ABDUCTION. ROBERT COOK

Not a nail biting kind of science fiction...but, the story of a group of people being abducted by aliens, not from space, but from the mysterious space called Mohovovic line, is rather an inversion of imagination from space to the depths of the earth's mantle. 

Quite weak in plot, what saves it is the importance given to one's freedom to make a choice, never mind if it is subverted by the Interterrans. Then, there is the idea of immortality and pleasure becoming a pain actually...now, that is different. 

The Hindu belief that the body is only a physical form and has no bearing to one's personality and that we carry our karma from the past to the present and to the future - this idea is explored with a little imagination by Cook. Otherwise, the story is not exciting and is a featherweight piece of writing from Cook.

As the Crow Flies . Jefferey Archer

An interesting story of a costermonger who rises from a greengrocer selling from a barrow to a war veteran to a shrewd businessman to a seeker of truth told by a master stroy teller Archer. As always, his humour is subtle and his plots strong. The story moves from character to another as they narrate their parts in the story. So, there are a few repetitions which gets a little tiring after some time, but when the story picks up momentum, one is forced to ignore this. What one likes about the story is the indefatigable spirit of the man, so typical of so many heroes in lands across the globe. That is the abiding memory of the story long after it is read.

Psycho - Trilogy

How ignorant can one be was exemplified when I noticed that there was a Psycho trilogy by Robert Bloch, when all the time I had assumed that Psycho was Hitchcock's masterpiece. It is, no doubt, in the visual medium. But, if you ask me, the thriller had its origin in this book.
In this book, fear gets under your skin...not the fear of blood, brutality and murders, but the fear of one becoming Bates. His fears, his psychotic thoughts, his vulnerability to psychological voices inside his head....are all these 'his' or 'ours'? Bloch takes us so infernally deep into Bates' mind that there is complete identification with Bates as he struggles with his screzophrenic personalities.
The point is, if one hadn't seen the movie, one could never have guessed the gruesome riddle.
Bloch is at his best in stoking our fears, not through graphic visuals and music as in the movie, but through his words. The 'how, when and why' of it all is best enjoyed only by reading Psycho.

Psycho II is chilling, becuase the terror keeps building through the opening pages. Dr.Clairborne, Bates' physician is determined to find his patient who escapes from the Detention centre after killing two nuns. The revelation and denouement are unexpected, in fact, it goes beyond our limited imagination.

Psycho III is a culmination of the psychological study and completes the horror story.

SHADOW OF POWER

SHADOW OF POWER BY STEVE MARTINI

The book fizzes out in the last section, where it really should've picked up momentum. The first part reminds one of Perry Mason who used all his guile, wile, friends and associates to wield magic in his court room trials.
Almost there, but like a tired athelete, losing steam in the last few yards, the book disappoints one at the end.
All the same, one can take it for the careful and crisp plot. The plot-holes come later.