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The Brightest Fell
When nations are on the brink of war, to be innocent is not enough...
Fifteen years ago, Jehan Fasih designed a drug that could curb the instinct for violence (and rob the taker of their free will). Fifteen minutes ago, someone blew up the metro station to get their hands on his brainchild.
Jehan must make a decision, and time is running out.
Abhijat Shian and his sister, Rito, lost their jobs, and their family's reputation, over the course of a single week.
The reason? Their father's trusted protégé, Jehan Fasih, betrayed him and embroiled their family in one of the biggest corruption scandals the country has ever known.
The Shian siblings' quest for revenge soon turns into a murky web of confusing motives and divided loyalties.
Is Fasih a genius or a madman? Is their father truly innocent or is there a trail of deceit and betrayal within the hallways of their childhood home?
Set in the fictional country of Naijan, The Brightest Fell is a gripping tale of loyalty, treason, corruption, patriotism, and political intrigue.
Fifteen years ago, Jehan Fasih designed a drug that could curb the instinct for violence (and rob the taker of their free will). Fifteen minutes ago, someone blew up the metro station to get their hands on his brainchild.
Jehan must make a decision, and time is running out.
Abhijat Shian and his sister, Rito, lost their jobs, and their family's reputation, over the course of a single week.
The reason? Their father's trusted protégé, Jehan Fasih, betrayed him and embroiled their family in one of the biggest corruption scandals the country has ever known.
The Shian siblings' quest for revenge soon turns into a murky web of confusing motives and divided loyalties.
Is Fasih a genius or a madman? Is their father truly innocent or is there a trail of deceit and betrayal within the hallways of their childhood home?
Set in the fictional country of Naijan, The Brightest Fell is a gripping tale of loyalty, treason, corruption, patriotism, and political intrigue.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2019
4 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Nupur Chowdhury
5 books94 followersNupur Chowdhury is the author of The Aeriel Chronicles and The Brightest Trilogy. Apart from novels, she enjoys writing poetry and the occasional short story. She was four when she started writing. Now, over 20 years later, it’s more an addiction than a hobby.
Nupur likes coffee, street food, fanfiction, and sleep. She dislikes yogurt, slow internet, unnecessary cliffhangers, and being woken up in the morning.
You can find her on Wattpad, Facebook, and Amazon. And if you can’t, it’s probably because she’s busy sleeping.
For the latest bookish news, offers, and updates, you can join her mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/gHkO2j
Nupur likes coffee, street food, fanfiction, and sleep. She dislikes yogurt, slow internet, unnecessary cliffhangers, and being woken up in the morning.
You can find her on Wattpad, Facebook, and Amazon. And if you can’t, it’s probably because she’s busy sleeping.
For the latest bookish news, offers, and updates, you can join her mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/gHkO2j
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
November 18, 2019
3.75 stars
*********** Book provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. ************
A new book, very well written, with interesting ideas. I gave it 3.75 stars because I was not totally captivated, as happened with the author's previous book. If you read the book: A Flight of Broken Wings you will see the difference.
Nupur is an author with huge potential and I am honored every time I read a book written by her.
The characters are very well defined, the action at a fast pace, the relationship dynamic between the characters ideal.
Thank you Nupur for trusting me with your work
*********** Book provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. ************
A new book, very well written, with interesting ideas. I gave it 3.75 stars because I was not totally captivated, as happened with the author's previous book. If you read the book: A Flight of Broken Wings you will see the difference.
Nupur is an author with huge potential and I am honored every time I read a book written by her.
The characters are very well defined, the action at a fast pace, the relationship dynamic between the characters ideal.
Thank you Nupur for trusting me with your work
Read
March 6, 2020First and foremost, a large thank you to Nupur Chowdhury for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
I was approached by the author, who commented on my past reviews and large online friend base, to read and review this book. She talked me up with a spin of political intrigue and a dash of fantasy, hoping that it would pull me in. While Nupur Chowdhury offers both of these elements, I could not get interested in the book, giving it two tries on consecutive days. While I can see much potential here and some decent narrative work, alongside strong dialogue, I was not captivated. A country at war with terrorists holds some serum or injectable item that could make them docile. The country’s government ministers are torn about it, which causes a chasm like no other. Sure, it sounds as though it could be a blockbuster, but it fell flat for me. As I did not finish, I will respect the author and the publication, leaving a star rating blank.
Kudos, Madam Chowdhury, for taking the time to write this and search me out. I may be the odd reader in the mix who could not get hooked, but I prefer honesty rather than false platitudes.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
I was approached by the author, who commented on my past reviews and large online friend base, to read and review this book. She talked me up with a spin of political intrigue and a dash of fantasy, hoping that it would pull me in. While Nupur Chowdhury offers both of these elements, I could not get interested in the book, giving it two tries on consecutive days. While I can see much potential here and some decent narrative work, alongside strong dialogue, I was not captivated. A country at war with terrorists holds some serum or injectable item that could make them docile. The country’s government ministers are torn about it, which causes a chasm like no other. Sure, it sounds as though it could be a blockbuster, but it fell flat for me. As I did not finish, I will respect the author and the publication, leaving a star rating blank.
Kudos, Madam Chowdhury, for taking the time to write this and search me out. I may be the odd reader in the mix who could not get hooked, but I prefer honesty rather than false platitudes.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
April 25, 2020
“I see your history of terrible ideas is long and glorious.”
― Nupur Chowdhury, The Brightest Fell
I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Brightest Fell, by Nupar Chowdhury is a fast paced and compelling story about a Fictional Country called Naijan in which a scientist, by the name of Jehan, has developed a new Drug.
The drug is supposed to stem violence in individuals and make people more sedate, (as well as robbing them of free will). However, that was years ago and it has not been used yet.
When a terrorist attack occurs, the Government orders the drug be given to people at once.
That is a short plot description but there is so much more involved in this story. I found the book to be a whirlwind of Politics, corruption and guessing games. It combines many of my favorite genres. Mystery, Political thriller, Dystopian. It was much fun to read.
This book is a bit on the long side, so I would recommend starting it when you have some time on your hands. The action starts at once, with an explosion in the first few pages. You most likely will not be bored, reading this one.
As another reviewer wrote, I cannot really think of another book to compare it too. I did read another book involving a mysterious drug the Government was pushing called "Extreme Makeover" but it was quite different then this one(although also quite long). But that is the first book that came to mind.
The Brightest Fell is a brisk and fast paced read and I really enjoyed it and adored the character of Jehan. It is a complex Political thriller and it was much fun to read about the characters and become enmeshed in their lives. I would strongly recommend this book.
― Nupur Chowdhury, The Brightest Fell
I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Brightest Fell, by Nupar Chowdhury is a fast paced and compelling story about a Fictional Country called Naijan in which a scientist, by the name of Jehan, has developed a new Drug.
The drug is supposed to stem violence in individuals and make people more sedate, (as well as robbing them of free will). However, that was years ago and it has not been used yet.
When a terrorist attack occurs, the Government orders the drug be given to people at once.
That is a short plot description but there is so much more involved in this story. I found the book to be a whirlwind of Politics, corruption and guessing games. It combines many of my favorite genres. Mystery, Political thriller, Dystopian. It was much fun to read.
This book is a bit on the long side, so I would recommend starting it when you have some time on your hands. The action starts at once, with an explosion in the first few pages. You most likely will not be bored, reading this one.
As another reviewer wrote, I cannot really think of another book to compare it too. I did read another book involving a mysterious drug the Government was pushing called "Extreme Makeover" but it was quite different then this one(although also quite long). But that is the first book that came to mind.
The Brightest Fell is a brisk and fast paced read and I really enjoyed it and adored the character of Jehan. It is a complex Political thriller and it was much fun to read about the characters and become enmeshed in their lives. I would strongly recommend this book.
