THE ALPHA YETI BY SUM

TITLE- THE ALPHA YETI
AUTHOR- SUM
GENRE- ADVENTURE
PUBLISHERS- AUTHOR HOUSE
NUMBER OF PAGES- 213
FORMAT- PAPERBACK

About the book-

Every tribal land has it's own tribulations and the Kasis were beyond any hope or help, for what they were undergoing was terrifyingly unspeakable. It wasn't any myth or taboo. This one was true. The one God was as real as the white Giants. But, all the suffering and trepidations came from this impossibly aggressive grey giants. They were a deformity: a fallen imperfection on the Kasis. Somehow, a sensible Bhirendi, the elderly last of the Kasis, addresses the tragedy and rushes his people into the underground chambers of Ravaial before they are forced to face the wrath of the monstrosities that lately have begun to roll down from the white mountain.

With the situation only getting worse by the moment, the tribes hire a pack of ace hunters from the West. But, one of them freaks out and abducts the daughter of an estranged but once-upon-a-time famous hunter to only earn his ire. The hunters are drawn together into a strangely unwelcome land of doom with their fates sealed under the white mountain. They soon realise that time is all they have left in the enitre world when the grey giants begin their vicious play.

My rating- ★★★☆☆

My review-

Set in the mountains of Nirmalya or the "Pure dwelling" this story brings together the tribe of Kasis from the Karya kunj and the hunters from the Runn of Kutch.

The Kasis are a secluded tribe who have a pact with the giants- the yetis residing in the Nirmalya that neither of them would trespass each other's territory. Havoc occurs when the alpha yeti- the deformed yeti who seems to disregard the pact- creates rucus in the lives of the villagers. Things run out of hand when four Sherpas decide to take upon the alpha yeti- being killed in turn. 

In a desperate attempt to save the lives of his people, Wurli- the next village chieftain abducts the daughter of Jai- one of the hunters and lure them to help with their yeti situation. What follows is a life threatening battle between the hunters and the yeti- the plight of a father due to the abduction of his little girl and revealtions of the legend of the Yetis residing in the Nirmalya.

The story on the whole is adventure based, with many snatches from the past where courageous mountaineers had tried to gauge the height of the Nirmalya- but met death in the end. The first half of the story has a problem in continuation- only when the main characters come into the play, the timeline seems stable. The story highlights upon the fact that humans should remain within their limits and respect the boundaries nature has put down-violation of which will lead to their own doom.

It also speaks volumes of the love of parents, their innate instinct to safeguard their children, of lifetime friends ready to take on any adversity for the sake of their friendship and also of the truth behind the folk lores.

The author has introduced fresh content, however the plot has a lot of loopholes. The narration seems jumping from past to present- the timelines don't collaborate at a lot of places. The yeti encounter seems a bit monotonous towards the end. The author has tried to pique some interest by including revelations from the legends of the Kasis, however the revelations itself are incomplete. On the whole, the tribe and their one God is left out to a great extent. Also the blurb and the story inside don't corroborate at a lot of places.

On the whole an average read- with fresh content, great language and quite a feel of adventure. However there is a lot of scope for improvement.

Characters-

Jai- the hunter who,once upon a time was a big hot shot, however has given up hunting. He takes up the yeti problem only when his daughter is abducted. He is a great hunter, a courageous human being and a loving father.

Wurli- the son the chief engineer of the tribe of Kasis, he was the one who abducted Jai's daughter. Initially portrayed as just a hapless chap, he comes out to be the next capable chieftain of the tribe. 

The other characters included are Mobhaiji- Wurli's father, Boleain the last Bhirendi, Sanau- Jai's six year old daughter who played a massive role in the end, the other hunters- Dwar, Gohi, Bul and Hunter the dog, Jai's wife- Roopal and the white yetis and alpha yetis. 

To know the difference between the alpha yeti- and the white yetis, you would need to read the book.

Writing style-

With some fresh content and a huge array of language usage the author has tried to write a fantasy- adventure tale. The writing is stable only after the first part of the book is covered. With the plotholes and the timelines divergence, the book is quite difficult to follow initially. Later the narration becomes monotonous to some extent. Yes, it definitely gives the chills of the impending danger but lacks the captivity. Also there is a lack of proofreading, there are quite a few spelling mistakes throughout the text.

Thank you Writers Melon for sending me the review copy. Recommending this only to those who like adventure or want to read something different with regards to content. A really good attempt though.

About the author-

Sum possesses all the human emotions that any normal human would, despite sometimes living in the countryside, sometimes in the cities; sometimes in an enjoyable fugue state or at times in some multidimensional surreality of fantasy and fallacy. Sum is a believer: a believer in the art of true reading and this belief states that good books attract good readers. Sum's daily activities normally include writing,writing ,writing and if possible, more writing less sleeping nevertheless the last one still being an ommitable act.