First Blood – David Morrell (Book).

Book: 4/52
First Blood – David Morrell
My Rating: 5/5

Sometimes I really wonder about myself, why at times I don’t read the books based on my favourite characters from childhood, and this one was one of those characters much loved in the movie adaptation made in 1982, and Sylvester Stallone lived that lifetime role in such a way that even today the movie works for me big time. Long back, I came to know that it was, of course, based on a book, but unfortunately, it wasn’t available anywhere in our part of the world, and Uncle Bezos was too mean to keep it very expensive, finally black Friday sale plunged its price to my budget, and I jumped on it. Again, it will be a cliché to call the book way better than the movie, as it always is the case, but that takes nothing away from the action-packed movie. Let me tell you why. First, the little story behind Rambo’s name, as to why and how he was named Rambo, can only be found in the book. And then the movie doesn’t offer any in-depth about the three main characters, as is usually the case, especially of Rambo and his nemesis, played by the local cop Teasle, as to why they were hell-bent on killing each other. First thing was why Teasle, being a Sheriff wants Rambo, a nomad, to cross his town at the earliest, as he believes if Rambo remains in town, he might create chaos. But Teasle has no idea that he had been ousted by 15 other towns as well, right after he came back from Vietnam, a war veteran, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honour, a Green Beret, and he has no idea what he is going through mentally. Teasle, himself, was a war veteran (award-winning but lower than Rambo) from the 50’s Korean War, and even after they both knew about each other, they still kept on going hard and made it no easier for the other one. Rambo decides to burn the town down and kill Teasle, and as expected, Teasle wants to kill Rambo with his own hands. How it all is done is totally terrific, and I must say, I haven’t read a better thriller than this ever. David Morrell offers all the perspectives in this story, and both the main characters talk themselves out or into what they are doing and justify it to themselves, too, that they are totally right in doing what they are doing. The story has almost everything one can imagine in a thriller, a hero on a motorcycle chased by cop cars, a gorilla war in a mountain, sniffer dogs, helicopters, crashing cars, a burning town, explosions and a proper revenge with people being killed left, right and centre that I lost count of the same. 

Then comes Trautman as a respite in both their lives, the man who not only trained the killing machine called Rambo but also knows everything about the man, as to how to stop him from destroying his own life as he goes on a rampage. Right at the start of the book, the author states very clearly that if you have seen the movie and loved it, you should be ready for a shocking ending . Now that, got me thinking of all the alternate endings that I could imagine, of-course I am not going to tell you what it is, but I must say that he totally blew my mind by that ending and now I have to pick the second from the series which is even three times more expensive than the first , just to know if this is how it ends (or he offers a respite for the readers). What I loved big time about this book was that no matter how bad the cop was, he kept referring to Rambo as “Kid”, but then never gave up on his own elephantine ego till the very end. And I must say that the book is not only way better than the movie but equally thrilling, full of action with great details that the movie doesn’t offer due to its short runtime and the characters are so well developed that at times he made it so convincing for me the reader that there was no villain the story, just the circumstances to be blamed. I am sure that I am going to read this one again in the very near future for its racy narrative and almost too short length of mere 308 pages, but after I have read all three from the series. The first part was based on his book and since the movie was a blockbuster, they decided to make two more movies with Rambo in lead which David Morrell who wasn’t very happy with the script novelized the same with his own version, now I am so curious to know how it differed from the movies which was good if not great to watch, I will get the balance two too and read them asap. The knife shown on the book cover is a childhood dream, Dunno what I am going to do with it once I get it, but every time I come across it, the desire to get it becomes stronger . 

Have you read The First Blood? Or any other David Morrell novel, do let me know, as I am for sure going to read so much more from him at the earliest. 

First Blood: Rambo the movie: Just watched the movie too, as I simply couldn’t resist seeing those amazing characters on screen after I finished and loved the book. I must say, Oh My God! What an amazing movie this one turns out to be, even after ageing 45+ years, it remains one of my all-time favourites. Sylvester Stallone at his best, superb action, almost no dialogue, but a total visual delight right from the first scene to the very end, even loved that song with the end credits. Of course, they had taken huge cinematic liberties while adapting the book, and even Stallone was a part of the screenplay writing, which I am sure made it this good.

 

Man-Eaters of Kumaon – Jim Corbett (Book).

Book: 3/52.
Man-Eaters of Kumaon – Jim Corbett.
My Rating: 5/5.

