Official Review: Annihilation : Almost - Time to start ag...

[Nathrad Sheare]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Annihilation : Almost - Time to start again" by Raj Sharma.]

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Supercomputers and the end of man... There's another author on the case. At the center of his first- person narrative is a hacker who calls himself Robin. Robin is asked to team up with the CIA for a project involving the construction of an artificial intelligence unit, which he does, and all too willingly for a guy of his profession (No bribe, no blackmail). The operation becomes a fight for the security and safety of the human population as the program he helps to develop, MAXIMUS, evolves into the ultimate threat to its endurance. Robin is forced to acknowledge the evils of techie innovation and ingenuity as cyber Armageddon turns to nuclear holocaust. Fortunately, it all ends on the upside. Representatives of an extraterrestrial race with very informal English contact the survivors to let them know who their makers are and who their God is not, and utopia rises from the remains of civilization, everyone having learned from the mistakes of the past.

Raj should have tread the ground of his subject a little more carefully. The pitfalls of such a theme are many, but one serves as one of the ultimate threats to a draft, which we all know as the fanged and drooping old dog's face in every writer's nightmare that answers to "Undeniable Dryness." Our Raj seems not to have been very watchful of his steps. His story, therefore, seems to take on all of the lightest possible shades of brown, and I think the problem is rooted in the unfortunate deficiencies in the protagonist's personality. Actually, he doesn't have any personality... none at all, which makes him very peculiar for a tech wizard. We all know a hacker's proclivities, preferences, and ingenuity are the very components of his success and, when he is written, as when any protagonist is written, they make his story. Here, however, we have a book about a hacker with all traces of characterization and individuality plucked out. Somebody get some oxygen... or 911...

Sometimes a no nonsense approach is necessary, but in a novel we readers usually like to see a little more sensation than sensibility, to be immersed in, enraptured by, shown the world as it appears in another person's mind. Description is like blood to a narrative, plain and simple, and it has to be nourished or else. Typically when a writer eschews adjectives, he does so to challenge himself creatively, to force himself out of the comfort zone most authors take to when they wish to avoid the meltdowns, breakdowns, and takedowns essential to the journey toward the language painter's success. This usually means trading up from the basic set of colors to the metaphors and similes deluxe, guaranteed to astound when used with the right strokes. At times, it seems Raj has decided entirely against a palette. In addition, he takes all too many liberties with technical writing. His prose is more like that of a student's textbook than a novel most of the time. He is, however, rather skilled at grabbing attention with a chapter heading.

One problem I didn't encounter while reading Raj's book was an overabundance of misspellings and grammar mistakes. It seems ebooks are notorious for poor editing. I appreciated Raj's initiative on that point.

In short, I do not believe this should be the final edition of "Annihilation- Almost." It doesn't seem quite complete. I'll look forward to reading it someday after it has been reconsidered and reworked, if Raj hasn't already set his heart on another project. Writers need time to mature, and I'm certain Raj will as he continues to pursue his craft, improving on each work he finishes. My best and sincerest wishes to an aspiring author. I rate this book two out of four stars.

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