Zero Percentile—2.0: Missed IIT Kissed Gurgaon

Zero Percentile #2.0

by Neeraj Chhibba

Life is fun only till it is simple And, the ambition of being the biggest software company in the world can never be simple.

The lines of destiny tell the story of a torn-between-two-friends Priya; an afflicted-with-HIV Nitin and his struggle to not fall in love; a doting father and technologist Arjun; Diyaa, Arjun s brilliant daughter with special needs; San, his love for the Babe, the most ambitious software product in the country, and Jaanvee; and the two best friends Motu and Pankaj.

Pankaj and Motu start a small software company called Numero Soft. Surrounded by friends Nitin, Priya and Arjun they never thought work was going to be difficult. Fortunes changed when a chance break took them to America the land of golden opportunities. An overpowering desire to conquer the world, coupled with the hunger of doing it at any cost makes life hell. Ideologies clash and ultimately the friendship breaks apart.

A story of greed, love, friendship, conspiracy, an attempt to murder and a hostile takeover bid which ends in a pulsating climax after seven days of bitter fight for control.

Genres: Fiction

257 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2011

Reviews

[Bhargavi Balachandran · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had reviewed Neeraj's first book and had found it racy and perfect Bollywood material. ZP(2) is the sequel to ZP(1) and chronicles the lives of the Pankaj, Motu ,Priya and their friends( Nitin, Arjun, Jaanvee and San).

The book starts with snapshots of the lives of the main characters (all except Pankaj) in 2006, who found a software company called PureConsultants . The company is developing a product called Babe ,which is touted to be a game-changer that will catapult the company into the big league. Each individual in the management has a different problem to grapple with – Nitin is afflicted with HIV and has money problems ; Arjun’s daughter is special and has to deal with problems on his marriage front; Jaanvee is not sure of her feelings San , and Motu and Priya have their own issues . The author takes us through the problems of each individual elaborately. The first 100-odd pages are a sure damper in terms of pace of the book. I was left wondering what the point was of going into excruciating details of problems some of them faced. Also I thought the issue with Nitin and how he gets ostracized and slammed on news channels because he is afflicted with HIV was just over the top. Nothing much happens during this period, but one knows something has gone wrong because of the absence of Pankaj from the narrative.

Then, the narrative flits back to 1998 and chronicles the events that lead up to the formation of PureConsulants. The pace starts picking up at this point and we get to know why Pankaj was missing from the first part. We also get to know that Pankaj was one of the co-founders of the company Numerosoft and then something goes wrong to changes the equation between friends and causes PureConsultants to be born.
The third part of the story starts in November 2008 and PureConsultants goes through an adrenaline-filled hostile takeover bid. Will Motu and his loyalists manage to fight off the takeover bid or will they succumb to the machinations of their secret enemy ? Umm.. You’ll need to read the book to figure that out.

Narrative-wise the last part is the most exciting as Neeraj gives a day-wise countdown to the prospective takeover. The writing is choppy and a labored ( especially the first part). The ending also seemed a little too melodramatic and predictable.There are lots of references to the first part and it might make sense for people to read ZP(1) to understand all the dynamics at work.What works the best for the book is the pace and the fact that its a breezy read. Neeraj also explains the workings of a software company, and that makes for interesting reading. That said, I certainly liked ZP(1) better than this one.

Overall, an ok read.

PS: This is an author-requested review.

Cross-posted on Bedazzledeternally.blogspot.com

[Felicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this book through a giveaway by good reads but that will not affect my opinion on it.

RATING: 2 and a half

The book is way better than its prequel and is well organised with a fine plot.Most of the main leads are from the prequel but new entrants like Jaanvee and San are well drawn too.
The last hundred pages are the best part of it and one just can't put the book down at that time .
All-in-all its a light nice read.

[Poonam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aha, I added a review on blog - http://alchemistpoonam.wordpress.com/...

I had already reviewed its prequel on my blog before.