August 30, 2020
“life isn’t one long game of chess where you have to capture every pawn until you’re dead or the board’s empty. it’s a fucking team sport.”
a thriller with the vibe of a blockbuster, telling the story of how one single scientist’s persistence in keeping his invention safe causes immense political upheaval.
this was an entertaining, albeit a bit unpolished read. it’s very fast-paced, with elements of betrayal, grabs for power, and political maneuvering left and right without really knowing what every character’s innermost motivations are.
it’s kind of hard to pin this book down within one genre; it reads modern & current, although through the powerful anti-violence drug at the center of the political tug-o-war, it’s got some speculative elements that could render it sci-fi. the setting is also original, yet draws some obvious parallels with countries in our own world.
we have the small island nation of naijan, consisting of two major states or powers: birhani and zanyar, and citizens from both definitely carry prejudice against the other. looming in the back is the huge, neighboring country of maralana, which is trying to get more fingers into naijan’s political pie.
and at the center of the story, there’s young scientist jehan fasih, a zanyar genius who’s currently developing a government-funded drug. the purpose of which is to take away any violent tendencies in the person taking it… or so they say.
jehan’s greatest mentor and supporter is rajat shian, the prime minister of naijan. but he’s in hot water because his country is under siege: terrorist attacks are the order of the day, and the president of maralana is trying to insert himself in naijan politics more and more.
so when push comes to shove and rajat starts pressuring jehan to release his drug and move into the testing phase ASAP… jehan betrays him. this results in parliament falling apart, a nationwide scandal, and even rajat’s children are drawn into the mix.
the best part of this book for me was the characters.
it’s a large cast, and all of them have their own agenda. it’s fun to see different ones pitted against each other for the duration of the story. as a reader, you’re constantly trying to figure out what someone’s angle might be, as well as trying to predict which new alliances might pop up once the characters start putting plans in motion.
jehan is great as a socially awkward chemistry whiz, who weaponizes his seemingly innocent appearance and manner in the political conflict to a great deal. a master manipulator, he wants to keep his drug to himself for as long as he can -- and he’s willing to go to great lengths for it.
then there’s the shian family; rajat takes a bit of a backseat after jehan’s betrayal, but his two children play a large role in the story. abhijat shian wants nothing else than to take revenge on jehan for what he did to his father: as the prime minister’s son and a hardass military man, it’s easy for him to maneuver into a position that’s close enough to jehan to do harm.
ritadrija shian, abhijat’s younger sister, is initially less interested in going after jehan -- but the scandal surrounding her family takes away opportunities for her to become a professor at her favorite university. and fate puts her in a position in which she gets a bit more power to do whatever she wants…
there’s also plenty of members of parliament that we get to know: ruqaiya dehran, a brilliant politician who ends up becoming deputy prime minister, and who’s desperately trying to uncover jehan’s plans while enlisting abhijat to gain more power. or rinisa rayeek, a deputy chief minister of one of the birhani states, with far too many ties to maralena and a heap of charm that she directs at anyone to get her way.
amven, the drug jehan’s been developing and that everybody’s been trying to get their hands on, almost gets a backseat to the political maneuvering that’s been going on. we’ve got everything from bombings, assassinations, coups, abduction, and child trafficking on our hands.
like i mentioned earlier: definitely big blockbuster vibes.
my main problems with this book lie not with its entertaining cast of characters nor with its story, but with its constant exposition through dialogue, and a couple of things that i think could be more polished or could benefit from stronger editing.
it takes quite a while to set up a novel that employs political intrigue to such a degree; you have to get a proper sense of the players, and the relationships on both personal and (inter)national level. so a slow start where the real urgency starts coming in around a third of the way into the story is not a point of critique for me.
but the exposition is. i enjoy being fully immersed into a story; being shown things rather than being told. half the fun, especially with a story like this, is reading between the lines and putting things together yourself as a reader. chowdhury’s characters simply explain everything there is to be explained to you through dialogue, leaving no stone unturned and no manipulation or secret agenda unrevealed.
there’s even a time during which jehan is considering a bold political strategy to talk his way out of something, which was a tense moment that had me on the edge of my seat -- and then i simply ended up with a, “and so jehan’s plan all worked out and they did as he intended!” sort of explanation.
look, i want to SEE that shit for myself! i want to be there with jehan and see it all go down and sweat buckets while he’s trying to deceive all these politicians!
same goes for the action scenes. we get these really cool, tense showdowns where i’m worried about this cast of characters i’ve come to love, and then the bad guy escapes in an off-hand comment or a guard is subdued almost ‘off-scene’.
chowdhury is great with dialogue, of that i have no doubt, but i feel this novel would be a lot more balanced if other types of storytelling would also be included -- such as taking more time with descriptions, scene transitions, or simply showing the reader something rather than presenting it to them explained and all.
because the unpolished bits also show up a bit thanks to that: the e-book was formatted in a way that sometimes made it difficult to see who was speaking during dialogue (luckily, almost all characters have distinctive voices), and the passage of time and weight of certain decisions was hard to track because some events were glossed over.
that said, this was still an enjoyable story for me to read. highlights were the setting -- naijan was inspired by india, if i’m not mistaken, and maralana by russia -- and the utterly delicious banter between all the characters. jehan and abhijat especially. ruqaiya was also an amazing supporting character, and came across as a very believable longtime politician.
there’s also plenty of queer representation (an f/f romance, characters being attracted to different genders, poly / open relationships, etc.). it’s fun, it’s tropey, and it reads like a fast-paced political film.
going by its tone, i wouldn’t be very surprised to see chowdhury pull off an amazing heist novel. just saying.
✎ 3.0 stars.
★ i received a free e-copy from author nupur chowdhury in exchange for an honest review ★
December 26, 2019
First of all, thank you Nupur for this free copy.
This is a political thriller about a new drug and the greedy politicians in a dystopian society. I found it hard to keep up with the names of the characters, but in the end, I did it. I really like the writing style.
Rating 3.5 stars.
This is a political thriller about a new drug and the greedy politicians in a dystopian society. I found it hard to keep up with the names of the characters, but in the end, I did it. I really like the writing style.
Rating 3.5 stars.
September 13, 2023
I received this book from the author for an honest review. Thank you.
There are LGBTQIA+ characters is this story.
It took me a bit to get through this one because of many different things. Once I got into it, I had to finish it.
I enjoyed the style of writing that was used. To me this was an espionage story with a bit of Science Fiction added to the mix. For me this was a good accompaniment story to “Machinehood” by S.B. Divya.
And it makes you ponder the question, will events in this book stay Science Fiction or eventually become Science Fact?
There are LGBTQIA+ characters is this story.
It took me a bit to get through this one because of many different things. Once I got into it, I had to finish it.
I enjoyed the style of writing that was used. To me this was an espionage story with a bit of Science Fiction added to the mix. For me this was a good accompaniment story to “Machinehood” by S.B. Divya.
And it makes you ponder the question, will events in this book stay Science Fiction or eventually become Science Fact?
March 6, 2020
I received this book for the author herself in exchange for a honest review. I would like to thank the author for her generosity.
Actual rating is 3.5 stars.
This book is about a new drug that is being developed that when taken it will make that person succumb to anyone's will. The people in power have different ideas of how to use this new miracle drug.
Even though the synopsis sounds like sci-fi this novel is a political thriller. I enjoyed this novel but it does take a little bit to get into. I believe I was expecting a different type of novel at first but when I realized what type of novel it is I really started to enjoy it. This novel is all about the political maneuverings of people in the government and how they anticipate their opponents moves. This novel was fast paced and never was bogged down in the details of these people trying to counteract each other. I enjoyed the characters and one of the highlights is how they interacted with each other. This book did have a couple of minor flaws and part of the blame falls on me as the reader. When starting the book I had a little trouble of keeping track of each character as the names are not common names for me. I especially noticed this problem when there was a variation of their proper name. Another problem was the editing but this could be the format of my ebook. Their were whole line spaces in the middle of a conversation and I thought this meant we were changing speakers. At times it did and other times it didn't. This was confusing at first until I really got to know the characters and then I had no problem differentiating who was speaking.
This isn't my typical genre of book. That being said I really enjoyed it and there were times I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. The minor flaws did affect my enjoyment a little and that is why I could not go higher with my rating. The meat of the story is exciting and excellent and I enjoyed my time in this fictional country with their political characters.
Actual rating is 3.5 stars.
This book is about a new drug that is being developed that when taken it will make that person succumb to anyone's will. The people in power have different ideas of how to use this new miracle drug.
