Is it bad to judge a book from its cover? Or just have an opinion about it even before you read it? Hell yes!
Most of the times, you will end up wrong. More importantly, you’ll often miss some great books. Just like I did.
I came across The Four Patriots by Sumit Agarwal through an email and I was sure I would like it. But then God knows what got into me but I started resenting my decision. I was doubtful. However, rave reviews from other reviewers got my interest piqued and I picked up this book to give it a chance.
About The Book – The Four Patriots and the author
The book is about four guys – Salman, Varun, Raghav, Aditya.
These people have totally different lives. Salman works for a great company called Coffee Moments. Varun is an NRI engineer. Aditya is a businessman and Raghav is a politician.
The theme of the book revolves around the common feeling shared by millions in the country – that our fate is hopeless. Nothing good can be made out of this country filled with corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
The story combines different storylines focusing on friendship, patriotism, faith, courage, romance, and politics, of course. All in all, it makes a contemporary thriller that I am reviewing today.
It comes from a debut author who is otherwise a businessman and I usually don’t care about the author’s background. Here I mentioned it for a reason. Do you want to know the reason? Keep reading.
Book Review:
The Four PatriotsOne thing I have to say before I dive into the plot, writing style and characters is how the overall presentation of the book is. It’s not just one thriller – where there’s a storyline and your interest is woven around that one storyline.
It, in fact, has a very predictable plot after a point. But, what’s astonishing about this book is how each chapter has the thriller element. You’re introduced to a scene where your heart starts racing and your mind thinks of different things that could be happening and then boom! You’re just amazed and literally in love with this book. But then, it keeps happening and you just adore what you’re reading.
Plot of The Four Patriots book
As I mentioned, the main plot is somewhat simple but the beauty is in the details. How everything plays out and how each chapter presents a brilliant story is unbelievable. The intricacies of the plot are much more complex that will keep you thrilled and glued to the book no matter what other tasks you need to do.
I bet you would want to read the book in one sitting. I almost did. The four guys we talked about are supposed to be friends in the book and they have a huge challenge to face and a lot of Chakravyuhs waiting to destroy them. It’s about what they do and whether they get out of them or meet the fate of Abhimanyu in Mahabharata.
The book, however, begins with a really nice introduction to these characters and is thus, divided into two halves. It’s highly appreciable and at the same time, you wouldn’t believe it’s the first book of the writer. Nobody puts so much effort into each chapter of the book. At least, I didn’t notice that in about 200 books I have read in my life.
2. Writing Style
A simple, easy to read and highly interesting – that’s pretty much what the writing style is like. When I started reviewing books, I added this section because I was mostly reviewing Indian books and you could criticize Indian writing a lot when you talk about the writing style. But this book didn’t give me a chance.
The emotions were expressed well. The words used for simple yet impressive. The flow was like a calm river (it doesn’t do anything good to your state of mind otherwise). It’s a good thriller after all.
3. Characters
One thing you’re bound to notice about this book: The Four Patriots is how there are so many characters. The book maybe about 4 guys who set out to meet some crazy challenges and do something for their country but that’s not it. There are so many characters – from lovers to family members, from bureaucrats to ministers and all of them together make a great story.
Considering the size of the book and the complexity of the book, you would expect such minor characters to be ignored apart from their essential role. However, they’re not. They’re given ample space. You get to know them well and can have an emotional bond with them. It’s simply amazing.
Overall, I truly didn’t expect to be so good. It couldn’t be. The odds of a debut Indian author who is otherwise a business man, writing a thriller which is even better than usual good thrillers out there are just too minimum. But it did happen and it’s delight for readers.
If you like thrillers but want a better thriller than you usually read, pick up The Four Patriots by Sumit Agarwal.
My Ratings
4.5/5 stars