[Soumi Sarkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was way better than the first book. and in Indian young adult writing, i think this book deserves a higher place than chetan bhagat or durjoy dutta's books. this books reflects the technical knowledge of the writer, and though i understand almost zero percent (pun unintended) of these technical bugs and gadgets and everything, the descriptions were so good and explained with details that i never felt left out.

[Geetika · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok.
The plot kicked up sometimes. But sometimes it felt like "What am I reading?" One of my problems with this book was that the author wanted to say that people with special needs have to try and adjust to the society. They need to discard their support tools and pretend to walk and behave like society wants them too.
The ending was really, really horrible. It washed away all the good work.
The author could've improved the book.

[Faizan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good.
However, the ending is cliche.
The whole book is cliche, but the trope could be good.
.
So I enjoy it?
yeah.. it was a time pass.
It is a lockdown, and I don;t have much books with me.

[Amit Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pankaj’s ambition gets the better of him; Priya is torn between her two friends; Motu is struggling to save his company from a hostile takeover; Arjun is left alone to support his daughter, a child with special needs; and Nitin can’t allow himself to fall in love as he is afflicted with HIV ... Zero Percentile–2.0 is the story of Pankaj and Motu who begin their foray into the software world with a small company called NumeroSoft. Surrounded by friends, Nitin, Priya and Arjun, they have pinned their hopes on the Babe – the software they are developing. As Pankaj’s desire to conquer the world clashes with their ethics, their friendship falls apart and they leave the company to start a new software enterprise. Once friends, now fierce competitors, the stakes are enormously high for them. What will it cost them? Will they ever get back together? A tale of greed, love, friendship and conspiracy which ends in a pulsating climax after seven days of bitter fight for control.

It is always difficult to follow up on a well-written, engaging book and ZP2.0, sequel to Zero percentile might have just pulled it off if it was not trying too hard to cram it everything. Apart from awkward sentences cases and non-seamless narrative, the book entwines in so much that at times, you have to stop to check on the flow of events. Pacing has never been a problem in Chhibba's books, but it is the lack of detailing and logical loopholes which hurt the final product this time.

Each character comes with its own set of rules and problems, more complex than others. It helps that most of these are regular situations with which one can identify and the book has a good heart which we all want to see somewhere in ourselves. The narrative is punctuated by flesh and blood characters with whom you can identify and it is brave on the author's part not to show any prejudices. I particularly enjoyed the portions of Arjun's daughter, which are written with a deft touch and a rare maturity when it comes to writing about the specially challenged children.

The second section of the book, however, was too long for me, and provides a convenient back-story to justify each characters eccentricities. The cross-connecting of various stories is a tad confusing and the amalgamation of sub-plots with the main story left a lot to be desired. I personally felt the brouhaha over Nitin's AIDS campaign over-the-top mainly because it is set in IT industry where you would expect the intellectual level of people working to be of an optimum level.

I am going with generous (2.5+0.5)=3/5 for Neeraj Chhibba's ZP2.0. It is more complex, but less engaging than its prequel. More focus should have been on exploring relationships and less on number of relationships. It might just have worked much better in that form. Read it if you are a fan of racy metro reads.