Even though the synopsis sounds like sci-fi this novel is a political thriller. I enjoyed this novel but it does take a little bit to get into. I believe I was expecting a different type of novel at first but when I realized what type of novel it is I really started to enjoy it. This novel is all about the political maneuverings of people in the government and how they anticipate their opponents moves. This novel was fast paced and never was bogged down in the details of these people trying to counteract each other. I enjoyed the characters and one of the highlights is how they interacted with each other. This book did have a couple of minor flaws and part of the blame falls on me as the reader. When starting the book I had a little trouble of keeping track of each character as the names are not common names for me. I especially noticed this problem when there was a variation of their proper name. Another problem was the editing but this could be the format of my ebook. Their were whole line spaces in the middle of a conversation and I thought this meant we were changing speakers. At times it did and other times it didn't. This was confusing at first until I really got to know the characters and then I had no problem differentiating who was speaking.
This isn't my typical genre of book. That being said I really enjoyed it and there were times I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. The minor flaws did affect my enjoyment a little and that is why I could not go higher with my rating. The meat of the story is exciting and excellent and I enjoyed my time in this fictional country with their political characters.
August 20, 2022
"I recieved a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review."
3.7 but had to round to 4 because I. Got. Hooked. Yall.
RTC in a few days, what a rollercoaster of suspense!
3.7 but had to round to 4 because I. Got. Hooked. Yall.
RTC in a few days, what a rollercoaster of suspense!
December 11, 2019
Some of my most memorable reads and beloved books have not started out with my love for them beginning as soon as I started reading. Sometimes it starts with a little confusion or uncertainty stemming from the complexity of the plot or a large cast of characters or even in the worldbuilding and my enjoyment comes from the way the author brings everything together and makes it all make sense. That's sort of how I felt beginning this novel. The plot is complex, there is a very large cast of characters, and the worldbuilding is completely unique and seems very much built from scratch, and by the end I was impressed with the way it all came together and made sense. There were a bunch of new nations and cities and people and multiple seemingly unconnected plots that by the end when everything was connected I had some real admiration and respect for just how much planning probably went into the outlining and execution of the story. I read 40% of this in the first sitting because the pacing was swift and there was a LOT going on and I was compelled to continue. The author also does a good job of dropping hints as to how everything connects without giving too much away too early and taking away from my enjoyment of the final act. This was a smart, detailed novel that touches on politics, authority, human rights, family ties and friendships, among other things but it does not forget to be entertaining while it also makes you think. My only gripe is that some of the decisions made by some of the characters did not seem realistic or logical but it was a minor gripe and did not take me out of the story too much, like I said before there is a LOT going on and any "wait a minute" moments I had were soon forgotten because something else came along and made me forget I thought that. Four solid stars from me. One last thing, I think the author must really love ice cream because it seemed like everyone in the book was eating it at one time or another. LOL.
I want to thank Nupur Chowdhury for reaching out and offering me a copy of her novel in exchange for a review but that in no way shape or form impacted my opinion or this review.
I want to thank Nupur Chowdhury for reaching out and offering me a copy of her novel in exchange for a review but that in no way shape or form impacted my opinion or this review.
April 17, 2020
A special thanks to Nupur Chowdhury, the author of this book, for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this book was really great! Despite being self-published, there were little to no grammatical errors. The novel was extremely well-written and had very few flaws from a technical standpoint. I would definitely recommend this to people interested in political thrillers! Personally, I was hooked from the beginning. However, somewhere in the middle of the book, I got slightly bored, and, I have to admit, scanned a teeny bit. At the end I was hooked again.
As far as the plot goes, I thought it was very creative and I can't think of anything similar at the top of my mind. It definitely seemed original, and I was highly interested in it! At the beginning, I was baffled on what Amven was, but that doubt got cleared almost immediately. However, I wish there were a few more details on Jehan's background and involvement with the drug. I love Jehan's personality, and how subtly it was infused in the story. I had a little bit of trouble distinguishing the names of cities/people during the first half of the book, but it became clearer later. Honestly, I was slightly confused on the whole conspiracy between Rinisa/Badal/Maganti. I found some of it confusing, but I'm sure it would make more sense upon a re-read.
Something else I found confusing was the abudance of f-bombs in the story. While they made sense when two enemies were conversing, or many other situations, I found it unrealistic when the word was being used in conversations between government officials.
I appreciated the diversity in ethnicity and sexuality, as well as the humor embedded with many of the characters. I thought every single main character was strong, and was well-developed- (especially Jehan and Abhijat).
One small detail I was a little puzzled with was the relationship between Ruqaiya and Jehan. When Ruqaiya was with Abhijat/Rito at the beginning of the story, she made it very clear she was a staunch supporter of Rajat Shian's leadership. However, whenever accompanies by Jehan, it seemed like they were very good friends, which didn't make sense, considering he basically usurped Rajat's position.
I'm aware I was reading a review copy, but I wish there were symbols indicating a change of scene/character POV. I found myself catching on to these switches very slow, especially considering the fact that this book had longer and fewer chapters.
Overall, I thought this was a great read and would definitely recommend it to people who I think would find it interesting. The length of the book also matched the arc of the plot, which was something else I appreciated. It was the right length to make sure nothing was left unanswered or the readers don't get bored.
I thought this book was really great! Despite being self-published, there were little to no grammatical errors. The novel was extremely well-written and had very few flaws from a technical standpoint. I would definitely recommend this to people interested in political thrillers! Personally, I was hooked from the beginning. However, somewhere in the middle of the book, I got slightly bored, and, I have to admit, scanned a teeny bit. At the end I was hooked again.
As far as the plot goes, I thought it was very creative and I can't think of anything similar at the top of my mind. It definitely seemed original, and I was highly interested in it! At the beginning, I was baffled on what Amven was, but that doubt got cleared almost immediately. However, I wish there were a few more details on Jehan's background and involvement with the drug. I love Jehan's personality, and how subtly it was infused in the story. I had a little bit of trouble distinguishing the names of cities/people during the first half of the book, but it became clearer later. Honestly, I was slightly confused on the whole conspiracy between Rinisa/Badal/Maganti. I found some of it confusing, but I'm sure it would make more sense upon a re-read.
Something else I found confusing was the abudance of f-bombs in the story. While they made sense when two enemies were conversing, or many other situations, I found it unrealistic when the word was being used in conversations between government officials.
I appreciated the diversity in ethnicity and sexuality, as well as the humor embedded with many of the characters. I thought every single main character was strong, and was well-developed- (especially Jehan and Abhijat).
One small detail I was a little puzzled with was the relationship between Ruqaiya and Jehan. When Ruqaiya was with Abhijat/Rito at the beginning of the story, she made it very clear she was a staunch supporter of Rajat Shian's leadership. However, whenever accompanies by Jehan, it seemed like they were very good friends, which didn't make sense, considering he basically usurped Rajat's position.
I'm aware I was reading a review copy, but I wish there were symbols indicating a change of scene/character POV. I found myself catching on to these switches very slow, especially considering the fact that this book had longer and fewer chapters.
Overall, I thought this was a great read and would definitely recommend it to people who I think would find it interesting. The length of the book also matched the arc of the plot, which was something else I appreciated. It was the right length to make sure nothing was left unanswered or the readers don't get bored.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2020
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book starts off rocky, I won't lie. I was not immediately sucked in by the characters, and at first I found the writing style really annoying. There was way too much expositional dialogue and not a lot of plot movement. HOWEVER, I thought that the writing improved immensely as the book went on. About the 80 page mark I started getting really sucked into the story.
Jehan was an incredibly compelling protagonist once I got to know him a little. I loved his sarcasm and wit coupled with an innocent outward appearance. I can 100% see him in my head with his little smiles and huge purple sweaters. He had some great contrast of physicality and conniving character traits. I was rooting for him all the way.
Abhijat was really annoying at first, but mostly he messed up because other characters didn't tell him things. I appreciated that he was wrong sometimes. It made him that much more human. I also loved how much he cared about his family. It made for a solid characterization and predictable motive.
Anyway, I could go on about these characters forever. But what really got me invested was the thriller/political plot. Every character had a hidden agenda, and everyone was hiding secrets. I liked the way all the secrets came to light, especially with Jehan in the middle of it pulling everyone's strings. It heated up a lot later in the book and I stayed up until midnight finishing it.
