Book Review- Heart of Bullets by Nikhil Kushwaha

Book Name: Heart of Bullets

Author: Nikhil Kushwaha

Publisher: Petals Publishers and Distributors

Price: Rs. 195

Blurb:

‘The only way to get close to those glittering stars in heaven is to look at a soldier with stars on his shoulders.

Every time, they’re around, the thing that we see is the bravery, awards, medals, the pride, but what we can’t see is their sacrifices and the hardship they’ve been through. Every soldier has a story that is unique and extra-ordinary.

A tale of brotherhood and heroism, a tale of love and betrayal, ‘Heart of Bullets’ is about two friends. Arpan and Sam, and the untold story of their friendship, untold story of their love, Shradha, but what happens when Sam gets hit by the enemy- across the border?

What will Arpan do to save his friend? Will love prevail over friendship of lifetime?

There is a decision to be made, is the life without love, and friends, better than dying to save the one we love the most?

Story in a nutshell:

‘Heart of Bullets’ opens up with Arpan narrating to his sister his recent encounters with a terrorist. Arpan is home for a short vacation. His family is showering all their love upon him. *A happy family perfect picture*

Arpan then decides to meet his friend, Shradha. She is the love of his life and doesn’t have any idea about it. They talk about life and work when Arpan receives a phone call, a phone call from his commander. Arpan is ordered to return back for its an emergency.

Back at army quarters, Arpan learns that India is in high danger and that the terrorists are planning something big. General Puri, their commander, wants his team to avert this danger. He teams up Sam, Arpan, Zafar and a few others. Who is Sam? Sam is Arpan’s childhood friend, more like a brother to him.

Are they successful at their mission? No, they aren’t. The team loses a courageous officer, Zafar and Arpan gets shot in his leg. Sam runs after the terrorists in hope of finding some clue.

Lying wounded on bed, Arpan has nothing to do. He decides to tell is story of friendship to Doctor Kumar. The remaining pages traverse their school days, their friendship, their college and most importantly, Shradha.

The end of the story brings in another army operation. The operation is successful but it leaves Sam in the jaws of death. What was the operation all about? How was Sam hit? What does Arpan do to save his friend?

My Take:

The story is engaging. It will surely keep the readers hooked on to the book. There are very few ‘army’ incidents mentioned which is a kind of turn-off. The cover and title talks about army but the story had less to offer. I had expected the book to be speaking story like that of movie ‘Lakshya’ but it failed me. The narration is done in first person and is done very well. However, there have been occurances of many typing and editing errors. The poems are the real show stealers. They are indeed very beautiful.

Likes:

• The soul-stirring poems
• The operations at the army quarters.
• Shradha and her dedication towards her orphanage.
• Sam (If Sam was there for real, I would have never ever let him go.)

Dislikes:

• The editing of the story could have been done better.
• Some more anecdotes at the army quarters would have worked wonders.

P.S: I really loved the quality of paper.

I rate:

Cover: 2.5/5

Story: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

My rating for ‘Heart of Bullets’ is 3/5 stars.

You can book your copies here!