Akbar Agha’s Juggernaut is an intricate journey into the complexities of the human mind, exposing the delicate balance between an individual’s sanity and insanity. Having served as a career diplomat from Pakistan, he was also the acting high commissioner to Sri Lanka and acting ambassador Tanzania. Agha’s immense knowledge about the political and military affairs of Pakistan is evident on almost every page of the 253-page novel.

The book has been smartly divided into 40 short, fast-paced chapters that take readers through the story. The plot basically revolves around a young soldier, Captain Gul, who hails from Peshawar, and is entrusted with the highly classified task of tracking down an international spy and assassin who intends to cause some serious damage to Pakistan. As Gul embarks on this ostensibly straightforward quest, the events that ensue make him realise that there is a lot more that he needs to uncover than what meets the eye.

As the mystery develops, other protagonists are introduced by the author who also play a significant role in Gul’s search for the antagonist while keeping the interest of readers alive. The highlight of the novel could be the masterful handling of a parallel plot. This involves another protagonist, Begum Sharif, who is the foreign minister of Pakistan dealing with her own professional as well as personal issues. The parallel plots never merge, with both offering their own message for the readers to interpret.

A mystery with a parallel plot: Akbar Agha’s new novel is a thriller

Agha has a very strong hold on his characters and he develops them with a great deal of thought. The best part is that he keeps them fallible humans: where Gul is a noble and faithful soldier who will go to any length to protect his country, he is also an ordinary man who will, once in a while, allow himself to be allured by several clandestine pleasures that come with the perils of his duties. On a similar note, Begum Sharif, who is a scrupulous and dutiful Pakistani woman, does not refrain from fantasising about a few immoral acts.

It is the conclusion of the story that could leave a few readers thinking of it as anti-climactic. Perhaps we can attribute that to the exciting build-up of the mystery in the middle chapters that set the bar high, and make the readers anticipate more thrilling events in this stimulating page-turner.

“In the unlikely event that the president or army chief of staff issues an order to launch a nuclear strike, there are certain checks and balances that kick into play. Among these is the sanction by at least three generals for the nuclear launch to take effect, thereby ensuring that no one person can give the command on his own. At least three of these seven generals must concur with the order for a nuclear attack. Because of this, it is imperative that all these generals have a clean bill of health, especially mental health, and none is prone to attacks of anger or animosity towards the enemy. Some might even be closet jihadis, and only a well-trained mental health expert would be able to detect their underlying aggression. ”— Excerpt from the book

The use of language by the writer is worth mentioning. It is quite safe to say that readers will most certainly be left polarized by some of the analogies that have been made, the exotic poetry that has been alluded to, and a few outrageously coarse expressions and words here and there.

Another interesting observation that one would surely make as one reads through the pages is that rather than events and incidents, Agha mostly relies on the dialogues between some of his characters for humour, especially some of the conversations between Captain Gul and one of his senior officers that add much needed comic relief to an otherwise serious and grave plot. However, there are occasions where Agha adopts an almost didactic approach as if trying to hammer new diction in the readers’ minds:

“Eve. Interesting name. Do you know what Adam said to Eve when he first met her in the Garden of Eden?”

“Something like, ‘Me Adam, you Eve?’”

“No, that was Tarzan. Adam said, ‘Madam, I’m Adam.’”

“Is that a joke?” she gave him a conniving smile.

“No, it’s a palindrome.”

“What’s a palindrome?”

“A palindrome is a word or sentence that has the same meaning when read backwards or forward. Go on, try spelling the phrase backwards.”

While there are also a handful of editorial errors, in a nutshell, Juggernaut is an engaging read with fast-paced action, budding romance and revenge as some of its central themes.

The reviewer is a freelance writer who lives in New Zealand and writes mainly on education, literature and social issues. He is also a freelance trainer and teacher.

Juggernaut
(NOVEL)
By Akbar Agha
4 Hour Books (an imprint of Tara Press), India
ISBN 978-8183861250
253pp.