Skip to main content

HeartQuake by K. VijayaKarthikeyan

When an IAS officer writes a short book on a fictional IAS officer, there is bound to be some interest in the story. K. VijayaKarthikeyan crafts an unputtable read with HeartQuake.



Vikram, a former journalist, and an IAS trainee officer in a full filmy style, asks some uncomfortable questions from a local politician, who again follows a Bollywood script to avenge this mistreatment. RPR is ferociously scary and very powerful.

The story moves at a rapid pace, with a twist in the form of a medical drama, with a confounding mystery reminding you of medical thrillers of Robin Cook or Robert Ludlum.  Vikram balances new found love, this medical mystery and the vengeful politician with much bravo and intelligence.

The writer brings in insight with his own experience as a civil servant. The story moves at a predictable pace but still manages to surprise you. 
The characters are quite well crafted and come up well like RPR and Veda. Indeed Veda really is a refreshing addition to the caste with a strong personality and Vikram's love interest.


Publisher - Rupa
Pages - 151
Genre - Fiction/Thriller

Comments

Also read

Debate : Do the ends justify the means...

Note : Give it all a fair thought before you jot down... Flaming and religion-bashing will not be tolerated. Your participation is gladly appreciated. I dunno if you folks remember this incident; a couple of yrs back, the UPSC exam had a question where the emainee had to assert his views on *revolutionary terrorism* initiated by Bhagat Singh. As is typical of the government, hue and cry was not far behind... Anyway, let us look at some facts -   Bhagat Singh was an atheist, considered to be one of the earliest Marxist in India and in line with hi thinking, he renamed the Hindustan Republican Party and called it the Hindustan Socialist Revolutionary Party. Bhagat Finally, awaiting his own execution for the murder of Saunders, Bhagat Singh at the young age of 24 studied Marxism thoroughly and wrote a profound pamphlet “Why I am an Atheist.” which is an ideological statement in itself. The circumstances of his death and execution are worth recounting. Although, Bhagat Singh had a...

Does India need communal parties?

I think, it was Tan's post on this blog itself, Republic Day Event, where this question was raised. My answer. YES. we need communal parties even in Independent, Secular India. Now let me take you, back to events before 1947. When India was a colony of the British Empire. The congress party, in its attempt to gain momentum for the independence movement, heavily used Hinduism, an example of which is the famous Ganesh Utsav held in Mumbai every year. Who complains? No one. But at that time, due to various policies of the congress, Muslims started feeling alienated. Jinnah, in these times, got stubborn over the need of Pakistan and he did find a lot of supporters. Congress, up till late 1940's never got bothered by it. And why should we? Who complains? No one. But there were repercussions. The way people were butchered and slaughtered during that brief time when India got partitioned, was even worse than a civil war scenario. All in the name of religion. And there indeed was cr...

Politics - A profession

Note: This article was originally published on 18 March 2009, 01:10 on this blog and has been thoughtfully revised on 30 January 2026, 12:00 noon to reflect fresh insights and updated context. This post is loosely inspired by the  TATA Tea a d  where this politician goes to ask for votes and a voter asks him for his qualification and work experience the the important 'job' that he is embarking upon. The politician laughs at the voter, asking him what job is the voter referring to. The voter responds, "The job to run the country". Do politicians in other countries view politics as a profession? Or is politics viewed similarly across international boundaries? The best way of course to find out is go to that ever useful tool for professionals - LinkedIn.  Here are the results: Barrack Obama Hillary Clinton Sarah Palin The apparently technologically challenged Senator   John McCain. I also came across many politicians, prime ministers who have LinkedIn profiles. While ...