Review: Ensnared

Ensnared by Prashant Wase
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'ENSNARED' BY PRASHANT WASE- A FANTASTIC HORROR-THRILLER!! (RATING: 4.4/5*)

Hello friends, I am back with one more BookLysis. Guess the genre of the book I am going to review here. Guess… guess…! Don’t know? Okay, let me reveal the suspense. I am not good at keeping suspense anyway! So, I am reviewing the novel ‘Ensnared’ by Prashant Wase. ‘Ensnared’ is the horror- thriller published by Authors Ink India. After ‘ The Pocket Love Story’by Ajitabha Bose, this is the second title by the publisher which I am going to review here. After reading ‘Khel–The Writings’ by Vishal Goswami,Ensnared by Prashant Wase is the second horror – thriller I am analyzing here-

About the Author

Prashant Wase (born on 1st September 1985) is an aspiring Novelist from Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. His previous novel “ It’s Complicated- An Uncommon love story of a common man” was published in 2013 by “Notion Press”, the book received very good response overall. Apart from writing, he is fond of watching thriller/horror movies. He has completed his higher education from Melbourne, Australia.

Cover and Title:- The cover of Ensnared is very soft and smooth like gauze, if you finger on the cover, you feel like fingering on silk. Black background, black shadow, gray, blue and red color combination perfectly suits to the horror thriller. A shadow image of a witch girl in the mirror, a shadow image of an another witch on the front cover and a black cat on the back cover make readers understand all the themes of the novel. Ink Studio deserves full marks for perfect cover design. One word title ‘Ensnared’ seems interesting and relates to the genre and themes of the novel.

Language and writing style:- Author Prashant Wase uses very lucid language, which is really easy to comprehend each and every page of the novel. Hindi words are highlighted with the proper use of italic fonts. Author Prashant Wase uses the flashback technique and narrative style to scribble the story from protagonist Neil to listener Prashant himself. Author’s fast pace grows curiosity among readers for flipping pages and going through the climax.

Haunted Locations:- The conversation between Prashant and Neil starts in London. The author takes us to Rajasthan trip when Neil shares his experience with wife Divya in Jaisalmer, Jantar Mantar, and Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, Jaigarh fort and City Palace in Rajasthan. The story of Ensnared runs through several cities like Lokhandwala (Mumbai), Pune, Kolhapur and Konkan in Maharashtra. The author beautifully portrays the background scene of Konkan, so readers feel like being on a Konkan tour. There are some glances of Maharashtra-Goa border and Gandhinagar (Gujarat) as well.

Themes:- The novel Ensnared by Prashant Wase covers various themes like friendship, love, betrayal, crime, superstition, invisible negative power, psychology, science, thrill, and horror.

Characterization:- Author Prashant Wase introduces each and every character pretty well. I figured out 13 characters in the first half and 24 characters in the second half. So I can count 37 characters in the novel. However, I have ignored some very minor characters. It seems that author has portrayed each and every character keeping a presence in mind. He correctly scribbles Bengali accent in the name of Bengali character Pronita.

A businessman Neil Mehta is the protagonist in the novel. He shares the story of past life’s strange happening around him and his wife Divya with his friend author Prashant Wase in the novel.

There are so many other characters in the novel, but if you want to meet them, you will have to be ensnared in their trap like me. HaHaHa! (This isn’t a smiley smile , this is witch’s laugh evil ).

Plot:- Ensnared’s plot is constructed into two halves (Part I and Part II) like a film script. Part I contains 14 short chapters scribbled in 49 pages meanwhile Part II contains 9 long chapters (compare to the part-I) in 68 pages. Like a Bollywood movie, both parts are separated with ‘INTERMISSION’ page which makes the book more interesting and somewhat unique.

Author Prashant Wase’s beginning of ‘Prologue’ reminds me the prologue of a national bestseller ‘ The 3 Mistakes of My Life’ by Chetan Bhagat where protagonist Govind asks an author to scribble his story in the next novel. However, I don’t intend here to compare both authors. Please don’t get my observation in a wrong way. The conversation between Prashant and Neil makes us believe that Neil’s story might be true.