I have read suspense and thriller novels, and then I got this one from our little library in Pune, which beats them all without any doubt. Unbelievable true stories from the world’s best wildlife sportsmen (when killing wild animals, especially man-eaters, was considered a sport), his own account of ten choicest tiger killings was totally terrific to read. Jim Corbett, a British-origin hunter-naturalist and colonel in the then British Indian Army, was born in Nainital, was known for tracking down and hunting man-eating tigers and leopards in the Garhwal and Kumaon region of the Indian Himalayas in the early twentieth century. All the instances of such killings in this book take place between year 1930-1938 because he called it quits and completely moved out of this sport and stopped taking Govt requests for such killings. Few of the tigers that he was forced to kill had not only killed but also eaten, at times more than 450+ people back then, let alone cattle and harmed so many more during their crossing into human colonies. My timing of reading this book couldn’t be perfect, as a few weeks ago, a wild Leopard was recorded in our neighbouring society’s CCTV, and people from nearby National Forests were on the lookout in the surrounding areas to capture and rehabilitate him/her to the right place. We were indeed forced to remain indoors for almost a weekend while it was on a wild hunt in the area, which gave me a glimpse of the real-life accounts from the book, how those people back then remained terror-stricken for days, weeks and months at a time to wait for the Shikaris to kill the wild animals. No doubt why they have named one of the best wildlife sanctuaries in our part of the world aptly as “Jim Corbett National Park” (I’m yet to visit it though). 

 

What I loved about this book is that it is written with great detail, every step of his journey, personal thoughts while he killed those much-loved tigers to save humanity, and reasons why they turned man-eating in the first place. His theories were always so unbelievably correct, even his predictions that the animal he was chasing has his own flaws, which all turned out to be correct by the time he hunted them. And it’s always not the tigers or lions that he came across, there was no dearth of Snakes, Bears and even Leopards on the prowl while he kept hunting with or without any support from anyone. Another thing I loved about his narration was that he always called India as our country and our people and never like he was a visitor. The way he was hosted by poor villagers and always loved what he was offered was heartening to read; such a gentleman he was. He himself was not a very religious man, going by his texts, and he didn’t believe in many superstitions, but still, he respected all that whenever he came across such beliefs by people of the Garhwal or Kumaon region. The entire book was so thrilling at times that it made me hold my breath to read further while he was chasing a ten-foot tiger or being chased by the same animal without his knowledge, and at times, he was as close as a few feet before saving himself from a tragedy. Hilarious was the account of villager’s accounts when they exaggerated his stories in narrating the same in front of other people, much to his amusement in front of him, but being a gentleman, he would let them enjoy their moments of glory, totally amazing to read. There are two dedicated chapters to other than his love of Tigers and Leopards in the book. One dedicated to his much-loved dog, a spaniel – Robin, who saved his life multiple times and another one to his favourite hobby of fishing, which he was able to do on and off while hunting. 

 

Have you read the Man-Eaters of Kumaon or any other book by Jim Corbett? Do let me know, as I will certainly be looking forward to his other works at the earliest.

 

Joy in the Morning – P G Wodehouse (Book).

Book: 2/52.
Joy in the Morning – P G Wodehouse
My Rating: 5/5

PGW is my all-time favorite Author whenever I am looking to laugh out loud while reading a book . Last time I remember I read one of his right after I finished Mr King’s “The Shining” and couldn’t sleep out of sheer terror that it gave me. I was reading it in the dead of the night to forget the horror I had gone through earlier in the day, and PGW had me in splits with Bertie Wooster and his man Jeeves’ histrionics whenever he gets in trouble with his love life or his terrific aunt Agatha (not Christie though) and his friends in need of good advice. I laughed out so loud that my mother, who was then visiting me, threated me to throw me out of the house as if I had gone crazy. She only let go of it when I showed her the book cover, and then she warned me to read a PGW only when I am alone and its proper day light so as not to bother anyone around . Of course, this one was no different, with Wooster and Jeeves game on again, but this time in a totally different fix. So, the story goes that Bertie’s Ex is now engaged with one of his friends, and there is a threat that she might bounce back on him, much to his distaste, but he always has Jeeves to his rescue, and how they solve it again had me in splits by simply kicking someone’s backside, how you ask me or rather whose? You’ve got to read the book to find out. In between, there were so many parallel tracks, one with one of his close buddies who became a constable and that too a very serious and law-abiding and implementing one, how he bothers Bertie is another story. The less said about his much-loved (or hated) uncle, who has his own secret challenge to go through, and then there is this fancy dress party where all of them come together and are saved by none other than our own genius Jeeves, who, if served fish for breakfast, can have his mind work in full speed on solutions for all. 

 

The best part of any PGW book is the interactions between two souls, which always start with a Ho! And go on Twiddle Doon for the reader, or can go to have a concatenation in between. I laughed at this love for Shakespeare, whom he still doesn’t credit for any of his writings, but his ghostwriter gets all the credit. Also, I totally agree when his friends compare him to no one else but Earnest Hemingway,  self-praise is best, but one that leaves a huge smile on my face always. So, in this little gem of a book, which lasted only 3 days, all Bertie’s forebodings are fully justified. In his efforts to oil the wheels of commerce for his uncle, promote the course of true love for himself and a dear friend and to avoid the consequences of a vendetta coming his way to send him out of the country, he becomes prey of all and sundry; in fact, only Jeeves can save him and how. 

