Let the game begin by Sandeep Sharma: a review

Let the Game Begin is the second book by author Sandeep Sharma. I would like to comment here that the book looks very interesting from the cover and thus prompted me to pick up the book to know what is there to look forward to the book. I must say this that this book satisfied me, to say the least. The cover gave way to the fact that it is a book which has history and has chess as its background and then I went on to read the blurb of the book to see what does it has to say about the book.

According to the blurb- Two kingdoms, Chaturanga and Sarprakt, separated by a mystic mountain range are at war with each other since ages. Chaturange ruled by King Viratha, is soon bestowed with a dynamic heir, and the whole kingdom is drowned in rituals and festivity. On the other side, Sarprakt is executing a cruel conspiracy. King Viratha, crippled by the conspiracy, urges the mysterious man of the mountain to devise a method to recreate the conspiracy and that gave birth to ‘The Game of Chess’. Serial killings shock the nation as the police are rendered clueless. The killer leaves behind a trail of chess pieces with a strange message. Random people are murdered. Connoisseurs of different fields- History, Chess and the Security forces- have united as the next intended victim is the most powerful person of the country. How is Chess involved in the whole scenario? How will they find a man who dies 4000 years ago? Can a person defy the laws of nature? Does history really repeat itself? Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Looks like a thrilling read, isn’t it? I must say that I wasn’t disappointed after reading the book. It starts with a bang and then continues to keep the readers entertained. I would first talk about the characters and then the story. For me, the characters had their flesh and bones and were on point. Every other character entering and exiting at the time that is being given to them and doing total justice to the character for the time that he or she is in the limelight.

The characters, even though might seem very clear in the beginning, is in real very confusing and twisted. Without reading the book, you would not know what I am talking about. I, personally, would have liked if the author had given the characters enough space to flow on their own. There were many characters introduced together so there are moments where you might have to turn the pages and see who is whom. The twists of the characters and the twists of the story is something that would make you turn the pages of the book in the hope of knowing what happens next. The plot is done well and the fact that it is a series of books and the idea of what might happen at the end of the book is something that is enough to keep the readers on the edge of their seats.

Now the story. If I have to say about the story then first I have to say the fact that the author seems to be highly inspired from the Dan Brown style of storytelling. There are a few elements which I am sure any Dan Brown fan, like me, would spot and that acts as the pro or the con of the book, I would let you as a reader to decide on that. Keeping that factor aside, I need to say that the book has an interesting plot because I don’t think that any such book would’ve had the history of chess or chess as a subplot. Being a person who is fond of the game, I liked the book.

Coming to the cons of the book, I would like to say that hardcore thriller lovers might suffer setbacks in the book because it might not satisfy them. There were not many grammatical errors in the book and that is why it gives a smooth read to whoever reads it. If I have to talk about the writing style then I would have to say that the author could’ve done a bit more. I do not know how to describe the fact that the book was just there but it somehow couldn’t be. Even while framing the plot, the much needed space for the story to flow was missing. The expectations are high and I'm sure the author would give us much more in the future. The presentation could’ve been done a bit differently and that, I guess, would’ve made a lot of difference. The genre that the book is specified in is Romance which I thought could well have been thriller. Apart from these, looking forward to the next in the series, this book is 3.5 out of 5 for me.