The novel ‘Ensnared’ points out superstitions like Aghori Vidya (black magic) by Aghori Sadhus. The novel reveals the difference between Traditional-Tantra and Neo-Tantra- “In Traditional Tantra the guru is the ultimate authority and is treated with utmost respect. In Neo-Tantra utmost importance is given to sex.” A character Ramlal explains Neo-Tantra- “Neo-Tantra brings sex into the light, making the practitioner more sexually aware. It gives you the opportunity to expand your limits of pleasure, to try new positions and techniques, and to delve deeper into intimacy. It helps you to have better, fuller orgasm and deeper, more meaningful communication in the bedroom. By bettering the quality of your intimate relationships, you better yourself, your partner, and those around you. Not to mention, every aspect of your life is bound to benefit when you achieve a great sense of peace, balance, and harmony with the world.”

In the prologue, author sarcastically comments on the same negative news of politics, accidents, and corruption in newspapers. I would like to note a quote by Pronita, “People (with negative energy) don’t love anyone. They desire lust and sex and when they cannot achieve this on their own, they transfer their negative energy in doing wicked spells, curses or even black magic.” Protagonist Neil remarks the serious reality in India that how bribe stops legal procedures. Inspector Prabhakar’s assistant police Vijay ironically comments on the dark reality of average salaried policeman (any government servant’s) financial crisis, “An average salaried policeman doesn’t have enough money to save his wife from cancer. We are saviors for others, but we can’t save the people who belong to us.”

Protagonist Neil warns readers that how the first attempt of smoke for fun turns into a bad habit, it means he indirectly message readers not to smoke. When Neil takes an appointment with a psychiatrist for his wife Divya, he indirectly appeals people not to ignore the abnormal behavior of their loved ones and to consult a psychiatrist for patient’s better mental health. I would like to mention the quote of tarot card reader Pronita here where she tells the importance of laughter therapy, “Laughter really is the best medicine because you can use it quite effectively against any type of curse. When you feel the effects of the curse around you, think of something funny and laugh. Focus entirely on a funny video or book and see how it makes you feel.”

I felt Goosebumps and thrill while reading brutality in chapter 13. The first part ends with a hint of something unexpected, unpredictable and more deadly incidents in Divya and Neil’s future life. Neil, Divya, and their friends experience after being trapped/ensnared by Chhalava in a jungle in the dead of the night really entertains me! Unpredictable climax thrills us with so many shocks when suspense gets reveals in an unpredictable way with more twists and turns.

Quote:- “We make unnecessary comparison with others and become sad. We don’t value what god has given us. This all leads to the vicious cycle of unhappiness. Learn to be happy in what you have instead of looking at what you don’t have. There will always be someone who will have more or less than you have. Person who is satisfied with what he/she has, is the happiest person in the world.”- Prashant Wase

Minor Drawbacks:-
1.Typing Errors:- Prashant is misprinted instead of Neil in the last paragraph on page no.2 but is was corrected by pen (in handwriting) in my review copy from the author. But your copy may have this error as it is. Neil is misspelled as Neal on page no. 46 and 47. A Comma is missing in the last line of page 51. Poorab’s character is spelled as Purab as well as Poorab, though both are correct; I think anyone spelling had to be continued because two different spellings confuse readers to think both are different characters with the same name. An author uses doctor’s abbreviation doc., I know it is correct but I believe that abbreviations should have been avoided in the piece of literature.
2.Binding of the book could have been better because current binding seems cheap a bit.

Blurb of Ensnared:-

Neil and Divya are the perfect couple with a perfect life until they are not. They fall prey to strange happenings around them. It doesn’t just stop there; along with them, their family and friends experience the unspeakable. What is the secret behind their tragic fates? Will they survive this haunting?

Prepare to taste the dark side of Tantra and find out the answers for yourself. Feel the chill for yourself. Get ensnared.

Reviewer’s opinion:-

“Ensnared is the fantastic horror-thriller which shocks readers with non-stop twists, turns, thrills and suspense. The novel haunts readers and sometimes make them feel goosebumps with horror. As the protagonist, Neil says to Prashant, “To make a film we need a perfect script.” I would like to note that, “Without any doubt, this is indeed a readymade script of to be a blockbuster movie.” This book is a perfect entertainment piece for the lovers of horror. If you are interested in haunting yourself with entertainment, you must read Ensnared by Prashant Wase. I would rate this novel 4.4/5*.”

