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Minotaur: A dark tale of power-crazy leaders
The Minotaur is a chilling but familiar account of the rise and fall of a third-world despot. Riding the tidal wave of popular support, Caesar the Marxist, soon turns into a dictator and plunges his impoverished, exploited nation into a bloody civil war. Fleeing from his burning nation, he lands up in a remote island and declares himself the King. Then the personal descent of a once charismatic doctor-turned-guerilla leader into personal hell begins. The Minotaur is born and finally finds his nemesis, in the form of a radicalized native, on that remote island… A dark tale of power-crazy leaders, as relevant in today’s Africa or Latin America or South Asia, as it was in the ancient world.
398 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 25, 2021
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June 30, 2023
** Acerbic sociopolitical allegory and international intrigue have never been so engaging! **
Renowned, widely published master of short fiction Dr. Sunil Sharma in his novel Minotaur demonstrates he is an equally capable force to be reckoned with in the realm of long form storytelling. Crafting a tightly woven narrative filled with gripping action, complex and layered characters, punchy dialogue and riveting scenarios this book makes for an unforgettable journey through human and sectarian frailty toward the seedy underbelly of our age which leaves an indelible impression at every destination along its eclectic itinerary. Sharma proves himself a cosmopolitan Voltaire of discerning and nuanced knowledge culturally and historically, which is deployed with impressive panache in crafting a tale of entertaining mayhem and espionage which will enamor fans of action adventures classical (Dumas, Hugo, Cervantes) and contemporary (Fleming, Harris, Clancy, Highsmith). Minotaur is a wholly unique idea and storyline, but also has foundations, engages with many traditions and sensibilities of literature I grew up on and treasure. I think it would make an extraordinary feature film or mini series were the property to be adapted. I'd imagine one might pitch it as Cat's Cradle meets Animal Farm meets Heart of Darkness. Indeed the plot and themes similarly engage with horrors of imperial colonialism, caste and class, ideas of the noble savage (as discussed famously in Huxley's Brave New World) and modern society's intersection with and absorption of indigenous cultures -- phenomena as germane in my state of Minnesota and the author's home to our north in Canada as it is in the Pacific Islands, and further parallels with longstanding English oppression in his birthplace of India, and the West's continual pillage across the middle east lend additional meaning and depth to provocative philosophical questions thoughtfully examined throughout. Sharma's precise, studied modes of relating information testify to an expansive appreciation for diverse techniques and the deft weaving of flashbacks, embedded source documents, and other features for relating exposition and varying perspective call to mind great authors like Dickens and the Bronte Sisters, also often exude characters at different times Shakespearean and Homeric. Like Orwell and Vonnegut, this author is particularly concerned with how ideals become betrayed and lead actors and populist regimes of revolutionary governments when poorly managed may evince all the oppression and perversion of their ostensible capitalist opposites in all but name. As civilization struggles to extricate itself from the stranglehold of the billionaires and their many tentacled appendages, an uncompromising commitment to democracy, equitable distribution, human rights remaining central is paramount, and robust caution and self-criticism of past missteps, an awareness of pitfalls and vulnerabilities in human nature and practice of the variety expounded in this novel will be of enormous benefit to the discerning scholar and citizen. Highly recommended!!
Renowned, widely published master of short fiction Dr. Sunil Sharma in his novel Minotaur demonstrates he is an equally capable force to be reckoned with in the realm of long form storytelling. Crafting a tightly woven narrative filled with gripping action, complex and layered characters, punchy dialogue and riveting scenarios this book makes for an unforgettable journey through human and sectarian frailty toward the seedy underbelly of our age which leaves an indelible impression at every destination along its eclectic itinerary. Sharma proves himself a cosmopolitan Voltaire of discerning and nuanced knowledge culturally and historically, which is deployed with impressive panache in crafting a tale of entertaining mayhem and espionage which will enamor fans of action adventures classical (Dumas, Hugo, Cervantes) and contemporary (Fleming, Harris, Clancy, Highsmith). Minotaur is a wholly unique idea and storyline, but also has foundations, engages with many traditions and sensibilities of literature I grew up on and treasure. I think it would make an extraordinary feature film or mini series were the property to be adapted. I'd imagine one might pitch it as Cat's Cradle meets Animal Farm meets Heart of Darkness. Indeed the plot and themes similarly engage with horrors of imperial colonialism, caste and class, ideas of the noble savage (as discussed famously in Huxley's Brave New World) and modern society's intersection with and absorption of indigenous cultures -- phenomena as germane in my state of Minnesota and the author's home to our north in Canada as it is in the Pacific Islands, and further parallels with longstanding English oppression in his birthplace of India, and the West's continual pillage across the middle east lend additional meaning and depth to provocative philosophical questions thoughtfully examined throughout. Sharma's precise, studied modes of relating information testify to an expansive appreciation for diverse techniques and the deft weaving of flashbacks, embedded source documents, and other features for relating exposition and varying perspective call to mind great authors like Dickens and the Bronte Sisters, also often exude characters at different times Shakespearean and Homeric. Like Orwell and Vonnegut, this author is particularly concerned with how ideals become betrayed and lead actors and populist regimes of revolutionary governments when poorly managed may evince all the oppression and perversion of their ostensible capitalist opposites in all but name. As civilization struggles to extricate itself from the stranglehold of the billionaires and their many tentacled appendages, an uncompromising commitment to democracy, equitable distribution, human rights remaining central is paramount, and robust caution and self-criticism of past missteps, an awareness of pitfalls and vulnerabilities in human nature and practice of the variety expounded in this novel will be of enormous benefit to the discerning scholar and citizen. Highly recommended!!
Displaying 1 of 1 review