Author: Karthik C
Publisher: Redgrab Books
What if you were locked in a room and were
faced with your crimes?
The Ulysses Pact by Karthik C is the story about Yazdaan
Abbas, an intrepid psychiatrist from the valley, who uses five of his patients
as pawns to play in a deadly game where they enter a Big Boss-esque house of
death. The debauched ‘reality show’ is streamed live in the deep bowels of the
darknet where delinquents bet on the horrid lives of miserable people. Each of
the five carry their own secrets which when revealed can threaten their own
reality. Will the five drown in their despair? Will Yazdaan Abbas succeed in
his unethical social experiment? Will we uncover all the enigmas that lie
within? Dive right through the thrilling story of self-realization and second
chances giving its readers an immersive experience, one which is assured to
stay with them for a long time.
The plot of the story depends on the reader’s
understanding of the concept of the Ulysses Pact and how it works out in the
long run. The author makes a decent attempt to explain it in the prologue and
set the tone of the story. This sets the
ball rolling to show how our past can affect our future, and how it is never
late to start afresh. Each of the backstories are horrific and show how the
person was drawn to do what they do, and the consequences of it, not just in
the legal sense, but in a psychological manner. The storytelling is good, and
the way things are revealed, shows the storytelling prowess of the author. The
thing that didn’t work for me was the fact that there are places where the story
starts abruptly, and I would have appreciated if a better link between the six
characters was shown. Secondly, the plot gets muddled towards the end and apart
from the backstories, there is not much to go on. The climax is surprising, but
it could have been a better one.
Coming to the characters, I liked how each of
them are unique and none of the 6 stories are similar, yet have a common
thread. The character sketches are interesting and that is something that
powers this story. Each if them have a purpose and this purpose defines the
people. be it Yazdaan or any other characters, there is a strong motivation
behind each action, and I was amazed in the way Yazdaan’s story pans out.
Overall, a decent read that scores a 3.88/5
for me.
Get a copy of the book here.
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