[Smita Beohar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sequel to Zero Percentile Missed IIT Kissed Russia, this book is the story of Motu, Pankaj, Priya, Arjun & Nitin each fighting a battle within. Motu is trying to save his company from an eminent hostile takeover. For him this company is his bread, butter, heart & soul and he leave no stone unturned to save it. But what is disturbing him is the fact that it might be Pankaj who is behind the takeover. Priya works with Motu but is in love with Pankaj. She is torn between her two best friends, whom will she chose. Arjun is a single father bringing up a special child. His wife had left them when she realised that she had given birth to a daughter who was not perfect. Nitin is fighting the battle of AIDS and the stigma associated with it. Pankaj is a changed man, betrayal by people whom he had trusted the most makes him a ruthless man. For him it is money which matters the most. These 5 parallel but interconnected stories form Zero Percentile 2.0, partly written in flashback the book takes us through the lives of the each character and how they build up a software firm merely on the basis of their talent, hard work & perseverance and how few mistakes unravels the finely built partnership. How they build back the burnt bridges forms the crux of the book. My Verdict This book is a sequel to Zero Percentile and takes forward the story of Pankaj, Motu & Priya. The first book had the advantage of a new setting, Russia and this book shows us the time when software industry had just begin to thrive and
there were success stories all around. This itself is a novelty according to me and sets the book apart. The book begins slowly and makes you wonder about the lingering past which is discussed continuously but not revealed until later. As soon as the past begins to unravel the book catches a pace and becomes a fast paced roller coaster ride. The grudge that I have with this book is that it tries to pack in too many issues. Fighting the stigma against AIDS, issues faced by parents (single parents) while seeking admission for a special child in a school, the 26/11 saga, it has all and mind you these are just side stories and have been dealt with very quickly which makes you feel that they have been wrapped up too quickly and given easy solutions. But all that doesn’t take the fact away from the book that it is immensely readable and the plot keeps you glued in about what will happen next. A fast paced book about ambitions, friendship, love & life that is how I will sum up this book. Go grab a copy and am sure you will finish it one sitting.

[Aletha Tavares · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fast pace book that takes you thru all the twists and turns of present day corporate scenarios. Written simply but not earth moving. Problem is I had just finished reading Night Train to Lisbon and that put me in a different plane of thought. So i just concluded that some books are authored and some books are written, and Zero Percentile falls in the latter category. Reason being that it just expresses one thought - an interplay of characters. Writers of today keep it short and racy. But with books like Night Train to Lisbon, the depths of a character are explored, you live that person, and the character stays with you for long- so yes I don't want to even make a comparison here, as it would be sacrilege. So as not to sound over critical, but I wish our new crop of Indian writers grow out of college experiences, and sit down to exploring the human being in an Indian setting much more. I hate seeing wastage of paper.

Catchy name, but this book Zero percentile does not leave you lasting images. It is a light read, written fairly well and the knots all unravel and tie up well at the end. It will do well for those who don't read and would like to start reading about environments they are familiar with and know, rather than travel with an author across continents into cultures unknown and unfamiliar.

When I read a book I would like to learn something new about people, cultures, places, and even words and the use of phrases that express inner thots in a way that you would put down the book and think about that phrase a bit, mull it over in mind. So Zero percentile falls short on all these counts. It does lack depth in exploring the characters and even the places which could have helped bring out the place setting in a more richer way and the changing culture that affects relationships.

[Nidhi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Story -

It’s about four people who are or were friends and the twists and turns in their lives that take place. The setting of the story has an IT context and the race to launch a product that will change the dynamics of the Pharma Industry. Motu, the co-founder of NumeroSoft and his team of friends who are also his collegues at work come together to fight the plot against a hostile takeover of the company and thwart any attempts to sabotage their unique product which they have named as ‘Babe’.

A parallel thread about the personal challenges of each of these characters is also woven into the story – be it Arun’s marriage issues and struggle with the acceptance of his ‘special’ daughter, Nitin’s fight against AIDS, Jhaanvi’s battle against her past ghosts that has forever prejudiced her mind against men.

The book is like a typical Bollywood masala movie. It has all the ingredients to make it a blockbuster – there is love, revenge, death – all the spicy stuff. So if you like this genre then the book is for you. The story is fast paced and has enough characters with their convoluted sub-stories to keep you going. As I am from an IT background, I had to no issues in having empathy for the IT issues that the characters in the story faced – so this aspect of the story should find resonance within the readers of the IT group.

