The Books Thread (Fiction)

mayankk · 11th March 2013, 13:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxy

Finished reading Miss Callaghan Comes to Grief by James Hadley Chase, the guy known for his extremely fast paced thrillers.

This is the rarest of his works and you won't find it anywhere in the market. The reason being, the author and the publisher had to face a court case for releasing this book, because of its highly obscene ----------------

Read it only if you must or if you are a diehard Chase fan. Most people are likely to be left with a very unpleasant feeling after reading it.

which was the one where the female lead has magical powers? That was hilarious, equivalent to the road to Omaha in my mind.

mobike008 · 11th March 2013, 14:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxy

Finished reading Miss Callaghan Comes to Grief by James Hadley Chase, the guy known for his extremely fast paced thrillers.

Iam a big time Chase fan. I have almost all his 70 ( or is it 80 novels?) and I never heard of this book.

The way you described the book, seems very un-James Hadley Chase. I guess will give this book a miss as I have a particular frame of mind of his novel themes and this one doesnt seem like it matches.

Btw, anyone here loves the famous Paradise City Cop, Lepski? Chase novels with him as the investigator is hilarious to say the least

Percy N P · 11th March 2013, 14:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008

Btw, anyone here loves the famous Paradise City Cop, Lewski? Chase novels with him as the investigator is hilarious to say the least

I too love Lewski and the way he investigates all those high profile heists in Paradise City. Overall I swear by all of JH Chase novels and have read almost all of them. I feel his books are 'unputdownable' and you need to finish them off in one sitting.

Its a good thing his novels are not bulky or very long.

Oxy · 11th March 2013, 15:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008

Iam a big time Chase fan. I have almost all his 70 ( or is it 80 novels?) and I never heard of this book.

The way you described the book, seems very un-James Hadley Chase. I guess will give this book a miss as I have a particular frame of mind of his novel themes and this one doesnt seem like it matches.

Btw, anyone here loves the famous Paradise City Cop, Lepski? Chase novels with him as the investigator is hilarious to say the least

In regards to a fast and pacy thriller which you cannot put down before you finish, It is very much vintage Chase.

I was not impressed because of it's excessive obscene content and the subject (brothel business) that it deals with.

naveenroy · 11th March 2013, 15:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008

Iam a big time Chase fan. I have almost all his 70 ( or is it 80 novels?) and I never heard of this book.

The way you described the book, seems very un-James Hadley Chase. I guess will give this book a miss as I have a particular frame of mind of his novel themes and this one doesnt seem like it matches.

Looks like that book was notorious in its time too. I am a big fan of Chase too - think the racy covers was what made me pick one up in school

. But I stayed on for the writing - with the lovely twist in the tale.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxy

In regards to a fast and pacy thriller which you cannot put down before you finish, It is very much vintage Chase.

I was not impressed because of it's excessive obscene content and the subject (brothel business) that it deals with.

mallumowgli · 11th March 2013, 15:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayankk

which was the one where the female lead has magical powers? That was hilarious, equivalent to the road to Omaha in my mind.

Wasn't that Miss Shumway waves a wand?

mayankk · 11th March 2013, 17:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Wasn't that Miss Shumway waves a wand?

That's the one!
Thanks. Will have to dig through the old boxes tonight and fish it out.

jkdas · 15th March 2013, 09:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by NMS

Just Started Reading "The Oath of The Vayuputras" Just been through the first Chapter, somehow it is not invoking the kind of interest the first two did.
Anyone else feeling the same?

Felt the same initially but after the twist...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudhalaipatti

Finished reading "The oath of the Vayuputras". While this last part pales in comparison to the first two masterpieces, I don't think anything better could have been done to the concluding part.

It would be interesting to see if Amish gets to write or rewrite Mahabarath.

Yup. Hope he does! Would be another interesting novel but the volumes he might have to do!

saildrive · 15th March 2013, 10:45

Read Jaya Mahabharata by Devdutt Patnaik. Interesting read; crisp writing with great illustrations.

Also has references to cities, places in and around the country which have significant relevance to the epic

NMS · 15th March 2013, 14:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

Felt the same initially but after the twist...

Inspired by your post I have started reading it seriously now

mjothi · 15th March 2013, 14:53

I started "The Oath of The Vayuputras" and could not keep the book down. Completed the book in 2 full days

Ofcourse, with so much curse from my better half.

Yes, I too would like to wait for the Mahabharat, from Amish. His writing skills with perfect blend of history and fiction/myth is simple fantastic. I love it.

