Kevein Books and Reviews

In Johannesburg, Kitchenerville Fields is a dirty place yet full of prospects of gold. Here, a packet of some wealthy men, truly obsessed with business, aim to influence the market and political landscape and for that they can accommodate to any scope. For them their real pride is profit making business, above anything else. Rod Ironsides is promoted as the general manager of the Sonder Ditch, the largest famous gold mine in Kitchenerville Fields, but in return he is asked to stick to blind obedience of his boss, Manfred Steyner. So far life has been tough for Rod, apparently after a pathetic divorce, nevertheless he has penchant for bar clubs and one-night stands. Yes, but the offer of Sonder Ditch is a lifetime opportunity for him. On the other hand, a behind-the-scene conspiracy is laid out to immolate the lives of thousands of miners. The killing of thousands of miners would pave way for Menfred’s personal profits. Manfred Steyner is mentally ill, thus, orders Rod and h...

"Once we buy this place, we’re committed once and for all to Austria. And that frightens me.” Thus, Christina Helmer voiced her forebodings when, one spring morning in 1923, she first viewed the great manor house and vineyards in the heart of the Vienna Woods. Her husband, General Kurt Helmer, confidently dismissed such fears, arranged for the house to be bought and named in Christina’s honour - the House of Christina. Thirteen years later, when Ben Haas’s powerful new story begins to unfold, Christina is dead but all she once feared has now become very much approaching. Adolf Hitler rules Germany and now threatens Austria. At the great house, the widowed general is looked after by his ravishing daughter Christa - who is a fantastic hostess to their many friends and visitors. Prominent among these are three suitors – an American novelist Lan Condon, and two Austrians, one a Jewish banker and other a rising Nazi. During the terrifying years that follow, these three v...

Piscine Molitor Patel, nicknamed as Pi because people find his name a bit lengthy and tough to pronounce, lives in Pondicherry with his family, who own a zoo. It is around 1970’s when the political situation of Pondicherry begins changing. Thus, his father comes out with an option of migrating to Canada and selling some of their animals in the North America. But at the same time, Pi is caught by the quest of religions, spirituality, and God. While speeding up his efforts, he seeks chances to meet people from different religions, and in a hope of finding a resolute answer he starts following religions like Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. The family boards the Japanese cargo ship with some of the animals. Midway their voyage, the ship falls in the grip of storm, Pi is little excited to see the storm, and hence he comes out at the dock of the ship. Next, he is thrown onto a lifeboat. The ship sinks down with no survivor except Pi – and to accompany him on the lifeboat are a...

The novel ‘The Godfather’ by Mario Puzo shot into fame immediately after it got published in 1969. It was a disruptive novel that profoundly revealed the underbelly of the American mafia world, and also set stage for many mafia novels and movies in Hollywood. The novel was soon made into a motion picture with an equal aplomb and finesse. The story is about Vito Corleone and his youngest son Michael. Well, most of the novel is based on Vito, his actions, and sweeps from Italy. Though the story remains in America for most of the time, but, at the same time, it keeps a sense of attachment with Italy. Mid way you will get to know that a silent, teenage boy has been pushed off to America from Sicily in the aftermath of his father’s murder. The boy eventually becomes ‘Vito’ Corleone – the Mafia, the Godfather of New York. Don says – a man can have only one destiny in his life. Thus, he defines seekers’ roles and acts as an element of protection for them. The plot has m...

Early One Morning by Robert Ryan is based on a true story. The timeline of the story goes back to the French Resistance, with the Second World War on. It is a wartime story. William Grover-Williams is a rich Englishman who sets himself free from the clutches of his parents and is next seen as chauffeuring William Orpen, a famous portrait artist. Here, he likes and falls for Eve Aubicq – the charming but little immature mistress of William Orpen. Being a motor racer, William Grover-Williams gets the acquaintanceship of Eve Aubicq and a story of clandestine romance gears up. Robert Benoist, who hails from France, is a competitive rival to William Grover in the European race circuits and also has crush on Eve Aubicq. But still, they both share a sense of admiration for each other and subtly reckon each other in the band of friendship. When Paris unwittingly falls in the grip of Germans, William Grover-Williams joins Special Operations Executive to work as an undercover age...

The First World War and the Russian revolution team up for Ken Follet's 'Fall of Giants'. Though it's a well-thought book, but features a lengthy set of characters, all equally complex yet captivating. During the events of WW-I and the Russian revolution, Follet shows how the lives of five families from different countries are on stake, and they all in their failed and successful attempts jostling for better means of life. In many ways, they are connected and heading for the same doom; and interestingly the cost and impact of the war on their lives and relationships is changing them. Orphaned Russian brothers (one crook and the other a revolutionary) are constantly vying against adverse and regimented circumstances during the war days, making them most-loved characters throughout the book. The book is prominent in depicting how the fates of people go gloomy from palace's chandeliers to murky mines. Thus, the book - Fall of Giants by ken Follet – clea...

A Conspiracy of Violence unfolds thrilling accounts of vile mystery in the aftermath of Restoration London, somewhere around 1662. Thomas Chaloner is a spy cum apparent male protagonist but probably not the lead protagonist as the book abounds with many important as well as insignificant characters. Soon after Cromwell is defeated and being out of the contest, new conspiracies against the new king begin taking place and so Thomas begins working for inconsistent bosses for his basic needs but as the events unfurl untowardly his obedience towards his reporting chiefs’ tumbles down. To an extent, Thomas being a top-class spy finds tough to understand who is true and whom to trust and where to report. Finally, his spying caliber nears a brink of extinction.   Strange enough, over-mingling of characters and events delay the exact clues for investigation. Therefore, many assumed Thomas isn’t a perfect spy – which he ought to be as per the readers’ expectations. The book is...