Official Review: Fast Track To Glory by Tomasz Chrusciel

[ananya92]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Fast Track To Glory" by Tomasz Chrusciel.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Fast Track to Glory by Tomasz Chrusciel is a novel in the crime thriller (or rather archaeological adventure) genre.

Nina Monte did not find it odd that the Italian cultural ministry sought her professional help regarding an archaeological find. After all, she was a well-established professor, teaching history of religions at the University of Padua. What she did find odd was the place and time of the meeting. The event grew unusual still when the European delegates refused to reveal the identity of the artifact, and almost coerced her into meeting the enigmatic art collector who recovered the object from the depths of Lake Garda in Italy. However, soon Nina finds out that a bigger and more sinister plot is afoot, and she is just a pawn in the game. Will she and her new found aide, Alessandro, succeed in disrupting the evil plans of a psychopath set out to have the world grovel at his feet?

The attention to detail in sketching the (apparently exotic) locales in the book is immense, and this makes the scenes and the places mentioned come alive for the readers. From Italy to India, the author’s beautiful descriptions, was the first aspect of the writing style that hit me. The book is written in third person, and covers the story from the eyes of various characters. Initially, the plot seems a bit slow, but once it picks up after about one-fifth of the story is covered, it is extremely hard to put down.

The author provides the readers with two refreshing central characters. It’s good to notice that strong female protagonists are becoming all the rage in the literary world these days and Nina Monte is no exception. Her character displays a certain reasonableness and slight emotional vulnerability, which is quite believable for a female in her mid-thirties. What I really liked about her character was the fact that she behaved exactly how a person in a similar crisis would behave, and not transform into a super hero overnight.

Soon she joins forces with another rather conceivable character. Alessandro is not our typical hero; in fact, he is more in a supporting role. He is a man of simple beliefs who leads a life of ease, trying to prove his mum that he is a good hotelier, and whose favorite pastime seems to be flirting unabashedly with all girls possible. His rather convenient life changes course when an ugly incident forces him to seek out the truth, and also compels him to look within to confront his lack of courage.

Coming to the plot, while there are a few adrenaline charged scenes, what was conspicuously missing, was that even though the author succeeds in creating an aura of suspense surrounding the ancient object discovered, which is at least more than four thousand years old, till the end of the novel he does not resolve the mystery for the readers about the catastrophe it could unfold.

While I was little disappointed on this front, what I found extremely likeable was the philosophical probing in the book. The author tactfully deals with the sensitive issue of the identity of God. Like Nina says, “Your God? Alessandro, if God exists, there is no your or their God. There is only one God people pray to. They just depict him differently. Do you think that nine hundred million Hindu people or one-point-six billion Muslims for that matter believe in a false God?” This simple understanding has become very relevant in these distressing times of competing and often, conflicting religious identities.

There are a couple of minor details that bothered me, for instance, Nina’s grandmother is portrayed as belonging to a family of high caste of warriors living in Jaipur (Western India), but her surname is Bandopadhyay which is usually common in Bengal (Eastern India) and assumed by high caste of priests, not warriors. In one or two places, the word ‘Hindu’ seems to be equated with Indian, which is incorrect since all Indians are not Hindus. However, these are minor errors which do not detract from the main text, and are quite common, genuine misassumptions made by Westerners.

The author has penned down an engrossing tale of adventure, mystery, philosophy and little bit of magic, which is definitely worth a read, especially by readers who like cross-cultural tales. I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars.

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Fast Track To Glory
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Like ananya92's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Swiftmover07]

Nice, honest review. The book does sound interesting and adventurous

[ananya92]

Thanks

[Heidi M Simone]

Very well-rounded review, ananya92!
I like this line:

However, soon Nina finds out that a bigger and more sinister plot is afoot, and she is just a pawn in the game.

It makes the story sound like a good read!

[ananya92]

Thank you

[bluemel4]

I really enjoyed your review. I like that the main character does not turn into a female superhero but stays grounded in reality. You brought up some great points about the common misconceptions of westerners and the overall debate of religion. Great job!

[ananya92]

Thank you

[debo9967]

Sounds like an interesting and fast paced novel. Good review!

[ananya92]

Thanks

[Maryannwrites-15]

Very nice review. I enjoyed the little excerpt regarding the existence of God. It reflects what many people think, that there is one God by many different names.

You do an excellent job with balancing the positives with the little negatives in writing a review. That is always a challenge for a reviewer.

All best,
Maryann

[ananya92]

Thanks a tonne!

[Maryannwrites-15]

You're welcome.

[e-tasana-williams]

I enjoyed reading your review ananya92! You give fair treatment of the positives and the negatives you found in the book. Based on your description, I am adding this title to my "Want to read" bookshelf. The themes of culture, history, religion, mystery and magic are right up my alley. Can't wait to read it...thanks!

[ananya92]

Thanks!