Invincika | A Sci-Fi By Varun Sayal | Book Review

Reading is to mind what exercise is to the body. We firmly believe in this proverb. Reading is one of the best ways to convey our thoughts, feelings, messages, almost anything we want to convey, effectively. When reading something interesting, our brain starts creating visual scenarios for us. It takes us deep into a virtual world. Anyway, what reality is, the stuff we are convinced that we are experiencing, right?

Probably, that is why, our ancestors started a tradition of documenting knowledge, wisdom tales, folklore, fables, code of conduct and others. And, thus we got scriptures and books. Through generations we found that it is the most effective way to pass-on and (partially) immortalize the memories. And, thus are the course-books introduced.

Arts are not limited to realities only. It is quite the opposite. They take us to zones where realities may not be able to! Possibly our quest to become the creator, being in command of the virtual world we create, makes us read and write fantasy fictions. And, when you try to imagine these virtualities on the bases of logic, known facts, drawn assumptions and possibilities; you are exploring Science-Fictions.

Based on this logic, we love exploring Sci-Fi books.

A few years ago, in our quest to find and explore books in this genre, we found a book that impressed us. It was a short story collection:

• Time Crawlers (Stories from Parallel Universes)

Reading this book was a really interesting experience and it affirmed that the author – Varun Sayal – is here to stay and deliver many gripping books. To know more about the author and his journey, you can visit our author interview with him. Here is a quick link:

• An Author Interview With Varun Sayal

Here are some of his other books, we got a chance to read.

• Demons of Time: Race to the 7th Sunset
• Devourers from Suryaksh: Race to the Last Eventuality (Time Travelers Book 2)
• Disciples of Trikaal: Prequel to Time Trvellers series
• Doomsday of Tamas: Race To The Second Apocalypse By Varun Sayal

So, when we came to know about his latest literary adventure, Invincika, we were curious to explore it. And, we got ARC from the author. Based on our experience of reading his previous book, I asked my team to break the long book review queue we have, and read it out of turn. It is like a cheat meal for bodybuilding following a strict diet regime. Fortunately, the team ThinkerViews had no objections.

Here are my views for Invincika. Of course, the views are unbiased, uninfluenced and objective, as always.

Book Cover:

Let us take a look at the cover page of this book, the gateway to the fictional story explored within.

Designing the cover page for a Sci-Fi is a challenge in itself. The cover page of “Invincika” shows the female protagonist flying in air, shooting laser beam from her eyes. They are her special powers. So, in terms of faithfulness to the title and story, the cover page is honest. It looks dull due to dark color scheme. If cheerful colors are used, it could have been eye catcher.

Storyline:

Let us take a bird’s eye view of the story.

Nature is much more versatile than we can imagine. Of course, we don’t know a lot about many species or their existence on the planet Earth. We also don’t know a lot of things about even modern humans – Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Especially about genetics. There are some special humans whose genes are different, making them possess some extraordinary powers. And remember, with greater power comes greater responsibility. These people, known as Sigma people, are both popular and unpopular among common folks.

Once upon a time, on planet earth, a pregnant lady was in her apartment, when she was attacked by someone. The lady was not ready to give up to the assailant who wanted to kill her. And, the lady was reluctant to save the child in her belly. So, she did something she was not allowed to do. But, to her surprise, something else also happened and…

In Swarna city, the capital city of Aryavart, Guru Saum is running a monastery. His disciples are Sigma at various stages. Guru Draksh is his competitor who held a different vision for managing things. Actually both of them were friends in their early days, but now there is no amiability among them.

Guru Saum is a gem of a person you can find rarely. While all the disciples respect him, for some, he was nothing less than a father. But, there are people, even among Sigmas, who decide to walk on the wrong path or cross the disciplinary lines. Naturally, they would be punished and even scolded out of the monastery. And, some of them hold a grudge against Guru Saum as well.

Ulka and Yagni are like sisters. Ulka is a Sigma, but her powers aren’t awakened yet. And, Yagni always comes to her side to save her. Mohita, has power to release a specific gas and make people mesmerized to do as she tell. She doesn’t leave a chance to embarrass (or torture) others. Ulka is one of her favorite targets.

After the death of King Ashtwin, his son Rukmin is ruling the kingdom now. King Rukmin is not the kind of ruler anyone wanted. For him, his people are his subjects and he is entitled to all the joys and pleasures only. His chief advisor Bakkash keeps him on the right path, most of the time.

