Sometimes you read a book and your heart soars, other times you leave it mid way because honestly you cannot waste your time anymore.
Now I am writing my very personal opinion here, if you disagree or have any thoughts about the book, let me know in the comments below.
I loved the title and sometimes I do pick up the book purely on the basis of just that. This one hinted at greatness, but the greatness ended at the cover. The result was a mediocre fiction with an absurd plot. When you talk of religion and try to unrelate it to the world, the final product falls flat on its face. What seemed even funnier to me was the genre - satire. Maybe I am wrong but I failed to spot the satire in the book.
The summary for your reference -
2050, New York. In the aftermath of a gruelling spiritual cleansing quest, Ismael, a Pakistani-American student, enters into an alliance with spiritual beings who send him on a perilous journey of self-discovery. A non-believer, Ismael must return to Pakistan, now in the grip of a brutal fundamentalist government, and gain the trust of his estranged father, a prominent extremist in the Caliphate. To accomplish this, he must pose as a true believer. Will he survive long enough to infiltrate his father's inner sanctum and complete his mission? Hell! No Saints in Paradise is both biting satire and allegory that takes urban fantasy to dizzying heights.
Now let me elaborate on what truly happens. Ismael witnesses a cricket match where the rules of cricket have changed. Now the fielders of both the teams get on the field with swords in their hands and they battle each other to death. Oh, the author did retain the batsmen, they are supposed to keep running till the ball is caught or something. Yes, weird. There are raining shoe bombs and camel cars, martyr vests for kids, other such random things happening throughout.
The protagonist was the only relatable part of the book, the typical modern "I know it all" mentality with an empty bank account and hopes of finishing his doctorate. If you remove the setting, his journey of reconciliation with his father and finding inner peace and sanction would have made for a good read. The author tried very hard to invoke satire in what he sees would happen if the extremist took over which made a reader like me lose interest in the story. There is only so much make believe that a book is allowed if not set in a parallel universe.
My review, it is unlikely you will like this book, it is highly unlikely that you would even get through this book in one piece and if you did, you probably scratched your hair out till the end. I am usually not this negative or highly critical of a book but sometimes it cannot be helped. If you like absurdity and wish to take everything as a joke, read this book. It is fiction and fantasy of the highest negative quality.
I received this copy from Writersmelon in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
That's all for today guys!
See you tomorrow with another review, this time a Patrick Ness novel.
XOXO
P.S.
I loved the title and sometimes I do pick up the book purely on the basis of just that. This one hinted at greatness, but the greatness ended at the cover. The result was a mediocre fiction with an absurd plot. When you talk of religion and try to unrelate it to the world, the final product falls flat on its face. What seemed even funnier to me was the genre - satire. Maybe I am wrong but I failed to spot the satire in the book.
The summary for your reference -
2050, New York. In the aftermath of a gruelling spiritual cleansing quest, Ismael, a Pakistani-American student, enters into an alliance with spiritual beings who send him on a perilous journey of self-discovery. A non-believer, Ismael must return to Pakistan, now in the grip of a brutal fundamentalist government, and gain the trust of his estranged father, a prominent extremist in the Caliphate. To accomplish this, he must pose as a true believer. Will he survive long enough to infiltrate his father's inner sanctum and complete his mission? Hell! No Saints in Paradise is both biting satire and allegory that takes urban fantasy to dizzying heights.
Now let me elaborate on what truly happens. Ismael witnesses a cricket match where the rules of cricket have changed. Now the fielders of both the teams get on the field with swords in their hands and they battle each other to death. Oh, the author did retain the batsmen, they are supposed to keep running till the ball is caught or something. Yes, weird. There are raining shoe bombs and camel cars, martyr vests for kids, other such random things happening throughout.
The protagonist was the only relatable part of the book, the typical modern "I know it all" mentality with an empty bank account and hopes of finishing his doctorate. If you remove the setting, his journey of reconciliation with his father and finding inner peace and sanction would have made for a good read. The author tried very hard to invoke satire in what he sees would happen if the extremist took over which made a reader like me lose interest in the story. There is only so much make believe that a book is allowed if not set in a parallel universe.
My review, it is unlikely you will like this book, it is highly unlikely that you would even get through this book in one piece and if you did, you probably scratched your hair out till the end. I am usually not this negative or highly critical of a book but sometimes it cannot be helped. If you like absurdity and wish to take everything as a joke, read this book. It is fiction and fantasy of the highest negative quality.
I received this copy from Writersmelon in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
That's all for today guys!
See you tomorrow with another review, this time a Patrick Ness novel.
XOXO
P.S.
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