An Other Tale of two Cities - in the Dragon's Lair: Book 1 and Book 2 (en Inglés)
Reseña del libro "An Other Tale of two Cities - in the Dragon's Lair: Book 1 and Book 2 (en Inglés)"
Two talented Table Tennis players, Kula and Jay set out on their journey from a small town near Chennai, India to win Gold at the 'Games' at Shanghai, China, against a formidable Chinese team, a feat that would be analogous to taming the 'Dragon in its Lair'. Along their journey they discover true and eternal friendship with a Chinese girl, Li Ling, a member of the Chinese TT team, who joins their magical expedition, punctuated by triangular love, sacrifice, humour and enormous will to win. Li Ling in turn discovers a family to call her own in far-away India. In their quest for stardom, it looks like sheer talent and self-belief isn’t enough, as the trio are subverted constantly by a bitter loser, Deng, who has been variously described as vicious, vindictive and venemous. When Jay’s winning ways was interrupted by a scheming Deng and his coterie, she reacts at the podium by laying her Bronze medal as a wreathe at the feet of her opponent, who had won against her, assisted only by brazenly biased umpiring. Kula uncovers a conspiracy hatched by the Chinese TT team Managers in nexus with two rogue Indian team managers to deny Jay her victory and in a moment of madness assaults the rogue officials. The injustice is swift – Kula and Jay are thrown out of the team and are banned for 3 years; a lifetime dream and mission truncated… Li too is incarcerated by the Chinese Federation and loses her place in the team as well, for being friendly with the Indians. Enter Shastry - a special emissary of the PM of India, who negotiates with his counterpart Lt. Gen Ping. Does he help reinstate the three friends in time for the next Games, to be held two years later and do the trio have their moments of glory?Little did Kula realize that by his single, individual act of foolishness, he would stand accused of being an Indian agent and of stealing Chinese National secrets! His indiscretion kicks off a diplomatic spat between his country and a 'China in denial'. Shastry pressures his counterpart to protect Kula from an impending arrest, even as politics escalates to a frenzied pitch. Thrown into the vortex of Chinese domestic political conflict, Kula and his Chinese girlfriend, Li are on the run to escape charges of sedition and sure gallows for both. While, the diplomats work on a diplomatic solution to save Kula, the a tightening police dragnet pushes the 'fugitives' into the Shanghai suburb with their nemesis chasing them gun in hand; a shoot-out ensues… Do the trio survive the 'waves of attack' of the persistent Deng?‘Meet the dragon’, they did… but, beat the dragon, did they? Be there ‘to watch from the front row’, each of their fights at the Table for possible Gold at the 'Games' at Shanghai! Someone had commented earlier, ‘Kula’s love will not get consummated’! Does the prophecy (or was it a curse!) come true? And who wins Kula eventually? Jay or Li? And how?Find your answers in ‘An Other Tale of Two Cities – In The Dragon’s Lair’!!!'An Other Tale of Two Cities - In the Dragon's Lair,' is an epic saga - an intense Romance-Action-Adventure - that explores the sporting, familial, cultural and political ethos of two modern nations, India and China, jostling for space in the 21st Century, as much as it exposes the contrasts and the rivalry between them and their strong personalities. A Literary Story of Love, told eloquently, the passionate ‘Tale’ offers several heart-rending and mind-whelming moments as also takes the reader through thrilling roller-coaster rides between Chennai in India and Shanghai in China.The author has taken an onerous responsibility of having to rise up to the original 'A Tale of Two Cities' by the legendary Charles Dickens. Both are tales of triangular love and of supreme sacrifice, intertwining the lives, loves and times of the paired cities during the respective periods. The similarities end there. Everything else about 'An Other Tale' is refreshingly, richly and excitingly different!!!
