The Ulysses Pact by Karthik C
Publisher: Redgrab Books pvt ltd; www.Redgrabbooks.com
Pages: 136
Price: Rs. 200 INR(paperback), Rs. 99 INR(Kindle Edition)
ISBN: 978–9390944408
Buy here: https://amzn.to/3ngeA8E
My take on the book:
Yazdaan Abbas, a certified psychiatrist, plans an evil game with five of his patients, where they enter a Big brother style house. This twisted reality show is streamed on darknet with strangers betting on the happenings and lives of the house mates. Each of these five have dark secrets from their past which they are trying hard to bury and move on to a brighter future, unaware of the deadly game they are pulled into by their trusted doctor.
Yazdan plans to manipulate the house mates by throwing them in situations which would result in more despair and hopelessness, ultimately forcing them to end their lives. Will they be able to rise out of this abyss or will they become pawns in this fatal game forms the rest of the story.
The story starts with a bang as the doctor sets up his patients in this game without their knowledge. The author then starts introducing each of these five characters and their back story. All the five stories and their respective backdrops are different from one another. Of these five, few are convincing while others are too fictitious.
However, all of them highlight the pain and agony these five persons go through and how they finally assume that this therapy will be a life changing turn for them. The analogy with the Ulysses Pact and the relevance to the story is maintained well.
Since most of these stories as well as Yazdan’s own story deals with mental health issues and the fragility of human psyche, this book is for those who prefer dark thrillers. The actual happenings in the house with these five people does not live up to the story built up thus far. The author picks up a different story and theme but could not pack into a racy thriller.
The story thrills in part and falls flat at few places. The jargon related to darknet, and cyber-crimes mentioned at the beginning should have been included in an appendix for novice readers. Pick this one if you like to read psychological thrillers.
My rating:
3.5/5.