Far Beyond the Dead End | Saikat Baksi | Book Review

Far Beyond the Dead End by Saikat Baksi

PLOT: 3.5/5
CHARACTERS: 3/5
WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5
CLIMAX: 3/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5

As Indians, we are all proud of the fact that our motherland has been the home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations; the Indus Valley civilization.

The fact that what had made the whole civilization vanish from the Earth without a trace whatsoever is an element still shrouded in unfathomable mystery, and one which makes the topic of Indus Valley ever more enigmatic.

As Indians, we try to relish on every piece of work on the once glorious society and thus when one comes across this book reliving the lost glories of the past and telling a tale which no other has thought of telling before, one has no choice but to succumb to the luring temptations of a promising blurb and an equally pleasing cover.

Far beyond the Dead End is a novel based on the lives of Koli, Girad and Sindhu. Koli is a beautiful and voluptuous young girl who lives in the town of Mohenjo-Daro, much before it was named the same (Mohenjo-Daro means the mound of the dead) and much before it became synonymous with the long-dead civilization.

Koli lives with her father, who is an eminent person in society and town. One day, the father and daughter duo welcomes a deserted man Sindhu, who had come from a port town, which was struck by doom in which everything was destroyed.

Looking for shelter and employment, Sindhu found himself taking the help of Koli’s father in getting dependable and regular employment.

Girad, on the other hand, is a middle-aged man, who has set his eyes on the beautiful Koli and is now seeking Sindhu’s help in wooing Koli. Sindhu, though aware of Girad’s evil nature and the imminent incompatibility of the Girad-Koli match, nevertheless, is bound to agree to his malevolent schemes.

So, will Girad woo Koli? Will Koli and Koli’s father agree to a match with Girad? Will Koli find her love in Sindhu? What will happen next is only for you to find out.

Though, seemingly a love story from the first look at it, the book has a lot to offer in terms of love, betrayal, drama, emotions, thrill, treachery and plotting.

Thus, as a perfect blend of all the above elements, Far Beyond the Dead End impresses with its clarity of plot and vividness of characters.

I liked the way the book starts in the sense that it makes the reader sit upright and hook on to every single word that follows.

I liked the characters of Koli and Sidhu, and though at the cost of revealing a little, I would like to mention, that they might turn out to be very surprising indeed.

Hats off..!! to the writing style of the author, who has surely done justice of the backdrop of the Indus Valley civilization.

The only qualm I have about the book is the ending. I believe, with a little more imagination, the ending could have been made a little less vague and a lot more interesting.

In my opinion, it did not give justice to the sense of impending danger which was relived again and again throughout the course of Far Beyond the Dead End.

2 thoughts on “Far Beyond the Dead End | Saikat Baksi | Book Review”

  1. Sounds okay but had it been more of a thriller against the looming mystery of disappearance of civilisation like style of ashwin or Dan Brown it would have been better coz of love story ,betrayal it sounds cliche Bollywood movie like mohenjodaro

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