So I'm writing a review of my own book. It's sort of like asking someone to describe their child in an unbiased manner. Guffaw, guffaw.
Indeed.
Let's give it a shot anyway.
The Colossus is not the best piece of literature out there. Of course, it isn't. But it's not the worst either. Pithy beginning, eh?
This is how it came about. I wrote a much more literary book a few years before the Colossus was born. I thought it was pretty good. But it wasn't accepted by the publishing world. I didn't want to self publish it then so I set it aside.
Instead of drowning myself in drink, I started another book.
This time, I wanted it to be totally different than the one I had written before. It had to be the sort of movie I like to watch. World hopping, mixing of cultures, Nazi era German pharma (gotta have the Nazi era man), an Agatha Christie inspired mystery and a wee bit of code breaking.
I'd grown up on stories told to me by my father who worked for Bayer (the Aspirin people) in Germany. I had heard about their great position of power among the Nazis. How even up until the eighties, some of the top chaps at Bayer had Nazi links.
Then I read Jeffrey Diarmuid's fascinating book, Aspirin. Highly recommend BTW.
I thought, what if a Jewish scientist living in Nazi Germany (fact: many top Bayer scientists were Jewish) was driven to find an Aspirin of his own and instead found something quite different. Then I had to connect all this to India, ancient India and the Indus Valley (since it is still so shrouded in mystery).
Next was to have an interesting protagonist. Someone real, someone identifiable. Maxine Rosen was born this way. She is anxious, has a weight problem, boyfriend problem and is a chef (gotta have food thrown in there, no?)
Her romantic interest had to be very non Jason Bourne like. More Bertie Wooster. This way this couple could go around making mistakes all the way as they attempted to do something they really oughtn't. My inspiration was James McEvoy for Professor Julian McIntosh. He was so easy to write, since I saw him in my head the whole time. Then Mr. McEvoy goes and does movies like Filth. I mean really, I understand expanding your repertoire..but I digress.
So these two Max and Julian needed a mystery to solve with the background of German pharma, Nazi stuff etc. So Max has a scientist father and grandfather. And a coded research document.
It's a spicy masala curry with as many ingredients I could toss in that I liked.
In the end, its an interesting story. A quick read with a mystery that is not so straight forward (tip my hat to the genius of Ms. Christie).
What stands out in the novel though, above all, if I may say to myself, is Max. She is flawed, lovable and real. That might be my greatest triumph in this novel.
Please try it, dear reader.
I think you'd enjoy it. It's a great escape, a fun ride with two fun, unassuming, gawky, flawed protagonists that could easily be you and me.
Indeed.
Let's give it a shot anyway.
The Colossus is not the best piece of literature out there. Of course, it isn't. But it's not the worst either. Pithy beginning, eh?
This is how it came about. I wrote a much more literary book a few years before the Colossus was born. I thought it was pretty good. But it wasn't accepted by the publishing world. I didn't want to self publish it then so I set it aside.
Instead of drowning myself in drink, I started another book.
This time, I wanted it to be totally different than the one I had written before. It had to be the sort of movie I like to watch. World hopping, mixing of cultures, Nazi era German pharma (gotta have the Nazi era man), an Agatha Christie inspired mystery and a wee bit of code breaking.
I'd grown up on stories told to me by my father who worked for Bayer (the Aspirin people) in Germany. I had heard about their great position of power among the Nazis. How even up until the eighties, some of the top chaps at Bayer had Nazi links.
Then I read Jeffrey Diarmuid's fascinating book, Aspirin. Highly recommend BTW.
I thought, what if a Jewish scientist living in Nazi Germany (fact: many top Bayer scientists were Jewish) was driven to find an Aspirin of his own and instead found something quite different. Then I had to connect all this to India, ancient India and the Indus Valley (since it is still so shrouded in mystery).
Next was to have an interesting protagonist. Someone real, someone identifiable. Maxine Rosen was born this way. She is anxious, has a weight problem, boyfriend problem and is a chef (gotta have food thrown in there, no?)
Her romantic interest had to be very non Jason Bourne like. More Bertie Wooster. This way this couple could go around making mistakes all the way as they attempted to do something they really oughtn't. My inspiration was James McEvoy for Professor Julian McIntosh. He was so easy to write, since I saw him in my head the whole time. Then Mr. McEvoy goes and does movies like Filth. I mean really, I understand expanding your repertoire..but I digress.
So these two Max and Julian needed a mystery to solve with the background of German pharma, Nazi stuff etc. So Max has a scientist father and grandfather. And a coded research document.
It's a spicy masala curry with as many ingredients I could toss in that I liked.
In the end, its an interesting story. A quick read with a mystery that is not so straight forward (tip my hat to the genius of Ms. Christie).
What stands out in the novel though, above all, if I may say to myself, is Max. She is flawed, lovable and real. That might be my greatest triumph in this novel.
Please try it, dear reader.
I think you'd enjoy it. It's a great escape, a fun ride with two fun, unassuming, gawky, flawed protagonists that could easily be you and me.
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