Read this review on blog: http://www.rdhsir.com/ensnared-by-pra...

View all my reviews

Read More

Review: Yama

Yama by Kevin Missal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Review of Yama by Kevin Missal; A perfect mythological thriller (Rating: 4*/5)

I have finished reading the second book published by 'Half Baked Beans' publishing. The first book was ' A Minute To Death' by Ganga Bharani and today, I am going to analyze another book titled ‘YAMA’ by Kevin Missal. Co-incidence about both the books is both titles belong to a thriller.

BookLysis of YAMA by Kevin Missal

Cover and Title:-
YAMA is a familiar name from Hindu mythology so the title seems devotional as well as mysterious. Book cover of the novel looks attractive and grows curiosity among readers to pick the book. One can notice the huge portrait of a dark man with red eye. Blood spots can be noticed on the body of huge portrait and horns can be seen behind the huge portrait, so the portrait looks like a replica or imagery of Yama (God of Death). On the bottom of front cover; shadow image of a human being is portrayed who represents the protagonist. On the background; moon and shadow image of trees represents the night scene. Picture of buildings having big towers and street-lamps represent any metro city. Assassinated dead body’s blood can be noticed on the road. Overall Yama has a beautiful book cover designed by Manoj Nath, which hints towards the thriller.

Setting:- The story of YAMA runs around several locations like Gurgaon, Noida, Delhi, and Mumbai. The story has a background set in Srinagar. The whole story runs to find the Hell (Narak) for victim’s sins.

Language and Writing Style:- The language of YAMA is lucid. Italic fonts are used to highlight few Hindi words like Narak, suhaagraat, dahej and lafanga etc. But I feel that italic fonts could have been used better. I felt the font size small a bit. Author Kevin Missal uses some uncommon words which confused me as typos but later added to my vocabulary. He scribbles all characters’ proper movements. Few scenes are portrayed gracefully. Kevin uses a narrative technique to scribble the story into past tense. The author uses some phrases like ‘coos of pigeons’ and ‘hoots of the owl’. Another phrase ‘silent crier’ reminds me and accurately suits to my own character (Hehehe!).

Characters:- There are three protagonists, five victims and more than eight minor characters in the novel.
1.Yama:- There are 2 character sketches of the character YAMA. Yama is referred as the God of Death according to Hindu mythology. But here in the novel, Yama plays a character of a violent saint who is a suspected psychopath. He treats himself a messiah entitled to kill sinners, bad persons, and criminals. His character commemorates me the protagonist Shahenshah (Amitabh Bachchan) and Gabbar (Akshay Kumar) from Bollywood movies ‘Shahenshah’ and ‘Gabbar Is Back’ respectively. I don’t claim that it is copied, but I felt Yama’s philosophy of punishment inspired from the protagonist Anniyan (Vikram) in Tamil psychological thriller movie ‘Anniyan’ which was further dubbed and released as ‘Aparichit’ in Hindi.
2.Iravan Rajput: Iravan Rajput is a second protagonist in the novel who plays a character of a delusional hero. He belongs to an Ex-Black Cat Commando (Fauji). He receives a time frame with the name of Yama’s targets to find their sins and save them from Yama’s punishments.
3.Swati Kaushik:- Author portrays Swati’s character as a widow and an ambitious news reporter.

Plot:- The story and plot of YAMA are constructed into 90 (actually 87) short chapters in 167 pages.
Chapter one begins with a familiar portrayal of the God of Death YAMA. Author gracefully describes Iravan’s psychotherapy session by psychiatrist Dr. Tapaswa Gandhi. Iravan also mentions his wife Rutvi Rajpoot’s disease schizophrenia. The author describes the shootout scene in brief which could have more thriller. The author portrays some crime scenes which seems familiar as we watch and experience daily in crime shows on a television set. A serial killer Raghu (Psycho) Yadav’s entry thrills reader in the fourteenth chapter. I like the conversation between Iravan and his nephew Vardhaan Sippy where Vardhaan asks his uncle Iravan to ask him a ‘right’ question. Journalist Swati’s interrogation by ACP Surya seems realistic. Dr. Tapaswa Gandhi tells different psychology disease like schizophrenia, bipolar, depression and the usual sort to Swati Kaushik. Swati’s interaction with a patient of depression named Samar Anand in Dr. Tapaswa Gandhi’s clinic seems interesting.

