The Alpha Yeti — by SUM
Publisher: Authorhouse UK
Pages: 228
Price: Rs. 175 INR(Paperback)
ISBN: 978–1546292081
Buy here: https://amzn.to/2YE1wKm
Every tribal land has its own tribulations and the Kasis were way beyond any hope or help, for what they were undergoing was terrifyingly unspeakable. It wasnt any myth or taboo. This one was true. The One God was as real as the White Giants. But, all the suffering and trepidation came from the impossibly aggressive Grey Giants. They were a deformity: a fallen imprecation on the Kasis. Somehow, a sensible Bhirendi, the elderly last of the Kasis, addresses the tragedy and rushes his people into the underground chambers of Ravaial before they are forced to face the wrath of the monstrosities that lately have begun to roll down from the White Mountain. With the situation only getting worse by the moment, the tribes hire a pack of ace hunters from the West. But, one of them freaks out and abducts the daughter of an estranged but once-upon-a-time famous hunter to only earn his ire. The hunters are drawn together into a strangely unwelcome land of doom with their fates sealed under the White Mountain. They soon realise that time is all they have left in the entire world when the Grey Giants begin their vicious play. SUM brings to you, The Alpha Yeti!
About the author:
SUM possesses all the humanely humorous emotions that any normal human would, despite sometimes living in the countryside, sometimes in the cities; sometimes in an enjoyable fugue state or at times in some multidimensional surreality of fantasy and fallacy.
SUM is a believer: a believer in the art of true reading and this belief states that good books attract good readers. SUM’s daily activities normally include, writing, writing, writing and if possible, more writing; less sleeping, nevertheless the last one, still being an omittable act.
My take on this book:
Yeti had been folklore from time immemorial about a mysterious beast believed to be found in the Himalayas. The Alpha Yeti is a story dedicated to this folklore and is about a pack of Yetis whose unexpected invasion changes lives of people in the mountains. While there are a set of white Yetis who are not aggressive towards humans, the grey Yeti or the Alpha Yeti is the one who wreaks havoc on tribal villages and people exploring these mountains.
There is a village head, a saint, set of hunting enthusiasts, a family unexpectedly pulled into the middle of this fight with the Yetis. The hunters try to get hold of ancient inscriptions to know how to kill or weaken the Alpha Yeti. The rest of the story is about how the hunters try to overpower and end the Yeti and if facing the Yeti is as easy as it sounds, if this is the end of all sorrows of the tribals.
The story theme is very unique as Yeti had been folklore but never explored much as backdrop for a story. Picking such a theme and weaving a story itself is challenging and it was a brave decision by the author to pick this as a debut story. However, the story takes a very long time to get into the actual narration as almost all of the first half is about establishing the premise and the characters. This half requires some patience from the reader before the actual story takes off.
The language used by the author is also different and interesting but the vivid description of each scene, especially the fight with the Yeti gets tedious at places. A faster first half and simpler, deft narration in parts and better editing could have done wonders to the book.
Pick this one for a very unique theme and to read a thrilling fiction account of the mysterious Yetis. This one is a promising debut and hoping to see more unique stories in the future.
My rating:
3/5.