TKMCE · 17th March 2013, 12:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxy

Just finished Doctors by Erich Segal.

A realistic account of the lives and struggles of doctors in the 1962 batch of Harvard Medical School, also portrays the lives of some key characters after they graduate and start practicing.

Overall, a fairly good book.

I agree. "Dcotors" is a good read along with similar biggies "The Class" and "Prizes" and helps pass the time time in long bus /train journeys.

A lot issues like Euthanasia , freedom to practice medicine in emergencies without liability issues, etc are dealt with fairly. Regarding novels revolving around the medical profession, I think this is actually a far better work than Arthur Hailey's "Final Diagnosis" However Hailey's "Strong Medicine" is a must read if you are interested to know about the pharmaceutical industry.

Oxy · 18th March 2013, 13:20

Here's a great recommendation for people who like the Malgudi Days kind of books - Tales from Firozsha Baag by Rohinton Mistry.

This is a collection of eleven short stories, set in a middle class Parsi colony in Mumbai. Each story highlights one character or a family in the colony.

Reading it makes you believe many of these experiences are the author's own childhood memories, as many of the stories relate to young boys and their growing up days.

Highly recommended.

ampere · 22nd March 2013, 08:26

The Oxford English Dictionary had a very curious tale associated with its genesis. If interested, the book by Simon Winchester is a must read.

The Professor and the Madman

Dry Ice · 22nd March 2013, 17:44

The Oath of the Vayuputras - Finished it last night. Took the longest time of the 3. Certainly not comparable to the previous 2.

At places, I felt it was being dragged unnecessarily. And the climax was a bit of a damper for me - specially the bit about the Meluha's army and Mohenjodaro.

OT:
Ever since I read the trilogy, I am hooked on to the idea of advanced technologies being used in the ancient world - vimanas, nuclear weapons etc. YouTube is filled with documentaries on the topic. It seems even the Nazis studied the ancient texts to possibly unearth a technology forgotten with time - to build better bigger weapons/rockets.

I guess we will never know for sure and all these will always be 'theories'.

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15th March 2013, 10:45	#744
saildrive BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: mumbai Posts: 181 Thanked: 50 Times	re: The Book Thread (Fiction) Read Jaya Mahabharata by Devdutt Patnaik. Interesting read; crisp writing with great illustrations. Also has references to cities, places in and around the country which have significant relevance to the epic
	() Thanks

15th March 2013, 14:53	#746
mjothi Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,290 Thanked: 232 Times View My Garage	re: The Book Thread (Fiction) I started "The Oath of The Vayuputras" and could not keep the book down. Completed the book in 2 full days Ofcourse, with so much curse from my better half. Yes, I too would like to wait for the Mahabharat, from Amish. His writing skills with perfect blend of history and fiction/myth is simple fantastic. I love it.
	() Thanks

18th March 2013, 13:20	#748
Oxy BHPian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 275 Thanked: 570 Times	re: The Book Thread (Fiction) Here's a great recommendation for people who like the Malgudi Days kind of books - Tales from Firozsha Baag by Rohinton Mistry. This is a collection of eleven short stories, set in a middle class Parsi colony in Mumbai. Each story highlights one character or a family in the colony. Reading it makes you believe many of these experiences are the author's own childhood memories, as many of the stories relate to young boys and their growing up days. Highly recommended.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2013, 08:26	#749
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 18,182 Thanked: 13,360 Times View My Garage	re: The Book Thread (Fiction) The Oxford English Dictionary had a very curious tale associated with its genesis. If interested, the book by Simon Winchester is a must read. The Professor and the Madman
	() Thanks

22nd March 2013, 17:44	#750
Dry Ice Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: -- Posts: 3,592 Thanked: 7,516 Times	re: The Book Thread (Fiction) The Oath of the Vayuputras - Finished it last night. Took the longest time of the 3. Certainly not comparable to the previous 2. At places, I felt it was being dragged unnecessarily. And the climax was a bit of a damper for me - specially the bit about the Meluha's army and Mohenjodaro. OT: Ever since I read the trilogy, I am hooked on to the idea of advanced technologies being used in the ancient world - vimanas, nuclear weapons etc. YouTube is filled with documentaries on the topic. It seems even the Nazis studied the ancient texts to possibly unearth a technology forgotten with time - to build better bigger weapons/rockets. I guess we will never know for sure and all these will always be 'theories'. Last edited by Dry Ice : 22nd March 2013 at 17:45.
	() Thanks