Social Plot: Author negatively refers ‘letters’ as an outdated service in the current era of an advanced technology. I agree that postal service is being used on rare occasions these days. But I personally think that Indian postal service needs to be promoted by authors in their literature instead of such negative comments to save this oldest telecommunication service in the period of an advanced technology. A character Tapaswa Gandhi comments on the people’s mindset and a reality of bribe in India- “People want to get rid of the bribing thing in this country, but when it comes to their getting favors they always want to hop back”. The author also refers ‘Gulabi Gang’ in the book. Author gives indirect message not to believe in superstitions and explains the scientific reason of one act- “Its science. The killer made invisible ink with the help of lemon and water. You can make your message invisible by just writing it with the cotton bud that was dipped in the mixture of water and lemon. Lemon is an organic substance that oxidizes and turns brown when heated but when it is dipped in water, it changes its rhythm.” Author comments on Indian Army (faujis’) aloofness from their family for a long time. A bit negative picture of a soldier doesn’t feel fair to me. Author comments on corruption in the government system. Swati’s offer to her friend Arjun to spend a night together being a media person seems controversial. I saw some controversial statements in the novel. Thank God! That authors do not need a censor certificate like movies from censor board of India; otherwise, many controversial scenes would have been suggested to cut like Anurag Kashyap’s movie Udta Punjab! LOL! Jokes a part! The author remarks to the fact that how hooligans, criminals, and addicts can be seen behind schools, colleges, factories and other desolate areas. I like a conversation between Tara Rajpoot and her father Iravan Rajpoot where she gets angry for offering dowry to her to be in-laws by her father. I think girls and women need to raise a voice against dowry in practical life. Tara and Iravan’s another conversation says a lot about a negative impact of parents’ (father’s) absence/ignorance in children’s (daughter’s) life.

Author comments on escort’s financial crisis and unwanted need to do such disrespected business. A character Pinky narrates about a physical torture of prostitutes. Though the narration is a hyperbole, reality is not very good. Kabeer’s description of Kotha (bordello’s) scenario seems realistic. I never visited such places, and I am sure that many of you wouldn’t have gone there. So you must read the description. I felt the scenario real because although I haven’t experienced, I have passed through red light areas so many times by bus and sometimes on my foot in Itwari, Nagpur. Hence I have sensed the wretched reality of prostitutes in bordellos.

Author Kevin Missal elegantly refers real two incidents like 2012 brutal Delhi gang rape case; he also remarks an impact of Gujarat riots. Author also scribbles few sarcastic comments through characters in the novel. ACP Surya’s comments on journalists is an ironic reality in India. Author comments on a charlatan like a character Guru Shiv. He also comments on politicians and police for protecting charlatans and hypocrisy. Yama’s quotation from the novel- “I don’t blame the authorities. There will be a day when our authorities will be righteous enough to punish criminals rather than freeing them. But for now, my authority is the supreme authority.” is a satire on the judicial system in India. The author gives an indirect message that a human being does not entitle to kill another human being, it doesn’t matter that how bad circumstance is because a human being can not be a God of Death YAMA. He informs that “knowing about the murders and not reporting them is also a crime.”