[Apurva Mehta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book from someone, and completed in a record break time(for my self) of 2 days. As i don't want to waste my more time on this book. I don't know it's good or bad thing about this book. Neither i could liked it nor i could ignore it. I never felt bored, but at the same time i never enjoyed it.
It's having so so much pace that story is rolling faster than our breathing rate.
I just like to mention that some books are authored and some books are written, and Zero Percentile falls in the latter category. Reason being that it just expresses one thought - an interplay of characters. This is like a typical Bollywood malsala movie, created just for enjoyment. You can't gain anything from it.When I read a book I would like to learn something new about people, cultures, places, and even words and the use of phrases that express inner thoughts in a way that you would put down the book and think about that phrase a bit, mull it over in mind. So Zero percentile falls short on all these counts. It does lack depth in exploring the characters and even the places which could have helped bring out the place setting in a more richer way and the changing culture that affects relationships.
Your life won't have any change either you read it or not!!!

[Komal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really want to believe that it is a book, and not a bollywood chick, only that it ended part happy, part sad.

This book is a sequel to ZP(1) 'Missed IIT Kissed Russia', which I haven't read, but didn't feel anything missing from the story. ZP (2) is about the tidal current from the life of few friends, Motu, Priya, Pankaj, Nitin, Janvee, who come together to form a small IT company, taste success, drift apart for differing moral values, and join again in the name of friendship. The part 2 of the book really made me glued to it, but the last hundred pages seemed to drag a bit, where every possible calamity falling upon these 5 friends, ends in calm.

Overall can be called a light read for a lazy holiday.

[Sharang Limaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chhiba firmly belongs to the new breed of Indian writers who feel the only quality required to be an author is to be able to write grammatically correct English. He sets out to write a sequel to his 'best-selling' debut novel and completely forgets there may be readers who may not have read the first book. So, one wades through large portions of ZP2 with very little making sense. Also, the various tracks in the novel seem to be proceeding on different planets. While years pass away for some characters, others seem to have only got through a few days in the same time period. Even schoolkids wouldn't make such mistakes. Chhiba would do well to stick to his corporate job and leave fiction writing to more capable people.

[Samir Dhond · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had read Neeraj's earlier book. I had written an elaborate review of the book but this one simply disappointed me. I found it extremely boring and repetitive. Neeraj had written to me about the release of this book. I remember buying it as well but I am afraid, this book totally disappointed me. It has things that seem to have been written for some special effect. I had to push myself to read this book.

Please void reading it if you can. Cannot write a detailed review of this book

[Krishna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Neeraj for giving this book to me via giveaway. This is a small book completed reading it in three shots. It was mentioned as this book is the second installment to Zero Percentile 1.0. But there was not much I missed as I haven't read the first installment. This story is about friendship, love, betrayal, hardheadedness, good and bad way of doing business. The book is written very lucidly, narration is quite ok.

[William Moses Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating of this book is slightly biased because I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. The first book, ZP1, had an interesting story, but the language was just alright. This book on the other hand had a very good story, intertwining plot-lines, well developed characters and the language was very good. I'm quite happy I had a chance to read this. Am looking forward to any new books by this author.

[Somyajeet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much much better work than the last book. The mixing up of the story in between older and newer characters before new background is superb.

There are just two points that stood out negative to me. One, the death of main character Priya just with a lame excuse of love triangle. Don't you think your readers will miss this character in your future works? Second point is the totally weak epilogue.

[Sundeep Supertramp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Won a free copy of this book on goodreads.com...

First one was better..

This is mostly about software firms, codings and all, which mostly I didnt understand.

[Vikranth · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a very good book. much better than the previous. the author takes us to the world of IT and explores human relations very well. the third part was very thrilling

[Kishor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say this, but you need to work on your grammar. A lot. And frankly speaking, I don't see what sets this book apart from the multitude of Indian fiction.

[Kanika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Later half of the story was dramatic, could easily pass for a bollywood flick.
A decent read.

[Ronak Jain · Rating 1 out of 5]

worst

[Imrankhan]

Light reading book with corporate theme, but underlying moral values of sincerity,hardwork and unity is rewarded.