Review of “03:02” – Mainak Dhar
WritersMelon asked me to write a
review for this book and I’d gladly said yes. But, would I be actually writing
it down on a piece of paper? No! I’ll just grab my iPad and start clicking
away. In such a world where each and every person is dependent on electronic devices,
what would happen if the electricity goes out and all electronic gadgets are
fried? Can’t imagine? Neither can I. But, Mainak Dhar brings forth a story
where most of the world is attacked by terrorists who blast-off bombs radiating
electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) which leave all the circuit based electronic
devices high and dry.
The plot of the story is principally
based in Mumbai, where an executive Aaditya wakes in the middle of the night, (03:02
am to be precise) after hearing a bang to find the city shrouded in darkness.
Assuming it to be a power failure, he goes back to sleep. In the morning, when the
sun rises, he realizes the extent of damage when he sees the whole city in
utter chaos. Even the vehicles have stopped as and where they were at the time
of the explosion and everyone is clueless. In the absence of any law or order,
he takes charge to bringing things as close to normal as he can by pooling
resources with others affected by the tragedy, looters, rapists, rioters and
assassins. They work together towards self-sustenance till such time that the
Government aids arrives. However, before any communication link could be
forged, the attacks by the terrorists who have captured the airport begin.
Self-preservation leads them to form a union and they try to fight back with
all they can.
Starting by using his own skills
learned in a dojo and NCC, Aadi becomes a hero for the community when he gets
his hands bloodied by killing a looter and saving Dr. Megha and her patients.
He is entrusted with a gun from a retired general to combat any approaching
threats. Joined by a couple of ex-army officials, they keep what fire-arms they
conquer from the little groups of armed terrorists which are sent out to take
over them. Help arrives in small packages in form of semi-trained volunteers,
NDA cadets, whiz-kids from IIT, a few marines etc. The civilians team-up to
form their own army and rely on ‘surprize attacks’ as their primary method of
assault. Will they be able to last till their supplies and limited ration runs
out? Grab a copy to find out!
The idea of a blackout is
horrifying but brilliant. It is not the first time this has been used, but the possibility
of this to occur cannot be ignored. The hard-hitting fact remains throughout
the story where Aaditya repeatedly asks everyone the difference between ‘us and
them’. There is a lot of blood and gore depicted in the combat scenes which are
detailed to perfection. The story is fast paced and makes you race to find out
the ending. The epilogue is not clichéd in showing a happy-every-after; rather
it indicates the struggle of the survivors to take what they are left with and
build a new tomorrow; thus being more appetizing.
My take: The story is fast paced
and there is never a dull moment where you feel like picking up the bookmark.
Book Courtesy: WritersMelon
PS: Post-reading you are prone to
sweat bullets if your power runs out even for a few seconds.
PPS: Trivia – The characters in the story do bear slight
resemblance to real life acquaintances of the author.
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