 

Do let me know if you have read this one and loved it, or if you have a personal favourite from PGW. I so much wish one of his books was adapted as a movie or a TV series so I could give faces to so many much-loved characters. I am looking forward to reading at least half a dozen of his books this year to make him my most-read author of the year .

 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - George R R Martin (Book).

Book 1/52

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - George R R Martin

My Rating: 5/5

A century before A Game of Thrones, two heroes wandered Westeros. When a book cover says that with the legendary name GRRM on top, one just can’t ignore this little gem of a book. Additionally, its TV adaptation is set to be released within the next 10 days or so. I resisted reading this book for years, eagerly waiting for the TV adaptation, so I could read it right before its launch. My timing is perfect. This is from the age when Targaryens are still on the Iron Throne, but unfortunately, the Dragons have gone; only the memory remains. There comes a new hero in the form of a Hedge Knight Ser Duncan, and he calls himself “Dunk the lunk thick as a castle wall” with no background, knighted by a dying Knight who took him as a kid and trained him to be a good one at that. Tagging along with him is a nut case of a boy called Egg, originally he happens to be none other than Aegon Targaryen, the future king of the seven kingdoms. Let me tell you that the kid is hilarious, and the way he takes our giant of a Knight Ser Duncan was totally laugh-out-loud comedy, and the way Ser Duncan keeps trying to punish him was so funny. Even his love interest was a good turn of events, and even on that front, the author kept me asking for more. Their amazing chemistry is the best part of this entire story told in three parts and much to my heartbreak it is hardly 350 pages which so less from GRRM standards, I kept asking for more to no avail though, and guess what, he had no time to continue its second part as his fans are still waiting for the last two parts of his masterpiece “A Song of Ice and Fire” yet. I was eagerly looking forward to glimpses of my favourite kingdoms like Starks, Lannister’s, Frey’s, Dragonstone, Casterly Rock, the Tarly’s and so many more in no particular order and Mr GRRM does obliges on that front, if he ever end up writing this one’s sequel, I guess the great wall is not that far before Ser Duncan will travel that far with his insolent squire to take a look at the wall or may be go beyond that too. A lot of other characters, too, get special mentions like Dondarrions, the burning sword, tourneys where two warriors fight for honour and, at times, gold to survive. The hand-to-mouth story of Dunk with Egg is heart-touching at times as they struggle for their everyday meals and a roof on head, was simply stunning. But the best part about this book is the Illustrations by Gary Gianni, they were simply WOW, the way he gave the faces to so many characters, it was totally outstanding. I believe he has made the TV adapter's job easy by making those illustrations, as it won’t be much for the casting crew to pick up the right actors for those characters, going by his sketches. There are no fewer than 125+ sketches in a 350-page book. 

 

Have you read A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, or are you looking forward to the TV adaptation at least? It is very hard to choose one favourite from Mr Martin, so it is inevitable that almost all his books so far are best sellers. Big time looking forward to so much more from him at the earliest.

 

 

The Bridgertons - Happily Ever After - Julia Quinn (Book).

Book 60/52

The Bridgertons - Happily Ever After - Julia Quinn

My Rating: 5/5

The last of the much-loved book series for me, which sums up all the earlier 8 books and gives the second epilogue to all of them in one place. I actually wanted to know what happens with each Bridgerton kid after they all get married one by one and settle with their life partners, and to finally know what happens with their mother, one of my favourite Bridgerton character Violet, reading the Violet in Bloom as the last chapter of this book was totally amazing. It was fantastic to read 40-50 pages dedicated to each kid starting in alphabetical order as they are named in the story, starting from Anthony and going upto Gregory with all the rest in between :). The only grudge in this one was no mention of either Lady Danbury, one of my all-time favourite characters, or anything on much-loved Queen Charlotte, who usually makes a guest appearance in all her stories. Nevertheless, Julia Quinn has become the fifth most-read author for me, after my all-time favourite, Stephen King, followed closely by my young age favourite, Jeffrey Archer, further followed by Nicholas Sparks (my romantic author) and historical fiction, until he was writing Wilbur Smith. I haven’t read more than 4-5 books by any author in one particular year, but this year I have read 9 from Julia Quinn, and that too almost back to back :). She is full on entertainment and good on happiness quotient as far as my reading taste goes. I am going to change that in 2026 and want a new writer to show up in my list, overtaking all three above. Also, I had to read this one and close the chapter on the Bridgerton family once, and for all, as come Jan 2026 end, we have another season of TV series coming up based on Benedict’s life and story, which I am definitely looking forward to. I loved reading these books for their simple yet heart-touching story, and with so much humour of a close-knit joint family feeling they gave. 

Have you read Happily Ever After and loved it too? Do let me know if you have a personal favourite Bridgerton novel or any other Julia Quinn novel that stayed with you for a long time. I may read a few from her other series just to check if they are any good.