Official Review: The World Is In Me by Sheeraz Khan
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Official Review: The World Is In Me by Sheeraz Khan
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The World Is In Me" by Sheeraz Khan.]
1 out of 4 stars
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The World Is In Me by Sheeraz Akmal Khan is a coming-of-age story about a boy in Kolkata, India, who learns about himself, the world, and the other world. Khan is an author and songwriter who is taking Business Management course at Kavitha Memorial College in Khammam. The book has some interesting ideas that are hindered by a lack of execution.
This is a first-person story written from the perspective of Oez, an orphan boy just graduating from the equivalent of high school. Oez is smart and athletic enough to be a decent Kalari fighter (an Indian martial art form, often using weapons). He also has always seen glimpses of another world, always around but only seen by him at times in his reflection.
Oez is obsessed with the images he sees. He eventually follows a lead he has, through the actions of one of his teachers, Arjun, and manages to find a way to the other world, Vajish. Here, everything changes for Oez, as he is eventually dragged into the geopolitics of two worlds, finds new friends, discovers family, and runs from assassins. With the threat of a major war involving Earth and Vajish, Oez has to hope that he's learned enough about himself to be able to help save both worlds from turmoil.
There are some major issues with The World Is In Me, but by far the biggest is the quality of the writing. The writing is clumsy at times, confusing at many other times. There are several paragraphs and many sentences that just do not make sense. This problem occurred at least once every couple of pages, and usually more often than that. The character dialogue also suffers from this problem, and it makes the book very difficult to follow at times. There are also a lot of grammar issues that crop up on a regular basis.
The confusing writing makes other issues in the book worse. Khan tries to maintain that the passage between worlds is achieved in a “natural” way, that isn't magical or scientific, but doesn't really explain what that means. The scent of a particular flower is what causes one to be able to transition between the worlds, but the scent is controlled with radio waves, which obviously needs some explanation. The attempts to explain how the transition is controlled ends up being more confusing than helpful, due to the language issues.
There are plenty of plot and character issues as well. While being chased by assassins, Oez and his travelling companions stop at a party being thrown by Ubaid, the son of the man trying to kill him, because his friends would be expected to go. In a later scene, Oez is fighting Ubaid and none of the guards in the area interfere. There are simply too many instances where people don't react in believable ways.
The World Is In Me is a book with a lot of energy and original ideas. There is a hint of something really interesting here. In the end though, it gets held back by some unnecessary clichés and poor writing. I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. It really needs a lot more editing before I could recommend it to anyone.
******
The World Is In Me
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1 out of 4 stars
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The World Is In Me by Sheeraz Akmal Khan is a coming-of-age story about a boy in Kolkata, India, who learns about himself, the world, and the other world. Khan is an author and songwriter who is taking Business Management course at Kavitha Memorial College in Khammam. The book has some interesting ideas that are hindered by a lack of execution.
This is a first-person story written from the perspective of Oez, an orphan boy just graduating from the equivalent of high school. Oez is smart and athletic enough to be a decent Kalari fighter (an Indian martial art form, often using weapons). He also has always seen glimpses of another world, always around but only seen by him at times in his reflection.
Oez is obsessed with the images he sees. He eventually follows a lead he has, through the actions of one of his teachers, Arjun, and manages to find a way to the other world, Vajish. Here, everything changes for Oez, as he is eventually dragged into the geopolitics of two worlds, finds new friends, discovers family, and runs from assassins. With the threat of a major war involving Earth and Vajish, Oez has to hope that he's learned enough about himself to be able to help save both worlds from turmoil.
There are some major issues with The World Is In Me, but by far the biggest is the quality of the writing. The writing is clumsy at times, confusing at many other times. There are several paragraphs and many sentences that just do not make sense. This problem occurred at least once every couple of pages, and usually more often than that. The character dialogue also suffers from this problem, and it makes the book very difficult to follow at times. There are also a lot of grammar issues that crop up on a regular basis.
The confusing writing makes other issues in the book worse. Khan tries to maintain that the passage between worlds is achieved in a “natural” way, that isn't magical or scientific, but doesn't really explain what that means. The scent of a particular flower is what causes one to be able to transition between the worlds, but the scent is controlled with radio waves, which obviously needs some explanation. The attempts to explain how the transition is controlled ends up being more confusing than helpful, due to the language issues.
There are plenty of plot and character issues as well. While being chased by assassins, Oez and his travelling companions stop at a party being thrown by Ubaid, the son of the man trying to kill him, because his friends would be expected to go. In a later scene, Oez is fighting Ubaid and none of the guards in the area interfere. There are simply too many instances where people don't react in believable ways.
The World Is In Me is a book with a lot of energy and original ideas. There is a hint of something really interesting here. In the end though, it gets held back by some unnecessary clichés and poor writing. I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. It really needs a lot more editing before I could recommend it to anyone.
******
The World Is In Me
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Braktooth's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Skills of the Warramunga by Greg Kater
