre: Thriller

The Blurb: (as on back cover)

What happens when you cross Gamer, Banker, Politician and Terrorist with virtual money?

From the bestselling author of “If God was a banker” comes the first ever bitcoin thriller.

God is a Gamer is a world where money means nothing, martyrs are villains, predators are prey, assassination is taught by the ancient Greeks, and nothing is as it seems.

Moving from Washington’s Congress to Delhi’s finance ministry, the beaches of Goa to the corporate boardrooms of Mumbai, this is Ravi Subramanian’s most gripping novel yet.

About the Author:

Ravi Subramanian is an Indian banker turned financial-crime writer. His books If God was a Banker, The Bankster, Devil in Pinstripes and The Incredible Banker are all bestselling titles. He has won the Economist Crossword Book Award twice for his previous books.

Review:

God is a Gamer begins with the assassination of a U.S. senator on his way to meet the US President. Back in India, a Nigerian group is held in Goa followed by a top-ranked banker committing suicide while another is on an accident. An international banking company faces trouble- death of it’s chairman is involved with Indian Finance minister, followed by and an ATM heist in U.S of 5 millions dollars due to security breach at one of the India’s reputed BPO firms. Money flows everywhere and innocent lives are at stake.

The book is no-nonsense thriller that brings together the FBI, CIA, CBI, The White House, the Finance minister of India and the President of the US.  The plot involves Banking, Gaming, BPO Operations, Love, Brutal murders, Lust, Drugs, and Crime investigations. The concept of ‘Bitcoins’ and virtual money has been beautifully described. The author also includes a website named ‘Cotton Trail’, similar to the ‘Silk Route’ which trades payment in Bitcoins in the book. Being in the corporate world, I could relate to and understand the concepts in a good way, especially the profuse use of IT jargon. The author has made up to his reputation with the amazing experience he has had with the global banks in India. He has beautifully connected the events and there are no missing links anywhere in the story. There are many frenetic moments and shocking revelations too.

However, I was almost able to guess the revelations in the final chapters. The events were as easy as connecting the dots which made me guess the suspense. I’m not sure whether it is a good or a bad thing though.

At 310 pages and 89 chapters, it is not an easy read but a definite page-turner! The chapters are short with modest size of font. The cover page is beautifully designed as well. The language is simple an the edit is nothing short to perfection.

Pick it up over a weekend and it would definitely keep you entertained- a splendid blend of technology, crime and suspense.

My many thanks to Team Blogadda for an author-signed copy of the book.

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