লাশতালাশ

by Anish Deb

A riveting medley of horror, crime and science fiction in 1 novel, 1 novelette and 18 stories that are bound to keep you at the edge of your seat, in true Anish Deb style!

305 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 18, 2018

About the author

Anish Deb (22 October 1951 – 28 April 2021) was an Indian Bengali writer and academic. He was noted for his writings in the science fiction and thriller genre. He received several literary awards including Vidyasagar Award in 2019.

Anish Deb was born in 1951 in Kolkata. He completed his B.Tech. (1974), M.Tech. (1976) and Ph.D. (Tech.) with 1 silver and 2 university gold medals in Applied Physics from the Rajabazar Science College campus of University of Calcutta.

Anish Deb started his writing career in 1968. He also edited a number of collections of popular fictions, novels and detective stories. Some of his notable writings are: Ghaser Sheesh Nei, Saper Chokh, Teerbiddho, Teish Ghanta Shat Minute, Hate Kalome Computer, Bignyaner Dashdiganto, Jibon Jokhon Phuriye Jay.

Reviews

[Supratim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book a collection of 18 short stories, a sci-fi novella and a mystery novel by the Indian author Anish Deb. He wrote in the Bengali language and was a prolific writer of thrillers, sci-fi, horror - mostly a bit pulp-fictionish. I had read and enjoyed his thrillers and horror novels before - in books and magazines. What I did not know about him was that he had a doctorate in applied physics and was a professor in the University of Calcutta. In addition to his regular genres, he had also written non-fiction books explaining science & technology for the masses. Sadly he passed away in April 2021 due to COVID.

The short stories cover multiple genres such as horror, crime, sci-fi and a few general fiction stories as well. Death and the dark aspects of the human psyche - suspicion, greed, meanness etc. form themes of the content. But a few stories show the beauty of life as well.

One story particularly stood out for me. It's about a little boy from Nepal. He hails from a very poor family, but he is so full of innocence, positivity and generosity. The story does a good job of portraying how scheming, manipulative and selfish human beings can be.

The mystery novel was about a murder investigation in a venom research facility. Decent if not brilliant. The rest of the stories irrespective of genres were sort of run-of-the-mill pulp fiction.

Overall an okay-ish read!

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

না, ১৮টা গল্প, একটি বড়োগল্প, এবং ১টি উপন্যাসের সবকটি আমার ভালো লাগেনি।
না, এদের মধ্যে এমন একটাও গল্প নেই যেমনটা আগে কখনও লেখা হয়নি।
হ্যাঁ, এদের মধ্যে বেশ কিছু গল্প আছে যাদের পড়ে মনে প্রশ্ন জাগে, জঁর ফিকশনের গ্র‍্যান্ডমাস্টার অনীশ দেব কেন এইসব ছাঁইপাশ লিখেছেন। তাঁর এই 'লাইন' থেকে আর কী পাওয়ার আছে যে তিনি এমন গল্প লিখেছেন?

কিন্তু তবু আমি এই সংকলনকে চারটি তারা দিলাম। কেন বলুন তো? কারণ লেখার মুনশিয়ানা আর ধারালো সংলাপের মিশ্রণে এই বই আমাকে ছুটিয়ে নিয়ে গেল প্রথম থেকে শেষ অবধি। আমি কার্যত এক সিটিং-এ (আদতে শোয়া ও বসার কম্বিনেশনে) বইটা শেষ করতে বাধ্য হলাম।
খুব উঁচু দরের, এবং শত সীমাবদ্ধতা নিয়েও অত্যন্ত আকর্ষণীয় লেখা না হলে, এটা হয় না।
পড়ার মতো সুমুদ্রিত ও সুশোভিত বই। সুযোগ পেলে অবশ্যই পড়ুন।