I would definitely recommend this to fans of thrillers, and I'll say that it's worth struggling through the first few chapters to read the rest of it.
This book starts off rocky, I won't lie. I was not immediately sucked in by the characters, and at first I found the writing style really annoying. There was way too much expositional dialogue and not a lot of plot movement. HOWEVER, I thought that the writing improved immensely as the book went on. About the 80 page mark I started getting really sucked into the story.
Jehan was an incredibly compelling protagonist once I got to know him a little. I loved his sarcasm and wit coupled with an innocent outward appearance. I can 100% see him in my head with his little smiles and huge purple sweaters. He had some great contrast of physicality and conniving character traits. I was rooting for him all the way.
Abhijat was really annoying at first, but mostly he messed up because other characters didn't tell him things. I appreciated that he was wrong sometimes. It made him that much more human. I also loved how much he cared about his family. It made for a solid characterization and predictable motive.
Anyway, I could go on about these characters forever. But what really got me invested was the thriller/political plot. Every character had a hidden agenda, and everyone was hiding secrets. I liked the way all the secrets came to light, especially with Jehan in the middle of it pulling everyone's strings. It heated up a lot later in the book and I stayed up until midnight finishing it.
I would definitely recommend this to fans of thrillers, and I'll say that it's worth struggling through the first few chapters to read the rest of it.
April 18, 2020
A fine entry in the sci fi-alternate reality genre. I found a new favorite fictional character, Jehan. He helped create a new drug fifteen years previously, and has weathered his government's increasing pressure to use it. The intended effect of Amven is to make those treated with it more pliable, docile, obedient, less violent. After a major terrorist strike in the city, the Prime Minister is ordering the drug's immediate use on the suspects.
Jehan uses his above average intellect to unseat Rajat, and ends up being the best choice to take over the P.M. chair. Enter the children of Rajat, both intending to take vengeance on Jehan. He boyishly disarms them, and assimilates them into his inner sanctum.
There are many twists and turns, and Jehan ends up rolling with the punches and coming out on top. There are some truly nefarious political double dealers, spies, child traffickers and assassins in this political thriller. Highly recommend! Kudos to the editors, also.
Thank you to Nupur Chowdhury for an advance copy of her novel in return for an honest review.
Jehan uses his above average intellect to unseat Rajat, and ends up being the best choice to take over the P.M. chair. Enter the children of Rajat, both intending to take vengeance on Jehan. He boyishly disarms them, and assimilates them into his inner sanctum.
There are many twists and turns, and Jehan ends up rolling with the punches and coming out on top. There are some truly nefarious political double dealers, spies, child traffickers and assassins in this political thriller. Highly recommend! Kudos to the editors, also.
Thank you to Nupur Chowdhury for an advance copy of her novel in return for an honest review.
May 4, 2020
Put yourself into the near future on a fictional island called Naijan, somewhere in the North Sea. This political thriller is a tale of betrayal and corruption.
I got a shock when I started reading this novel. Right from the first page the reader is thrown into a make believe world. All the locations are fictitious, the country does not exist and there are no cultural or religious clues. There are no geographic references to the real world, everything is generic. But we have a civilisation, a working infrastructure including houses, media, roads and telecommunications. For British readers the place names and character names may be a challenge but simply ignore this as we are not reading aloud. So although we will not recognise names to begin with, bear with it and you will recognise everything else. Politics is the same the world over, featuring lots of lies and dirty work behind the scenes.
I enjoyed reading The Brightest Fell and feel it is a GOOD political thriller. I liked the plot and the political manoeuvring was very engaging. Each character had their own hidden agenda and there was good and bad in each of them. There was lots for the reader to think about, not just in this novel but whether these political struggles could be taking place today in real world politics. Woven into this plot were our current day concerns over corruption, drugs, state control and terrorism. Add to that our daily tide of fake news and lies from all politicians.
I found The Brightest Fell to be an entertaining read that I could relate so easily to. It is similar to watching the Daily Briefing here in the UK as our country struggles with the coronavirus pandemic. Suspicions are aroused as the politicians and scientists compete against each other.
I liked the writing quality that Nupur put into her novel. I found this book very easy to follow and well written. It follows a lovely linear time frame and the pace is steady with no boring bits to tire the reader. She uses American English and gives no clue to her homeland, except for just one word I picked up on, “kulfi” - a traditional Indian ice cream. Nupur deploys a lovely wide vocabulary and has a great range of popular phrases and sayings, for example…
The best lies, after all, had a basis in truth.
Can’t stain a black coat and all that.
...The Brightest Fell was an interesting read for me and it makes the reader question just how representative democracy is for the population it claims to serve. Nupur serves her readers with a solid GOOD read that gets 4 stars from me.
Thanks to the author for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.
I got a shock when I started reading this novel. Right from the first page the reader is thrown into a make believe world. All the locations are fictitious, the country does not exist and there are no cultural or religious clues. There are no geographic references to the real world, everything is generic. But we have a civilisation, a working infrastructure including houses, media, roads and telecommunications. For British readers the place names and character names may be a challenge but simply ignore this as we are not reading aloud. So although we will not recognise names to begin with, bear with it and you will recognise everything else. Politics is the same the world over, featuring lots of lies and dirty work behind the scenes.
I enjoyed reading The Brightest Fell and feel it is a GOOD political thriller. I liked the plot and the political manoeuvring was very engaging. Each character had their own hidden agenda and there was good and bad in each of them. There was lots for the reader to think about, not just in this novel but whether these political struggles could be taking place today in real world politics. Woven into this plot were our current day concerns over corruption, drugs, state control and terrorism. Add to that our daily tide of fake news and lies from all politicians.
I found The Brightest Fell to be an entertaining read that I could relate so easily to. It is similar to watching the Daily Briefing here in the UK as our country struggles with the coronavirus pandemic. Suspicions are aroused as the politicians and scientists compete against each other.
I liked the writing quality that Nupur put into her novel. I found this book very easy to follow and well written. It follows a lovely linear time frame and the pace is steady with no boring bits to tire the reader. She uses American English and gives no clue to her homeland, except for just one word I picked up on, “kulfi” - a traditional Indian ice cream. Nupur deploys a lovely wide vocabulary and has a great range of popular phrases and sayings, for example…
The best lies, after all, had a basis in truth.
Can’t stain a black coat and all that.
...The Brightest Fell was an interesting read for me and it makes the reader question just how representative democracy is for the population it claims to serve. Nupur serves her readers with a solid GOOD read that gets 4 stars from me.
Thanks to the author for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.
December 28, 2019
I received a free copy of this book from the author for a review. I liked the premise of this novel. A drug called Amven which can make people complacent and not react mixed with an ever changing political world was interesting to me. The book did not lack for action either. I was constantly left wondering what was going to happen and who was a good guy or a bad guy. It definitely kept me guessing.
I did have some trouble following who each character was. This was set in a fictionalized India and I had trouble following some of the names and political system. I just got a little lost at some parts. Overall this was an interesting novel and I would recommend this if you are looking for something a little different.
I did have some trouble following who each character was. This was set in a fictionalized India and I had trouble following some of the names and political system. I just got a little lost at some parts. Overall this was an interesting novel and I would recommend this if you are looking for something a little different.
Read
June 1, 2020DNF
This didn't have any problems so far, I was just not at all in the mood for a political thriller and I felt like it dragged on and on. Those of you who like political thrillers though, definitely pick it up to support a poc author ♥
This didn't have any problems so far, I was just not at all in the mood for a political thriller and I felt like it dragged on and on. Those of you who like political thrillers though, definitely pick it up to support a poc author ♥
January 1, 2020
**this book was provided to me by the author for an honest review**
I'll start off by saying that I haven't had the best luck finding indie and self-published authors that I enjoy. When I first discovered the world of e-books, I downloaded everything in sight only to find poor or no editing, thin characters, bad writing and lack of decent story structure in most books that I read.
I am pleased to say that I found few of those negative traits in The Brightest Fell. Napur Chowdhury's book bypasses most of the pitfalls I find with self published books, though I still have a few criticisms.
I'll start with the positives!
