Book Review - 03:02 by Mainak Dhar

03:02 by Mainak Dhar

Mumbai suddenly went blank - no electricity, no phones, no internet and no working cars. It was as if someone had turned off the the master switch of our civilization, turning us back hundreds of years overnight. We learned that it was not just Mumbai, but much of the world had been impacted.
We also learned that it was no accident. A deadly enemy was behind it. An enemy that was now in our midst, seeking to conquer us and destroy our way of life. This is how our war for freedom began. A war that was to be waged not on the borders or by the army, but in our homes and streets, with us as the soldiers.

My review:
We are all busy with our lives, going on without any other care. We rarely think about how much goes into our daily life. We wake up, and there is milk and paper right at our door step. We take things for granted, and in one single day, we don't have time for other things.

This novel invokes you in a fear that will remain throughout the book. 

One fine morning, Aditya wakes up to a new world. Not only him, but also the whole of Mumbai.

No electricity, no phones and no transport. In this millennium, we could rarely pass a day without all these three.

And he faces a situation, where none works.

All the people in his apartment complex gather and none seemed to have an answer for what was happening. Soon, they find out that the situation was the same in the whole city.

They try to pass the hard times with their limited resources. Aaditya takes up the role of organising things.

But, soon they find out that it is not merely a power shut down, and they come face to face with the people behind it, the terrorists. The story turns bloody, and chaos breaks among the people.
The portrayal of the difference in opinion of even a small group of people is so realistic, that it makes you fear the situation, if it happens. It makes you think deeply more than the story intends.

These makes the novel, a page turner. There might be some flaws here and there, but the book will stand out in your bookshelf, as the one that made you go sleepless and fear the imaginary situation. A good novel is one, which stays with you long after you have completed it, and this is one of the good novels.

The story continues further, and the people when faced with reality, seek a good leader, and Aaditya takes them towards a war, where they have no idea about the opposition nor do they have enough means. They are a group of intellectuals, and duffers, much like the normal population, and it was interesting to read about how they face the adversity, both together and apart.

My rating: 9/10

I received the book as a part of the review program by Writers Melon. The opinion expressed in this review is entirely my own.