Three realms, one unforgettable love story

This book has been categorised as a fantasy romance, but it has much wider dimensions than that. A heartfelt love story is at the book’s core, and its unique feature is the blend of three realms that the characters inhabit. First, in the real world there is the seemingly simple office romance—this overlaps with a virtual romance in the computer gaming world, and finally, in the realm beyond is the romance of a soul who, even in death, perhaps transmigrates to another living soul and the love becomes eternal.

The reader is intrigued at how the three realms are fused into a plausible story, but that is just what the author has achieved. In the meticulously thought-out plot, you will marvel at how the three realms converge. As the plots multiply, the reader wonders how so many loose ends will ultimately be tied up.

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The game ‘Anima Sanctum’ in the story is similar to an actual computer game called World of Warcraft—Eeciting, magical, adventurous, and yes, addictive. Game after game your partner and you save each other from death and since you play incognito and only have a game handle or ID, no one knows you. Your romance with an online unknown player can spill into your real life and cause you sleepless nights. How did you fall in love with a virtual person?

Other strengths in the book are the knowledge you gain of how private investigators work. They must have contacts in the police department, learn how to glean information from every possible source and how to avoid being caught from breaking the law themselves. We learn how stock market manipulation is a ploy to defeat your business rivals. The one upmanship in business rivalry is very enjoyable to read. We also learn about Blockchain technology—an advanced database mechanism that allows information sharing within a business network.

The characterisation is strong, interesting and well-crafted. Where there are wealthy CEOs there are the proverbial gold-diggers. These are the fun elements in the book. Enjoying the smoked trout and Chardonnay is less important than who you dined with and why. The entire world wants to know who will be chosen to become the devastatingly handsome and obscenely rich CEO’s bride! And if he is dining with another CEO, is there a merger or hostile takeover on the horizon? The conjectures are inevitable.

There are 44 chapters in the book and the title of each chapter is a testament to the writer’s ability to hint at a mystery or even a solution to a mystery in the title. The 44 titles themselves are part of the book’s elevated standard. Some titles appear simple like “The Orphanage” or “The Scarf” while others point to the mystery itself like “Subterfuge” or “The Invisible Bond”.

The research to support the information in the book is thorough and extensive. The very first chapter which is about climbing the Himalayan range will immerse the reader into the snowy, magnificent yet treacherous range of the Himalayas. Fissures, crevasses, the rest step technique, jumaring, etc., transport us to the mountaineer’s world.

Those of us who know little about video games will be drawn into the world of virtual reality. A shield to protect can be of chainmail or iron, but it can also be as delicate as gossamer silk. And when you see that the enemy has a katana, you wonder how you can possibly defend yourself. Is the game more about quick wit and strategy, game partnership, or about the superiority of your weapons? Are these factors applicable to modern warfare as well? Is it about diplomacy and strategy, or about the strength of your arsenal?

The couple we love most in the story are Fergus and Bellflower, an aged couple who run a small café where there is no menu, but you are served whatever Bellflower fancied to cook that day. Their sweetness and wisdom make them most lovable.

Finally we meet the mysterious millionairess and the author’s skill when the story telling is at its peak. All the loose ends that keep you turning the pages come together brilliantly and we are left with a superb novel truly deserving of a very high rank in literary achievement.

Nusrat Huq is a teacher in Sunbeams school and a member of TRC (The Reading Circle).