For one, I read this book very fast (for me at least), just 3 nights, and those were work nights. So I was definitely compelled to keep reading. There are no choppy sentences here, the syntax is great and everything has a nice flow to it. This normally might be something I wouldn't even think about and I've come to expect otherwise with indie books, but the prose here is quality. Also, the editing is nearly pristine. These things might seem too nitpicky but as a voracious reader and would-be writer, I'm always on the lookout for good examples of the craft so I pay extra attention to these things.
Then there's the story itself. I will say that it took a good 3rd of the book before I really started to get invested in the characters. It was hard to decide who exactly I should be rooting for at first as the stakes weren't exactly clear in the beginning. I knew there were a lot of moving parts but didnt know what they had to do with one another or why I should care. But every time I was ready to throw my hands up, the next layer of the onion was peeled back and suddenly it made sense. The author does a good job revealing the story a bit at a time and ramping up the tension and this continues all the way to the conclusion. If you enjoy political intrigue, sabotage, espionage, etc, there's a lot to like here.
Now for some criticism: This book, especially in the beginning, is very dialogue heavy. At times it felt like whole pages would go by without a dialogue break. And while most of that dialogue seemed organic, there were a few cringe worthy moments, like a villain spilling the details of their plan to a captive hero in the typical Bond villain style.
The characters for the most part were fun to read but I would argue that the book may not have one single protagonist. By the first chapter alone, I would guess that Jehan would be the main character, but after that he seems to become more of the plot focus and the MC role is delegated to his body guard and son of his political adversary, who then spends the book trying to figure out if Jehan really is his enemy or if there's more going on that it seems. And that brings be to another problem: Jehan himself. I appreciate intelligent characters, but when a character is so intelligent that they are never afraid no matter their situation and they can talk or think their way out of any dilemma, it detracts from the tension of the book. I also feel that Jehan was unnecessarily mysterious and sometimes only acted cryptically because it was more interesting to the story. Him being more straightforward with everyone might have made more sense and I'm sure there would have been ways to keep the other characters guessing his motivations without him being so elusive and strange.
The story, while it all came together very well in the end, could have used some better structure in the beginning, so I would encourage readers to keep reading if they're having the same misgivings, because the ideas introduced early on do come back full circle later in the story. One of the primary focuses of the book, the drug Amven that starts all of the political intrigue to begin with, seems to take a backseat for a while and I'd almost worried that the author changed the focus of the storyuntil later when its importance is made clear.
Also one more minor criticism, but really more of a curiosity: is this supposed to be an alternate Earth? The nations and places are all made up, but very similar to Asian cultures of our world, and there was nothing else fantastical or alien to the world at all other than the nations being made up, so it made me wonder what brought on this choice and why not just have the story on Earth with existing nations. However, it doesn't detract from the plot so... *shrug*.
Overall, this was enjoyable and I'm really glad I got the opportunity to read it. 3 out of 5 stars (maybe closer to 3.5, but there's no half stars here). This author is a bright spot in the world of self publishing and I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
I'll start off by saying that I haven't had the best luck finding indie and self-published authors that I enjoy. When I first discovered the world of e-books, I downloaded everything in sight only to find poor or no editing, thin characters, bad writing and lack of decent story structure in most books that I read.
I am pleased to say that I found few of those negative traits in The Brightest Fell. Napur Chowdhury's book bypasses most of the pitfalls I find with self published books, though I still have a few criticisms.
I'll start with the positives!
For one, I read this book very fast (for me at least), just 3 nights, and those were work nights. So I was definitely compelled to keep reading. There are no choppy sentences here, the syntax is great and everything has a nice flow to it. This normally might be something I wouldn't even think about and I've come to expect otherwise with indie books, but the prose here is quality. Also, the editing is nearly pristine. These things might seem too nitpicky but as a voracious reader and would-be writer, I'm always on the lookout for good examples of the craft so I pay extra attention to these things.
Then there's the story itself. I will say that it took a good 3rd of the book before I really started to get invested in the characters. It was hard to decide who exactly I should be rooting for at first as the stakes weren't exactly clear in the beginning. I knew there were a lot of moving parts but didnt know what they had to do with one another or why I should care. But every time I was ready to throw my hands up, the next layer of the onion was peeled back and suddenly it made sense. The author does a good job revealing the story a bit at a time and ramping up the tension and this continues all the way to the conclusion. If you enjoy political intrigue, sabotage, espionage, etc, there's a lot to like here.
Now for some criticism: This book, especially in the beginning, is very dialogue heavy. At times it felt like whole pages would go by without a dialogue break. And while most of that dialogue seemed organic, there were a few cringe worthy moments, like a villain spilling the details of their plan to a captive hero in the typical Bond villain style.
The characters for the most part were fun to read but I would argue that the book may not have one single protagonist. By the first chapter alone, I would guess that Jehan would be the main character, but after that he seems to become more of the plot focus and the MC role is delegated to his body guard and son of his political adversary, who then spends the book trying to figure out if Jehan really is his enemy or if there's more going on that it seems. And that brings be to another problem: Jehan himself. I appreciate intelligent characters, but when a character is so intelligent that they are never afraid no matter their situation and they can talk or think their way out of any dilemma, it detracts from the tension of the book. I also feel that Jehan was unnecessarily mysterious and sometimes only acted cryptically because it was more interesting to the story. Him being more straightforward with everyone might have made more sense and I'm sure there would have been ways to keep the other characters guessing his motivations without him being so elusive and strange.
The story, while it all came together very well in the end, could have used some better structure in the beginning, so I would encourage readers to keep reading if they're having the same misgivings, because the ideas introduced early on do come back full circle later in the story. One of the primary focuses of the book, the drug Amven that starts all of the political intrigue to begin with, seems to take a backseat for a while and I'd almost worried that the author changed the focus of the storyuntil later when its importance is made clear.
Also one more minor criticism, but really more of a curiosity: is this supposed to be an alternate Earth? The nations and places are all made up, but very similar to Asian cultures of our world, and there was nothing else fantastical or alien to the world at all other than the nations being made up, so it made me wonder what brought on this choice and why not just have the story on Earth with existing nations. However, it doesn't detract from the plot so... *shrug*.
Overall, this was enjoyable and I'm really glad I got the opportunity to read it. 3 out of 5 stars (maybe closer to 3.5, but there's no half stars here). This author is a bright spot in the world of self publishing and I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
April 17, 2020
*Thank you to the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I feel very 50/50 about this book, but let's do the good stuff first:
It was definitely a good read, just in need of pruning. But I'll be picking up another Chowdhury book when I'm due for saucy political tensions, which are clearly her forte.
I feel very 50/50 about this book, but let's do the good stuff first:
It was definitely a good read, just in need of pruning. But I'll be picking up another Chowdhury book when I'm due for saucy political tensions, which are clearly her forte.
April 24, 2020
Nupur Chowdhury’s The Brightest Fell is a political thriller that is sure to grip fans of the genre, although it wasn’t quite for me. This, however, is very much a case of the issue being with me rather than the book.
I love a good thriller, but political thrillers are at the bottom of my enjoyment list. I keep reading them as I find the notion of them interesting, but I regularly find they don’t wow me in the way they should. I fear it’s because I get caught up too much in the political side of things when I much prefer lots of action.
As I said, the issue here was with me. It was an interesting story; it simply didn’t work for me in the way it will work for others.
I love a good thriller, but political thrillers are at the bottom of my enjoyment list. I keep reading them as I find the notion of them interesting, but I regularly find they don’t wow me in the way they should. I fear it’s because I get caught up too much in the political side of things when I much prefer lots of action.
As I said, the issue here was with me. It was an interesting story; it simply didn’t work for me in the way it will work for others.
January 8, 2020
The Brightest Fell by Nupur Chowdhury. Nupur reached out to be through Goodreads to read and review her novel. A sci-fi political thriller, I couldn't resist, the premise sounded very interesting (what gripped me of the synopsis was the first paragraph here: "Fifteen years ago, Jehan Fasih designed a drug that could curb the instinct for violence (and rob the taker of their free will). Fifteen minutes ago, someone blew up the metro station to get their hands on his brainchild.") Once I got past the "having to read it on my phone" bit, it was an interesting read, I could never decide which character to root for and which one was truly the evil one. And then as it was all coming together, it all made sense who I was supposed to root for, the characters have quite a bit of depth to them and it was refreshing. A little bit of everything! Great job Nupur! Thank you for sending me a review copy allowing me to read your work.