Far away from planet Earth, there is a Magnetar which is moving dangerously towards our Solar system. The dangerous effects have already started being seen and felt. It is expected to pass from the outskirts of our Galaxy, but then also, it will be doom’s day for the Earth.
How are all these incidents related? We can assume that Guru Saum and his disciples will have to do their best to save the Planet, but will the unwise king co-operate with them? Will the enemies of Guru Saum try to take advantage of the situation by putting him in the line of fire? Will the Planet survive? …

Well, you need to read the book to get some answers (and some more questions 🙂 ).

And, over the course you will meet Ulka, Yagni, Guru Saum, Zobaan, Areeya, Bakkash, King Rukmin, Mohita, Stuti, King Ashtwin, Guru Draksh, Mirzuna, Manpreet, Raja Porush, Bargu, Queen Adhira, Shyama, Ditya, Nirgun, Aditi, Jogini, General Zegu, Vaayu, Chandra, Bahashoor, Xiao, Pallav, Mr. Jalraan, judge Oshma Davidson, Vivek, Sulelah, Petra, Tafiza, Captain Hamsa, Zifor, Nun-chuck Nandy, Triveni, Hutya, First Lieutenant Aarog, Kapaleek (an ancient necromancer), Yomi (the royal swordsmith) and others; in different roles (or just mentions).

Views and Reviews:

Spread over in 32 chapters, Invincika starts with an introduction to Homo Sigmus (Sigma Superhumans) in addition to that of Homo Sapiens. Varun also mentions Dr. Wilfred Mersh who identified this suppressed gene in 1968. While this fact (Sigma gene) is at the core of the story, the author clearly mentions that the book is not about Dr. Mersh or his research. And, when you explore the story, you find him right. The story is about good v/s evil. The way the story starts, progresses, and even ends (well, not exactly, the book ends – but the story doesn’t; reflects the traditional Indian way of storytelling. You must have noticed that all Indian epics and tales are about the Karma and its reflections. They are more about right and wrong. They are about the actions and reactions. They are not limited to just good v/s bad and then they live happily ever after. Such stories require better imagination and involvement of the author. And, I like this book from that perspective as well.

I must mention that editing by Kit Duncan is remarkable. Of course, at a few places you will find versions of phrases that are more American than British, but, there are no significant proof-reading errors in the story. For an ARC, it is definitely a worthy point.

The author is a nature lover and he believes in the qualities and limitations in a human objectively. He thus named his characters also that way. While the Bharatiya (that is Indian) philosophy is at the core, it is obvious to find Indian names in the book; you can also find names typically belonging to various religions, castes, ethnicities and more. This makes the book a global read and reflects the philosophy of || वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् || (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam).

The opening scene of the book (call it a prologue) is not referred to in the story throughout and you may start thinking that it is just a random incident. And, then, towards the end of the book, the author exposes an interesting link to that incident with a few of the interesting characters. If you are not very much into Indian literature and/or are heavily influenced with Harry Potter stories by J K Rowling, you may find a parallel between the relation of a trio. Even the characters of the friends from one of the protagonists, their behavior at monastery and other stuff will also can be drawn parallel to. Ultimately, it is upon your perspective. But, you will find the story interesting for sure.

I like the way Varun elaborates characters, regardless of their genders. In those aspects, the book is fantastically balanced. In fact, the female characters are at the core, both protagonists and antagonists. They are even more powerful than their mail counterparts. In fact, they run the biggest conspiracies and they save the world. They unleash the demons and they overpower them. Sometimes, the most powerful male characters in the book are lured in the plan by them. What I like even more is, despite having such strong female characters, there is no feminism lectures or no male bashing. There is not a single place where a character is thinking of the other in a positive or negative way due to his/her gender. The pseudo feminists need to explore such works to know, what gender-unbiased stuff looks like.

And yes, despite being superhumans or superheroes, they all have their limitations. One of the most powerful character is claustrophobic, one has the ability to control anyone’s mind, but doesn’t have the physical might. One is more focused on her individual career and don’t find herself suited to be a typical “mother”. One person is secured through a magical diamond, but he is not wise… These vulnerabilities make them more humane, more believable, and more real.

Let me quote some interesting stuff from the book, so you, yourself can judge it for its quality and decide whether it meets your reading preferences. Of course, despite my efforts to not to include any spoilers, expect some of them and proceed with the consent :).

The book starts with:

19^th May 1992 Planet Earth, in the seventh parallel universe (Septuous) A pregnant woman lay on her sofa wearing a loose blue shirt and dark pants. She was on the phone talking to the Emergency Responder Dispatch Unit (ERDU) while softly caressing her large belly.

