Book Review::Children of War By Anirudh Annam

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Quick Interview with the Author

Why did you think of this genre when most people of your age are making their mark in the genre of love and romance?

Anirudh: I prefer action thrillers to romance novels. 

I think that as a nation, India has had an overdoes of romance. 

Our films, books, music and any other form of entertainment media are always centered around romance and love. I personally think it is time for our entertainment to gain more diversity.

 I grew up reading action thrillers and I absolutely enjoy them. 

I would love to share the joys of reading action thrillers with readers in India and for that reason, 

I will continue to write thriller novels for Indian readers.

What is the kind of research you did?
I've seen you mentioned names of Mr. Shankar Dayal Sharma and also, Sam Manekshaw.

Anirudh: The research aspect of my book was one of the most enjoyable aspect of writing it. I studied defense technology journals and gathered information over a whole year. The characters in the book are faced with challenges that force them to think on their feet. Military forces around the world use psychometric tests to study soldiers' response to these conditions in battle. Some of these studies are published in defense journals and they offer a unique and in depth insight into the mind of an elite soldier. A lot of times, soldiers in the military face much tougher situations than our films and books can even dare to imagine. As for Sam Manekshaw and Shankar Dayal Sharma, I wanted to focus on how top secret the entire project was. It was created outside the normal system and it was only known to Field Marshal Manekshaw and the President of India. The secrecy was needed in order to ensure that the project would have the liberty to do its job of hunting terrorists. Overall, the book has been an incredible learning experience. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about military weapons and vehicles in this research process.

What is the advice for budding writers who want to venture into writing which is unromantic. 

Anirudh: My advice for young writers is to venture out into topics they truly enjoy reading. When you enjoy reading a certain genre, you can write a great novel in that genre. People write towards catering to the market's need (read romance here) but when you do that, you are writing for a genre that you do not enjoy. Your book will no longer be a work of art but it will become like an assembly line production made by a machine. For writing to be an art, you have to enjoy it.