February 12, 2020
Ms. Chowdhury sent me a complimentary copy of her novel, with no strings attached.
I thought long and hard before writing this review. Ms. Chowdhury’s book is very well written and she obviously spent a great deal of time on planning the plot and character definition. Several key events of the story came across as contrived, but they did not take away at all from the reader’s enjoyment. I even spent a fair amount of time contemplating the cultural and generational expectations I bring to reading a novel versus those of the writer.
The bottom line is, I enjoyed reading THE BRIGHTEST FELL. It’s not WAR AND PEACE, but I’m glad I spent the time reading it.
I did some quick research on Ms. Chowdhury and found she has a new work in process due out later this year (2020) which I will definitely read. (If you have a moment, several of the poems on her blog are quite moving, particularly “To The Stray I Left Behind.”)
I thought long and hard before writing this review. Ms. Chowdhury’s book is very well written and she obviously spent a great deal of time on planning the plot and character definition. Several key events of the story came across as contrived, but they did not take away at all from the reader’s enjoyment. I even spent a fair amount of time contemplating the cultural and generational expectations I bring to reading a novel versus those of the writer.
The bottom line is, I enjoyed reading THE BRIGHTEST FELL. It’s not WAR AND PEACE, but I’m glad I spent the time reading it.
I did some quick research on Ms. Chowdhury and found she has a new work in process due out later this year (2020) which I will definitely read. (If you have a moment, several of the poems on her blog are quite moving, particularly “To The Stray I Left Behind.”)
February 14, 2020
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a thriller, with a subtext of the major problems of our time: greed, political power at all costs, and human trafficking. The characters were engaging, and the pacing was right. I will look forward to reading more by this author.
September 14, 2020
First of all, I’d like to thank Ms. Chowdhury for offering me a free review copy of this book. That was a pleasant surprise.
The novel is a political thriller set in a fictional world which, aside from its geography, is pretty much the same as ours. I’m always delighted when an author comes up with a concept that is entirely new to me: Ms. Chowdhury offers a system of democratic government which had me thinking, “Wow! This could actually work!” Unfortunately it turns out to be just as subject to abuse as our own real-world systems. Well, maybe not unfortunately, as if it did work it wouldn’t give rise to such a good thriller. As it was, it reminded me of Michael Dobbs’ House of Cards trilogy, wherein Francis Urquhart so cleverly subverts the British system of government.
The book has dozens of characters, all of whom have Middle-Eastern/Indian/Asian names, many of them with first names, last names and nicknames which are used more-or-less interchangeably. The cities, provinces, and neighbouring countries also have similar-sounding names. Initially this made it difficult for me to figure out who was doing what, where, and to whom, or to keep track of the intrigue. (I used to have the same problem with the naming conventions in Russian novels, but that’s an issue for me, not for the authors.) It starts out in the first chapter with a terrorist attack, and shortly thereafter one of the characters does something diametrically opposed to the reader’s initial impression, and the roller-coaster proceeds from there.
In order for the reader to understand the motivations in the story, the author must include a lot of abstract information – history, politics, conspiracies, interpersonal relationships etc. I think it’s unfortunate that Ms. Chowdhury has chosen to communicate this in very large chunks of dialogue, two characters explaining things to each other over chess boards or tea cups – the dreaded “Talking Heads” syndrome. Because they pause the characters’ actions, these intervals tend to slow things down and drain the energy from the narrrative. On the other hand, they are interspersed with a satisfying number of real edge-of-the-seat action sequences that kept me reading well into the night.
The characters are fun, even when (especially when?) they are working at cross-purposes, and even the villains are attractive. Jehan, the prime mover, makes me think of Dorothy Dunnett’s Niccolò – is he an evil schemer, or a misunderstood hero?
I shall look forward to seeing more work from this author.
The novel is a political thriller set in a fictional world which, aside from its geography, is pretty much the same as ours. I’m always delighted when an author comes up with a concept that is entirely new to me: Ms. Chowdhury offers a system of democratic government which had me thinking, “Wow! This could actually work!” Unfortunately it turns out to be just as subject to abuse as our own real-world systems. Well, maybe not unfortunately, as if it did work it wouldn’t give rise to such a good thriller. As it was, it reminded me of Michael Dobbs’ House of Cards trilogy, wherein Francis Urquhart so cleverly subverts the British system of government.
The book has dozens of characters, all of whom have Middle-Eastern/Indian/Asian names, many of them with first names, last names and nicknames which are used more-or-less interchangeably. The cities, provinces, and neighbouring countries also have similar-sounding names. Initially this made it difficult for me to figure out who was doing what, where, and to whom, or to keep track of the intrigue. (I used to have the same problem with the naming conventions in Russian novels, but that’s an issue for me, not for the authors.) It starts out in the first chapter with a terrorist attack, and shortly thereafter one of the characters does something diametrically opposed to the reader’s initial impression, and the roller-coaster proceeds from there.
In order for the reader to understand the motivations in the story, the author must include a lot of abstract information – history, politics, conspiracies, interpersonal relationships etc. I think it’s unfortunate that Ms. Chowdhury has chosen to communicate this in very large chunks of dialogue, two characters explaining things to each other over chess boards or tea cups – the dreaded “Talking Heads” syndrome. Because they pause the characters’ actions, these intervals tend to slow things down and drain the energy from the narrrative. On the other hand, they are interspersed with a satisfying number of real edge-of-the-seat action sequences that kept me reading well into the night.
The characters are fun, even when (especially when?) they are working at cross-purposes, and even the villains are attractive. Jehan, the prime mover, makes me think of Dorothy Dunnett’s Niccolò – is he an evil schemer, or a misunderstood hero?
I shall look forward to seeing more work from this author.
September 16, 2020
In the wake of a bloody civil war, we enter the world of Naijan, a fictional and futuristic country ruled alternately by the Birhani and the Zanya factions who had agree to share power over the population. The tale opens in the aftermath of a bomb-blast in the metro system of its capital city that left hundreds dead. The blast has created public rage and pressure on the Prime Minister to clear the use of Amven on criminals during the investigation....and so the game begins.....
The story is mostly set up to be a political thriller with plenty of corruption, disputes and resentments between the two factions. It also spins a dash of Sci-Fi around a miracle drug that would make terrorists docile. But the creator of the drug wants to keep the drug out of the hands of politicians even it means betraying his closes friends. Then, the story introduces us to some very colourful characters that have their own hidden agenda. The names of places and characters may be a challenge to remember but bear with it eventually it will all fit in. The characters do use slangs and expression some may use in their daily lives but not everyone, another challenge.....The witty and funny dialogues helps to keep the elements of suspense moving along at a fast pace. Some would say the story is dialogue heavy, indeed we do, pages after pages without a break. Dialogue driven story is a style I like, it makes for a lively read. A lot is going on: back stabbing, double crossing and plenty of unpredictable twists and turns.
This thriller is well-written, no choppy sentences, everything flows smoothly, the prose is of quality and the plot interesting, overall nicely done.
Thanks to the author, who provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The story is mostly set up to be a political thriller with plenty of corruption, disputes and resentments between the two factions. It also spins a dash of Sci-Fi around a miracle drug that would make terrorists docile. But the creator of the drug wants to keep the drug out of the hands of politicians even it means betraying his closes friends. Then, the story introduces us to some very colourful characters that have their own hidden agenda. The names of places and characters may be a challenge to remember but bear with it eventually it will all fit in. The characters do use slangs and expression some may use in their daily lives but not everyone, another challenge.....The witty and funny dialogues helps to keep the elements of suspense moving along at a fast pace. Some would say the story is dialogue heavy, indeed we do, pages after pages without a break. Dialogue driven story is a style I like, it makes for a lively read. A lot is going on: back stabbing, double crossing and plenty of unpredictable twists and turns.
This thriller is well-written, no choppy sentences, everything flows smoothly, the prose is of quality and the plot interesting, overall nicely done.