Mythological Plot: It seems that author Kevin Missal has researched a lot about different and primarily Hindu mythology. He narrates the philosophy of ‘hell’ according to Christianity mythology- “There are too many mythologies consisting different hells, especially Christianity. In ‘Dante’s Inferno’, it is said there were nine hells and in the end, there’s the devil. Every hell consisted of a certain punishment to a certain sinner.” Chapter Seventeen make bore in the beginning but turns interesting when ‘hell’ is defined from ‘ Percy Jackson’- “Hell is derived from the word helle. Every culture, a mythology has an overload, like for instance the one who holds it tightly. In Greek mythology, the hell is known as Tartarus… and it’s controlled by Hades.” “There’s Nergal in Mesopotamian mythology. In Norse, hel is a being who presides over hel. Osiris in Egyptian mythology.” The author defines sins- “Sins are the bad deeds we perform, and every sin has a punishment.” The author introduces Yama (The God of Death)- “Like every mythology, we (Hindu Mythology) also have one. He’s called Yama. He has a lot of Yamdoots, as well, who are his messengers. His hell is known as Narak.” Author Kevin Missal scribbles about different hells described in various scriptures from Hindu Mythology. “In Agni Purana, it mentions four hells. In Manusmriti, its twenty one hells. And in Bhagvat Gita, it has twenty eight hells.” He defines a hell ‘Tamisra’- “Tamisra. It’s a hell for those who grab another’s wealth, wife and children.” In Chapter twenty-three, author writes- “PRANARODHA- Wanton killing of animals. Yama play plays archery sport with this sinner.” Author clears the confusion between Maharaurava and Sarameyadana- “Maharaurava was for the sinner, who inflicted pain on others. And Sarameyadana was for the sinner, who used his wealth and pride for wrong reasons; you know to plunge other people in fires and destruction. Now, Maharaurava hell with sinners will be eaten by ferocious animals called Rurus and Sarameyadana with seven hundred and twenty ferocious dogs, the sons of Sarama, will eat his flesh.” The author defines ‘Andhakupa’ and ‘Ayahpana’ - “Andhakupa is the hell where such people are attacked by birds and insects and all sorts of reptiles.” And “Ayahpana is a narak where alcoholics go, the ones who give up everything to nasha.” He also tells about one more hell-“Asipatravana is a hell reserved for a person who digresses from the religious teachings of the Vedas and practices heresy.”

Drawbacks in the novel:
1.Missing 3 chapters: There are total 90 chapters in the book. Though the 90 is too much, I don’t mean that a book can not have chapters in such large numbers. But the drawback in those 90 chapters is, 3 chapters (chapter 58, 65 and 77) are missing in the book. When I checked missing pages, I found correct page numbers; which clears that there are only 87 chapters in the book, but editors have mistaken in typing chapters according to their correct order. You may call it a minor print mistake, but it is a major drawback in my opinion because this mistake is repeated 3 times and it is about chapter’s title.
2.Typing Errors: I found minor typos which had to be corrected as mentioned in the bracket- I (It), ram (ran) and Sanjavan (Sanjayvan) on page numbers 21, 22, and 60. I found some punctuation marks missing in the novel.

About the Author

Kevin Solomon Missal is studying History Hon. In St. Stephen’s College. He loves to write plays, books, reviews, watch television shows, classic movies and has a knack for thrillers. He has written two books (Damien Black- The battle of Lost Ages and Unlocked), with the second one(Unlocked), being number one best seller on Amazon Christian Fiction.

Blurb

What will you do if you have 24 hours to save someone?
A VIOLENT SAINT…
A man who claims he is Yama, is punishing sinners by killing them according to the twenty eight hells described in the Bhagavat Gita. Who is he? What does he want? Is he a vigilante or a psychopath?
A DELUSIONAL HERO…
Iravan Rajpoot, an Ex-Black Cat Commando with a dark past is receiving letters with names and time limits. It’s no sooner that he learns about the intended victims than they die within the mentioned time frame
AN AMBITIOUS REPORTER
Swati Kaushik, a widow and a woman who can do anything for success, must team up with Iravan to stop the god of Death and Justice

Reviewer’s Verdict:

“The novel Yama by Kevin Missal keeps readers engaged until the end with a lot of twists and turns which surprise and sometimes shock readers. Short chapters and author’s fast pace of narration maintains the curiosity to flip pages and finish the book in one seating, so a reader doesn’t wish to put the book down. Overall, Yama by Kevin Missal is the well-researched mythological thriller filled with action and a lot of suspense until the climax. I would recommend this book to all history and mythology lovers. I would rate the novel Yama by Kevin Missal 4 out of 5 stars.”

Title: YAMA
Author: Kevin Missal
Publisher: Chetan Soni (Half Baked Beans Literature Publishing)
First published by Half Baked Beans in 2016
Copyright © Kevin Missal 2016
Cover Design: Manoj Nath
Language: English
Typeset in Utopia 9.50 pt at De Unique
Binding: Paperback (in India by De Unique)
Genre: Fiction (Thriller)
ISBN: 978-93-84315-245
ASIN: B01C2YB5SW
Pages: 182 (including cover)
Price: Rs. 175
My rating: 4*/5
Reviewed by: ©Rajesh D. Hajare (RDH)
Read this review on my blog: http://www.rdhsir.com/book-review-of-...

View all my reviews

Read More