See how simple, informative and detailed the starting block is. It also introduces you to the concept of metaverse and parallel universes without explicitly telling it. And the last chapter of the book talks about another parallel universe referring planet Earth there, and one of the metrocities from present day India :). It also gives you a hint that it will introduce you to various new abbreviations and acronyms over the course.

And you actually come across some interesting words like: magnetic chariot (or Magchar), Royal Security Corps (or the ROYSEC), Crocodile-Men (or Croc-men).

If you love exploring detail scenes, you will find some of them quite interesting:

She could feel the surroundings slowing down—the voice of the medical equipment, ceiling fan all faded in the background. The digital wall-clock showed 11:53:28. She quickly walked to the door, bolted it from the inside and started to change. When she was done changing, the clock still showed 11:53:28. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled again.
——- ——- ——- ——- ——-
She was donned in a bright red camisole with noodle straps, which was adorned with streaks of golden thread. Her dazzling fluffy skirt glistened in the ceiling lighting, and a solitaire pendant hung around her neck. Her hair was neatly tied at the back in a big bun which was studded with golden pins and red roses.

And if you love to-the-point elaborations, you will find the following lines interesting:

She gazed at the glass door, the wooden edge of which was tapping against the metal frame due to a soft gush of wind outside.
——- ——- ——- ——- ——-
Saum and Draksh shared a quick glance. They were friends once, but they had turned into arch-rivals over the years.

By the way, I like the powerful characters of Kapaleek and Mohita amongst others. Remember, the stronger the villain is, the mightier the hero appears! And, the author has turned some non-living things into important characters. For example: Quorlov diamond, Swarna – the capital city of Aryavart, and others.

The author is good at exploring the psyche and nature of the characters. Here are some interesting lines cementing the persona of the characters they are linked to.

“You Vikruids are an abomination. And I have pledged to rid this planet of all of you.”
——- ——- ——- ——- ——-
Ulka could see madness in his eyes, an uncontrolled desire to ruin a life and end it.
——- ——- ——- ——- ——-
“But you are not in my position. I am the only ruler here.” Rukmin was stern.”
——- ——- ——- ——- ——-
…but those words timed along with those tears had the desired impact.
——- ——- ——- ——- ——-
If you don’t like to hear the naked truth, my lord, then you can fire me as your advisor.

If you love sarcastic lines, you won’t be disappointed either:

Oh my God, my dear daughter. How did you come to think of your old man today? Let me check outside to see if the sun rose through the west today.

I found some interesting one liners and blocks reflecting important life lessons and/or advices:

A ruler is as good as his decisions.
——- ——- ——- ——- ——-
An arrow may carry something as powerful as a nuclear weapon, but if it does not hit the target, it’s a complete waste of the weapon.
——- ——- ——- ——- ——-
Those who believe themselves akin to Gods usually meet fates worse than humans do. So better keep this head of yours on the ground
——- ——- ——- ——- ——-
Being a superhero did not make her immune to trauma.
——- ——- ——- ——- ——-
Being superhuman is a lifelong effort.

The book has inspirational lines like:

A desire to test the limits of her capabilities was germinating inside her. The cosmos was a large uncharted territory, waiting to be explored.

And, they also carry logical explanations, where needed.

You are a high Sig three. Focus your mind on your ability. Let your pituitary gland do its job. Your Sigma gene is activated.

I am struggling hard to avoid quoting this character defining line, but, let’s have it 🙂

They’re calling you Ulka, the Invincika.

In superhero fiction, if a common-man’s day-to-day problem / dilemma is not mentioned; it may not appeal to him/her right?

…the royal entourage of seven armored cars and twenty motorbikes was visible at a distance. It used to be a fun activity to view as a child; now it was just a nuisance.

This also reflects how our perspectives are changed with the experiences of life.

If the glossary could have been added to the book, it would have been even better. Some lines are not coming properly formatted (in Kindle edition – ARC), like:

Feni ‘s hand was shaking, and his forehead

(There is a significant gap between “Feni” and “‘s”).
But, when exploring an interesting story, you are not going to mind it :).

Summary:

Overall, an interestingly written story with strong characters and logically backed elaborative imagination. I liked reading it. If you love exploring Sci-Fi books, it is a recommended read.

ThinkerViews Rating:

Around 8.5 stars out of 10.

Quick Purchase Links:

• Buy - Invincika by Varun Sayal - Kindle EBook - Amazon IN
• Buy - Invincika by Varun Sayal - Kindle EBook - Amazon US

Over To You:

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