Thanks to the author, who provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 22, 2020
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
The Brightest Fell was promoted to me as a political thriller with a touch of science fiction. I have to say the fiction part of the latter was rather the main part as it required a lot of suspension of disbelieve. If you stop wondering too much and just flow with the story it was actually quite a nice read.
At its core is a mind-altering drug called Amven and the scientist who developed it, and who is now trying to prevent it from being used. (Why someone develops a mind-altering drug, but only after developing discovers that there might be down sides to these kinds of inventions is beyond me, but hey, I promised not to let this bother me too much). Jehan Fasih, the scientist, is promptly chosen to become prime-minister, because who could be better suited to lead a country than an ambitious young academic. (I'm a young academic myself and politics in Belgium are at an impasse, so maybe it is time for me to step up? ;) ) Besides his academic and political careers he is also a Master of Disguise and Amateur Sleuth who of course does the investigations himself because what could possibly go wrong? (Like I mentioned before there is quite a bit to disbelief here).
I decided to just sit back and enjoy the ride. And I quite enjoyed reading it. Nothing too complicated, but I was interested to see where this was going. In the beginning I had some problems keeping all the different countries and their relations straight but it is more focused near the end. One thing I found a bit annoying was one character who was so terribly gullible that he was just a simple plot device. His redemption arc was also not great.
A nice quick political thriller, if you are willing to refuse from questioning some of the major plot points. For me it was the kind of read I was looking for at this time.
Thanks to the author, who provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The Brightest Fell was promoted to me as a political thriller with a touch of science fiction. I have to say the fiction part of the latter was rather the main part as it required a lot of suspension of disbelieve. If you stop wondering too much and just flow with the story it was actually quite a nice read.
At its core is a mind-altering drug called Amven and the scientist who developed it, and who is now trying to prevent it from being used. (Why someone develops a mind-altering drug, but only after developing discovers that there might be down sides to these kinds of inventions is beyond me, but hey, I promised not to let this bother me too much). Jehan Fasih, the scientist, is promptly chosen to become prime-minister, because who could be better suited to lead a country than an ambitious young academic. (I'm a young academic myself and politics in Belgium are at an impasse, so maybe it is time for me to step up? ;) ) Besides his academic and political careers he is also a Master of Disguise and Amateur Sleuth who of course does the investigations himself because what could possibly go wrong? (Like I mentioned before there is quite a bit to disbelief here).
I decided to just sit back and enjoy the ride. And I quite enjoyed reading it. Nothing too complicated, but I was interested to see where this was going. In the beginning I had some problems keeping all the different countries and their relations straight but it is more focused near the end. One thing I found a bit annoying was one character who was so terribly gullible that he was just a simple plot device. His redemption arc was also not great.
A nice quick political thriller, if you are willing to refuse from questioning some of the major plot points. For me it was the kind of read I was looking for at this time.
Thanks to the author, who provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
August 23, 2020
Received this book for free in exchange of an honest review and I'm glad I got to it finally! I'd say 4.5 stars for me but I don't mind pushing it to 5 :-) I enjoyed the story quite a bit, and the characters a lot. The intrigue was not overly complexe which suits me just fine, while having enough twists now and then to keep a fun pace throughout. I particularly enjoyed the characters development, all well rounded with the right balance between personal details and their roles in the story. It wasn't hard to follow each characters, while keeping up with who was doing what. I even enjoyed the jump between each characters narrative when the plot line keeps going uninterrupted, but seen from different point of views without the need of flashbacks to "re-explain" things. Kudos for that!
So in the end (nicely wrapped up by the way), I guess the only point in the book that got me skipping a little bit was Rinisa's "evil monologue" to explain the whole bad guys plot and evil deeds. While I appreciate the classic "let me pseudo-monologue our evil smartness for an extended period of time" in movies (but really, not that much); I felt it was unnecessary in this novel since we had been given all the elements throughout the story. I can logically appreciate the whole thing being given to one of the kidnapped protagonists, but it still felt a bit drown out from a reader's perspective. That'd be where I'd remove a half star if I wanted to nitpick... But I won't :-) I always enjoy a well written story with compelling characters!
Cheers!
So in the end (nicely wrapped up by the way), I guess the only point in the book that got me skipping a little bit was Rinisa's "evil monologue" to explain the whole bad guys plot and evil deeds. While I appreciate the classic "let me pseudo-monologue our evil smartness for an extended period of time" in movies (but really, not that much); I felt it was unnecessary in this novel since we had been given all the elements throughout the story. I can logically appreciate the whole thing being given to one of the kidnapped protagonists, but it still felt a bit drown out from a reader's perspective. That'd be where I'd remove a half star if I wanted to nitpick... But I won't :-) I always enjoy a well written story with compelling characters!
Cheers!
March 30, 2020
Wunderkind scientist Doctor Jehan Fasih worked for years to develop Amven, a drug meant to curb the instinct for violence. Now it may be just what the Prime Minister Rajat Shian needs since the bombings at three metro stations have claimed almost forty lives and injured more than one hundred others. But Jehan insists the drug isn’t ready for clinical trials; shortly after a meeting in the Prime Minister’s office, Rajat Shian resigns amid a huge corruption scandal and Jehan Fasih finds himself the new Prime Minister of Naijan.
When Rajat’s children, Abhijat Shian and his sister Rito, become victims of the fallout, will they seek revenge? Or will Jehan fall victim to the political collusions of his rivals?
Treason, corruption, political machinations . . . this story has all of that and more and keeps readers involved in the telling of the tale. Filled with interesting characters and told from multiple points of view, the unfolding narrative thrusts readers into the political intrigue that forms the basis of the story. [The only science fiction element in this absorbing tale is the Amven drug; obtaining it is the target of the scheming politicians who value power over public good.]
However, the repeated . . . and unnecessary . . . use of an offensive expletive throughout the book is off-putting; it pulls the reader out of the story and lowers the rating for the book.
I received copy of this eBook from the author in return for an honest review
When Rajat’s children, Abhijat Shian and his sister Rito, become victims of the fallout, will they seek revenge? Or will Jehan fall victim to the political collusions of his rivals?
Treason, corruption, political machinations . . . this story has all of that and more and keeps readers involved in the telling of the tale. Filled with interesting characters and told from multiple points of view, the unfolding narrative thrusts readers into the political intrigue that forms the basis of the story. [The only science fiction element in this absorbing tale is the Amven drug; obtaining it is the target of the scheming politicians who value power over public good.]
However, the repeated . . . and unnecessary . . . use of an offensive expletive throughout the book is off-putting; it pulls the reader out of the story and lowers the rating for the book.
I received copy of this eBook from the author in return for an honest review
September 4, 2020
The Brigest Fell was a most entertaining and intriguing read.
There was a lot to like about this book and one of my favourites was the characters.
Jehan, the crazy scientist, was brilliant. He was my favourite character. Unpredictable and smart. He was witty and ruthless. Very enjoyable.
Abhijat and Rito, I just adorde their relationship! Abhijat was a protective big brother to Rito which is sometimes as annoying as it is helpful.
I even loved Rinisa as much as I hated her!
The plot was great. Complicated and fast moving.
I thoroughly enjoyed it!
*A huge thank you to the author for providing it to me in exchange for an honest review.*
There was a lot to like about this book and one of my favourites was the characters.
Jehan, the crazy scientist, was brilliant. He was my favourite character. Unpredictable and smart. He was witty and ruthless. Very enjoyable.
Abhijat and Rito, I just adorde their relationship! Abhijat was a protective big brother to Rito which is sometimes as annoying as it is helpful.
I even loved Rinisa as much as I hated her!
The plot was great. Complicated and fast moving.
I thoroughly enjoyed it!
*A huge thank you to the author for providing it to me in exchange for an honest review.*
May 31, 2020
From the first words "paperwork was not his forte", Jehan Fasih became someone I wanted to know better. This is an amazing story of how difficult it is for those of high moral and ethical standards to remain in power. Of how perception and public opinion (most often tarnished by corrupt reporting) can defile good deed and intentions. Of the strength of family ties. In addition to the usual government scandals (bribery, discrediting, stealing, killing, cover ups), The Brightest Fell touches on issues including human trafficking and illegal drug use. And, yet, despite terror and suspense, it is an uplifting story with relatable characters. I couldn't put it down - except when I laughed so hard I couldn't see.
