GULDAAR

by Stephen Alter

A shadowy warlord known only as Guldaar has built an empire based on drug-running, arms-dealing and cold-blooded murder across South Asia. A deadly puppet-master, he plays tribal factions and sovereign nations off each other and acts as a double agent for the CIA and ISI. Now, with his increasing influence across military and political circles, he’s threatening to destabilize the entire nuclear-armed region.
With Guldaar’s imminent arrival in India to seal a major weapons deal, Colonel Imtiaz Afridi is presented with the perfect opportunity to finally nab the most dangerous man in the world. He enlists the help of Manav Shinde, associate director of RAW, special agent Anna Tagore and undercover agents from the NSA and ISI. Their sole aim is to capture Guldaar: dead or alive.
Meanwhile, when an American journalist, Luke McKenzie, comes too close to the inner workings of Guldaar’s empire, he is kidnapped and traded to the warlord as a hostage. As Afridi closes in, Luke will become a critical bargaining chip in Guldaar’s ruthless battle for survival.
Written in impeccable prose and displaying a deep knowledge of the natural and political landscape of South Asia, Guldaar: Warlord of the Hindu Kush is a heart-stopping tale of espionage.

352 pages, Paperback

Published July 4, 2017

About the author

STEPHEN ALTER is the son of American missionaries to the Himalayas, and was raised in India. The author of seven books for adults, he is the former Writer-in-Residence at MIT, and a recipient of a Fulbright grant. He currently lives in India with his wife, where he is researching his newest book for adults—a behind the scenes look at the world of Bollywood.

Reviews

[Vikas Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book by Stephen Alter which has ace Indian spymaster Colonel Imtiaz Afridi who operates out of his super secret location of Himalayan Research institute in Mussoorie. This time the action shifts to Afghanistan, Pakistan and US with India-Pakistan nuclear tension forming the background. The beg. The beginning is racy and sets the pace for intrigue and passion to come into play. The story builds at a frenzied pace towards the climax which is a dud. After all the excitement and action, the end is a huge let down. An average read because of the poor ending.

[Aravind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guldaar is a powerful, ruthless and almost mythically elusive warlord controlling all activities that keep South Asia in a state of turmoil while continuing to make him richer and mightier. Ageing Colonel Imtiaz Afridi of the Indian intelligence, after years of obsession with capturing Guldaar, at last gets the opportunity of a lifetime to identify, and neutralize, the warlord.
Stephen Alter has infused this cat and mouse tale with authentic descriptions of the places where the chase plays out - from the rugged Hindu Kush mountains to the monuments of Delhi, and the politics of the region involved, making it a compelling read. The lead characters are well developed and attract the reader's interest into what happens to them. The action is finely paced, making the pages turn swiftly.
But, all these positives are nullified by the ending, which feels terribly rushed. After building up the plot beautifully, with all the right ingredients in right measures, Alter, for unfathomable reasons, ends it all quite abruptly. He could have made it a great espionage thriller with just a few more pages but, sadly, it stays a notch below that mark. I enjoyed it a lot until the disappointing finish and would rate it 3.5 out of 5.