Pamela Aidan - An Assembly Such as this

An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wonder if Jane Austen has the honor of having spawned more fan fiction than any other author. It seems to me. I have read several derivatives of her novels. I have liked some, not all.

I had read a lot of serious stuff lately, poetry and classical fiction and needed some light reading, hence I clicked on this book.

This novel is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. The events of the novel are gone over once again from his perspective. It is an interesting idea, and it makes for an interesting reading.

The problem with it was when the writer spent a lot of time describing the inner turmoil of Darcy every time he spots Elizabeth. According to Ms. Aiden, Darcy tries to impress Elizabeth, but he is brought up short by her wit. He is portrayed as a person who is not too good in female company and does not know how to negotiate himself around a self-assured person such as Elizabeth.

We are treated to page after page of poor Darcy trying to get up close and personal with Elizbeth with her rebuffing him unfailingly. The story adds events that Jane Austen forgot to record, for instance, Jane and Elizbeth going to church with the Bingleys and Darcy after Jane recovers from her illness.

After the Netherfield ball, Darcy and Bingley leave for London. The story takes and interesting turn there. But I found, to my dismay that the story ended rather abruptly. Ms. Aidan has chopped Mr. Darcy's tale into several parts.

The story is good, no doubt about that, but it does ramble on. There is too much focus on Darcy's clothes and how he dresses. His valet is a bit like Jeeves, manipulating his master into wearing certain clothes and getting into certain situations!

At the end of part I, I did not feel like going straight to amazon and ordering the part II. Simply because the tale is taking too long to finish, and I have run out of patience.

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P.G. Bhaskar - Mad in Heaven

Mad in Heaven by P G Bhaskar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Prakash and Pushpa live in a vast penthouse atop Rishwath Towers in Chennai. They have two lovely and smart daughters. It is high time they get their older daughter, Priyanka, married. The younger, Palak, is also in line. A match may be made in heaven, but the parents on earth are going mad.

They look for several good groom that Priyanka shoots down on flimsy grounds. If this goes on, will she ever get married?

Palak has a string of boyfriends standing in line for her favor. Will she go and give her heart to some utter fool?

All these questions are turning their mother, Pushpa Prakash frantic with worry.

This novel is a hilarious ride. There is one crazy character after another, one crazy situation after another.

On the flip side, there are some unnecessary characters who clutter the story. There are too many side plots that confuse the reader. Also, some of the chapters are very short and the story moves away to another side plot just when you are getting your teeth into one.

It is a well written novel and makes you chuckle in many places. It is no surprise that the author has dedicated the novel to P.G.Wodehouse, the author he admires and shares initials with.

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Summerita Rhayne - Hidden Passion

Hidden Passion by Summerita Rhayne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked the book up for its attractive cover and the promise it had made of being an out and out romance of the Mills and Boon kind. I was NOT disappointed in my surmise.

The book jumps into the thick of the things from the word go. Right from the start, we see Princess Rukmini eyeing the handsome Samrat Deveshvarya. Rukmini is visiting Minali, the grand capital of Campavati, with her parents and family. They are the guests of Samrat Deveshvarya. Rukmini is instantly attracted to the rugged handsomeness of Devesh. She contrives to get close to him, but he treats her like a little girl who should be put back in her place.

As it happens, Devesh is not immune to the charms of Rukmini. He is quite taken by the hot headed, impulsive Princess. He is not really a king by lineage, and his low birth would never be accepted by the parents of Rukmini. Devesh wants no bad blood among the kings of his kingdoms. He is being sensible and trying to keep away from Rukmini.

He has a lot to learn about Rukmini, she is not just a spoilt princess. She is a determined young woman, and can take charge of her destiny. He finds he cannot ignore her, and she will find a way into his heart by hook or by crook.

The book is a romance, and it never strays from its path. There are all sorts of intrigues to keep the story interesting, but it never wanders far from the doings of Devesh and Rukmini. There is a lot of passion in the tale. I often find romance books by Indian authors a wee bit insipid. Not this book! The tale is told with a lot of zeal and gusto.

There is plenty of naughty stuff going on too. I had to fan myself frequently to cool off a bit. Whew!

The language could have been better here and there. Maybe a few simpler words in place of grand ones. The story focuses on just the two people and others seem to make guest appearances in their story.

It serves to keep the tale uncluttered, as it is a romance and the story keeps firmly on its track, the passionate tale of Devesh and Rukmini.

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Hugh Laurie - The Gun Seller

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hugh Laurie is a successful actor. Following his twitter account, I came to know that he is a musician as well. He loves motorcycles. One chance post by his fan club introduced me to the book he had written.

Now this is quite an accomplishment. How does he find time from his acting/singing/motorcycling to write a book as well? Perhaps he was filling time between assignments.

I had to read this, I am a huge fan of Hugh. A quick visit to kindle, and he book was in my hands. I love the instantaneous delivery of a kindle purchase. No waiting for the courier to land up at my door in a week's time.

Thomas Lang is a sort of a secret agent. He seems to be highly undercover, or is out of work at the moment. He has received an offer of good amount money to kill a rich American businessman called Woolf. He turns the offer down and goes to warn Woolf of the danger to his life. This little visit triggers a series of events which land our Lang in a lot of hot soup.

This is not merely a thriller. This is a funny thriller which makes you conjure up someone like Rowan Atkinson playing Lang. The book makes you laugh out loud at times. It is fast paced enough to keep you pressing the page flip button. I managed to read it in two or three days time, which is quite a feat for me.

Every funny book is compared to P.G. Wodehouse, and despite the connection between Laurie and Wodehouse, I will not do it. No one can be like P.G. Wodehouse. Hugh Laurie is funny writer, and he has written an engaging book.

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