January 4, 2020
I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for a fair review!
A very solid, exciting, entertaining political thriller. I really wish I could give 4.5 stars on this site, as it’s an engrossing read that you should pick up!
I don’t tend to read political thrillers, but I enjoyed the hell out of this one. And I was especially drawn to a location that wasn’t the U.S., as reading more broadly is a goal of mine. Whether the political set-up in the novel was fictional or based on reality, I wasn’t sure, but if it was the former, she designed it in a way that seems realistic. There’s almost no science fiction in this book, other than the creation of the drug. I would consider it closer to speculative fiction.
The best thing about this novel is that it doesn’t read like a “self-published” book. Please don’t think I’m trying to be condescending! As a writer myself, getting a book published the traditional way is frustrating and success seems to be based on luck or connections (even with academic accolades!). As such, I’ve been seeing more and more self-published books lately that truly deserve to be in hardcover, as they are free of the syntactical errors, stilted dialogue, and editorial mishaps I've run into many times with self-published books. This book is finely tuned and a testament that self-publishing is a viable route.
The characters are fun. It starts off with a lot of men but quickly brings in interesting female characters (which I require in a novel, with few exceptions) and queer representation as well. While the characters could have been treated to a little more backstory (why were the siblings so close? Why are the power-hungry people such sociopaths?) it might have bogged down the story. I also could have used more conflict within Abhi regarding Jehan.
One thing that threw me off a little was the jumps in time. While it’s very clearly marked at the start of a section that it takes place weeks or months later, I had trouble orienting myself that much time had passed, as the characters hadn’t changed in said time. The time passing didn’t seem to have any bearing on the story.
I did enjoy all the twists and turns of the plot – I was never sure what Jehan was up to, nor who was allied with him or not. What I liked best was how there was no hyperbolic “save the world” moment that often appears in political thrillers (at least the movies I've seen anyway). This was a drama isolated to the upper echelons of the government for the most part, but with real repercussions for those in the regular population.
Overall, it’s a tightly-wrought, quick-moving political thriller that addresses corruption in a way that is poignant as well as entertaining.
A very solid, exciting, entertaining political thriller. I really wish I could give 4.5 stars on this site, as it’s an engrossing read that you should pick up!
I don’t tend to read political thrillers, but I enjoyed the hell out of this one. And I was especially drawn to a location that wasn’t the U.S., as reading more broadly is a goal of mine. Whether the political set-up in the novel was fictional or based on reality, I wasn’t sure, but if it was the former, she designed it in a way that seems realistic. There’s almost no science fiction in this book, other than the creation of the drug. I would consider it closer to speculative fiction.
The best thing about this novel is that it doesn’t read like a “self-published” book. Please don’t think I’m trying to be condescending! As a writer myself, getting a book published the traditional way is frustrating and success seems to be based on luck or connections (even with academic accolades!). As such, I’ve been seeing more and more self-published books lately that truly deserve to be in hardcover, as they are free of the syntactical errors, stilted dialogue, and editorial mishaps I've run into many times with self-published books. This book is finely tuned and a testament that self-publishing is a viable route.
The characters are fun. It starts off with a lot of men but quickly brings in interesting female characters (which I require in a novel, with few exceptions) and queer representation as well. While the characters could have been treated to a little more backstory (why were the siblings so close? Why are the power-hungry people such sociopaths?) it might have bogged down the story. I also could have used more conflict within Abhi regarding Jehan.
One thing that threw me off a little was the jumps in time. While it’s very clearly marked at the start of a section that it takes place weeks or months later, I had trouble orienting myself that much time had passed, as the characters hadn’t changed in said time. The time passing didn’t seem to have any bearing on the story.
I did enjoy all the twists and turns of the plot – I was never sure what Jehan was up to, nor who was allied with him or not. What I liked best was how there was no hyperbolic “save the world” moment that often appears in political thrillers (at least the movies I've seen anyway). This was a drama isolated to the upper echelons of the government for the most part, but with real repercussions for those in the regular population.
Overall, it’s a tightly-wrought, quick-moving political thriller that addresses corruption in a way that is poignant as well as entertaining.
January 26, 2020
Disclaimer: I got a free ebook from the author for review purposes.
I don't usually read political thrillers and have previously been deterred by too much dry politics in the story of other books, so this book was in fact a pleasant surprise. It is a gripping mix of political scheming and personal, emotional conflicts.
The countries in the book are fictional, but the topics are as up to date as ever and reminiscent of any number of real-world conflicts. Border disputes, drugs, trafficking, corruption, dictatorship...
The story is a complex web of interrelations, scheming and surprises. In the beginning of the book I struggled a little bit with telling the different characters apart, partly because they are being referred to with their first name, last name, or nickname, depending on who is talking. A little further into the book I got the hang of this, though.
There are some great and multi-faceted characters in this book. Jehan Fasih appears like a somewhat awkward person, but in fact he is continuously outsmarting everyone. Especially intriguing was that for the reader, his point of view and his own agenda is not fully disclosed, so that while the other characters are doubting him or trusting him, or going back and forth between the two, so are you as a reader.
Rito is a smart woman who, unlike her brother, seems to see through Jehan far enough to see which side he is on, and trust him enough.
Abhijat, her brother, though, is more impulsive than a thinker. He is steered by his anger, his distrust and his overprotectiveness of his family so much that he does not really question his views when he has evidence right in front of his eyes that things might not be as he pictures them. As a consequence, he falls for the worst tricks and schemes, endangering everyone. His impulsiveness is a great way to drive the story forward and keep a sense of ambiguity, however by the end of the book I was getting just a little bit annoyed by him - can't he just think for a moment before jumping to conclusions? The ongoing "big brother has to protect his sister from everything" does not help to give him sympathy points - Rito appears to be capable of handling herself better than her brother.
In places, these tropes were getting a little overhand. Two persons falling in love within half an hour of meeting each other, during which one saved the other's life? Really? Between all the careful, thought-through scheming of this book, this was just too blunt. This is not a main aspect of the story, though.
So, as a conclusion, I think the story is very good, captivating (I could hardly put it down by the end), a tangled web of schemes that slowly unravels and becomes clear by the end of the book. I draw off one star for annoying characters ;-)
I don't usually read political thrillers and have previously been deterred by too much dry politics in the story of other books, so this book was in fact a pleasant surprise. It is a gripping mix of political scheming and personal, emotional conflicts.
The countries in the book are fictional, but the topics are as up to date as ever and reminiscent of any number of real-world conflicts. Border disputes, drugs, trafficking, corruption, dictatorship...
The story is a complex web of interrelations, scheming and surprises. In the beginning of the book I struggled a little bit with telling the different characters apart, partly because they are being referred to with their first name, last name, or nickname, depending on who is talking. A little further into the book I got the hang of this, though.
There are some great and multi-faceted characters in this book. Jehan Fasih appears like a somewhat awkward person, but in fact he is continuously outsmarting everyone. Especially intriguing was that for the reader, his point of view and his own agenda is not fully disclosed, so that while the other characters are doubting him or trusting him, or going back and forth between the two, so are you as a reader.
Rito is a smart woman who, unlike her brother, seems to see through Jehan far enough to see which side he is on, and trust him enough.
Abhijat, her brother, though, is more impulsive than a thinker. He is steered by his anger, his distrust and his overprotectiveness of his family so much that he does not really question his views when he has evidence right in front of his eyes that things might not be as he pictures them. As a consequence, he falls for the worst tricks and schemes, endangering everyone. His impulsiveness is a great way to drive the story forward and keep a sense of ambiguity, however by the end of the book I was getting just a little bit annoyed by him - can't he just think for a moment before jumping to conclusions? The ongoing "big brother has to protect his sister from everything" does not help to give him sympathy points - Rito appears to be capable of handling herself better than her brother.
In places, these tropes were getting a little overhand. Two persons falling in love within half an hour of meeting each other, during which one saved the other's life? Really? Between all the careful, thought-through scheming of this book, this was just too blunt. This is not a main aspect of the story, though.
So, as a conclusion, I think the story is very good, captivating (I could hardly put it down by the end), a tangled web of schemes that slowly unravels and becomes clear by the end of the book. I draw off one star for annoying characters ;-)
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