Portraits of Power: Half a Century of Being at Ringside
N.K. Singh
Rupa Publications, Rs 595
N.K. Singh has been a formidable civil servant, an empathetic politician, a keen chronicler of India’s socio-economic history and the quintessential academic that academia never got. His life’s work, as chronicled in this book has indeed been intertwined with the progress India has made. In many such cases, Singh has been not just an active contributor but has also given shape to those many momentous decisions—whether through the use of diplomacy or the rigours of understanding the mechanism of the levers of power or, for that matter, by consensus building. From personal happenings to national movements, ‘Portraits of Power’ covers it all.
Unrestricted Access: New and Classic Short Fiction
James Rollins
HarperCollins, Rs 2000
In this collection of short fiction, James Rollins’s first-ever anthology, he brings together 12 thrilling stories that dig a little deeper into his creative stomping grounds and open vistas into new landscapes and characters. At the centre of this book is the never-before-published novella Sun Dogs. Other stories, each with an introduction by James Rollins, offer broader insight into this acclaimed author’s fictional universes including: The Pit, Tagger, The Devil’s Bones, The Midnight Watch, The Skeleton Key, Kowalski’s in Love, Blood Brothers and City of Screams. ‘Unrestricted Access’ is filled with adventure, intrigue, history, and speculative science.
The Illustrated Child
Polly Crosby
HarperCollins, Rs 1200
Romilly lives in a ramshackle house with her eccentric artist father and her cat, Monty. When her father finds fame with a series of children’s books starring her as the lead, everything changes: exotic foods appear on the table, her father appears on TV, and strangers appear at their door, convinced the books contain a treasure hunt leading to a glittering prize. As time passes, her father becomes increasingly suspicious of everything around him, until he begins to disappear altogether. Romilly turns to the secrets her father has hidden in his illustrated books, realising that there is something far darker and more devastating locked within the pages.
Right Under Your Nose
R.Giridharan
Rupa, Rs 295
Superintendent Vijay falls prey to the machinations of his rivals in the force and is transferred to the traffic department from crime. He finds solace in a stimulating friendship with a lovely freelance journalist, Padmini. A slick murderer eliminates scientists right under the nose of the police and leaves forensics baffled. Tensions rise as the whole country watches the massacre of the entire team of inventors with shock and awe. In response, the Chief Minister calls upon Vijay, who is given an impossible deadline to solve the case before Parliament resumes in a week. Vijay’s skills as a detective along with Padmini’s creative intuition and imagination are pitted against a genius who eliminates every possible lead.
