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Daredreamers: A Start-up of Superheroes — by Karthik Sharma, Ravi Nirmal Sharma

Publisher: Rupa Publications India

Pages: 296

Price: Rs. 250 INR(Paperback), Rs. 62 INR(Kindle Edition)

ISBN: 978–9353040871

Buy here: https://amzn.to/2JVcd62

India’s first start-up of superheroes with a mission of saving lives is here to kick ass. Rasiq is riding the highs of life thanks to his successes as an investment banker. But his arrogance soon gets the better of him and he ends up losing everything he holds dear. Managing to salvage only his grit from the wreckage, Rasiq reboots his life and teams up with five uniquely talented superheroes to start a rescue venture DareDreamers. These superheroes Nick: a crazy inventor; Halka: an inhumanly strong man; Arjun: a champion shooter; Natasha: a Bollywood stunt-double; Dr. Vyom, a medical Sherlock Holmes; and, of course, Rasiq: the mastermind combine their unique talents to deliver spectacular rescue operations. Their skyrocketing success, however, comes at a price an enemy hell bent on tearing down their fame and reputation.Will DareDreamers defeat its wily adversary? Or will it become yet another failed start-up?Treachery, action and adventure come alive to make DareDreamers a page-turner.

About the author:

Kartik Sharma is an alum of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, who pursues his passion for writing while working as a public health professional. He leads the difficult life of an optimist. Kartik’s father Ravi ‘Nirmal’ Sharma is an alum of Delhi College of Engineering. After being a serial entrepreneur for more than two decades, he now works as a creative conceptualizer. The duo is Delhi-based.

My take on the book:

Rasiq is just out of B-school and already has a job as an investment banker that a lot of other Grads would die for. While the money is good and Rasiq reaches a point where he is not sure how to even splurge his savings, he soon realises his heart is not in this job. The unending work hours and the corporate slavery expected by his bosses, makes him rethink his professional choices.

Setting up his own startup was the next logical step along with other superheros and rightly naming it DareDreamers. DareDreamers is one of its kind startup and with Rasiq and team giving their heart and soul, unprecedented success and fame follows pretty quickly. But every success that comes quickly also comes with its own set of challenges. How Rasiq and team manage to overcome these challenges through sheer grit and commitment forms rest of the story.

Rasiq, Nick, Arjun, Vyom, Halka, Natasha, Asylum, all the superheros of DareDreamers have their own unique talent and remotely remind heros from Indian mythology. Their talents are appropriately showcased during the rescue operations, giving credibility to their presence in this team.

I have read the first book of the author duo that came 7 years ago and it has been a personal favorite ever since. That was the major reason to pick this one as this was coming from the same writers after a very long gap. While the first one was a modern and practical take on spirituality, their second is a marvelous story of how ordinary individuals use their talents to tackle extraordinary situations.

The book is divided into three parts with first part dedicated to Rasiq’s life before DareDreamers happened, second part about this new journey and third on how the team handles their personal and professional challenges. The writing is amazing so are the situations created for showcasing DareDreamers rise to fame. For those who always wished to have a Indian version of Marvel and DC comics, DareDreamers is the perfect answer.

One of the best reads in recent times, this is a must read book for the sheer thrill and dare devil action sequences the dreamers team executes. The adrenaline rush in the pages cannot be missed. The story also stays true to the context without deviating. At the end of the book, I hope there are more books as a series with Rasiq and team taking up more challenges.

My rating:

5/5.