Review: "Namaste: The Whole Story"... the Pros and Cons... 3 1/2 Stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 9, 2014
"Namaste: The Whole Story" is a fictional tale of a martial arts/Zen hero, by co-authors Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant. This Kindle e-book was approximately 197 printed pages and sold for $4.99 at the time of writing this review.General theme (minor spoilers)This book completes the story of Amit that began in the first installment called "Namaste" (now called "Vengeance"). Amit, trained in the martial arts in a mountain monastery, is the master of his profession. But his mission of revenge for the murder of a young women/girl friend named Nisha is in direct conflict with the peaceful teachings and philosophy of the monastery where he's spent most of his life. His hunt takes him on a circuitous route around the globe where each stop leads to more strange and unexpected discoveries. This then is the conclusion to Amit's tale...Some thoughts on "Namaste: The Whole Story"...The Pros:1.) an exciting tale of revenge2.) many great encounters... most violent and graphically described.3.) well written with few if any grammatical or spelling errors.4.) I thought the tender love scene with Amit and Nisha in Chapter 23 was beautiful rendered. Also the entire end-sequence was skillfully crafted and was enhanced by an impeccable sense of pace and timing.5.) the actual plot and the unusual tangents that developed as things played out was brilliantly done.6.) a definitive and satisfying ending.The Cons:1.) Chapter 10, where Jason Alfero's hypochondria descriptions were a little overdone and maybe dragged out too long.2.) unbelievability... as per the following scene, in Amit's handling of travel concerns and his lack of documentation...'He ... decided to 'literally' hop onto a jet, springing onto the runway as it began takeoff, leaping up and grabbing it above one of its rear wheels'.Really guys! I know Amit's more than capable, but the lack of Oxygen, the cold and atmospheric pressure changes... meditation can only do so much... lol.3.) Amit's prolonged indecisiveness in the first 1/2 or so of the book... he seemed to be constantly at war with himself to justify his coarse of action. I find tales of prolonged indecision and indecisive in heroes tend to make for a difficult read. I simply get weary of listening to the circular thought process regarding their hang-ups.4.) there were many philosophical discussions early on between Amit and his mentor, Woo, regarding his spiritual and physical training that I just didn't comprehend and found quite long.Impression:A great first section (original first book) accompanying a truly gripping end-segment.However there where sections in the middle that made my wonder if the authors may have lost their focus or maybe were under some time constraints. I felt it resulted in this area not being as strong as the rest of the book... it had the feeling of being rushed.As it is... 3 1/2 Stars.Ray Nicholsonraynicholsonsreviews@hotmail.com@ralannicholson