The Ordeal: Book Review

 Book: The Ordeal
Author: Mangesh Jadhav
ISBN: 9381115428
ISBN-13: 9789381115428,978-9381115428
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 2011
Publisher: Leadstart Publishing Pvt. Ltd.
Number of Pages: 424
Language: English
Where To Buy: Flipkart

 The Ordeal is quite entertaining as the first sci-fi novel of Mangesh Jadhav. The characters he has used in this novel are very strong and vivid. Though in India there are not many writers who excel in writing sci-fi novels, Mangesh Jadhav has done an excellent job. He had presented before us a clean and crisp novel which will let you hook up to the book till the end.  It is known that the foreign writers have done a lot in the field of sci-fi but an Indian author doing this job so properly is indeed a matter of appreciation. 


The story goes like this: NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and NASA are together working on a satellite project for military purposes. And when it comes to the knowledge of Russia, they send their undercover agents to report the secrets of their mission and around this fact lay the plot of the novel ‘The Ordeal’. The plot is good, the characterizations are commendable and thus in the end we get to read an overall good book. 

The language used in the book is proper with no invalid or improper words used. The language is crisp and free flowing. There are no such identified grammatical mistakes and the writer has done a good job there. Editing is also well done and the book is neat, with well spaced letters and smooth language making this 400 pages book an interesting experience to go through. The character of the protagonist is very powerful and impactful. The main protagonist is Michael Jones, a CIA agent. He has a strong personality and it is reflected very well through the pages. How the hero tackles the situation and does a great job for his country, makes the appealing plot of the novel.

The female protagonist is played by Suzanne Owen, whose character is that of a Private Secretary of CIA’s Director. She is a young charming lady who plays Michael’s love interest.

The other casts comprises of Dr. Stephen Wilson of NOAA, who starts the experiment in the beginning, Dr. Nina Portman, who is a greedy scientist and betrays her country by revealing the secret to the Russians and several other characters who plays several additional roles. The book doesn’t disappoint the readers but that said it is a light read. The book has several plus points and although some parts may leave you wanting for more there is no reason to skip this book. Mangesh Jadhav’s debut novel is an overall success and readers can expect something more from the author for the next time around.