Nepal News
Wed, 13 Feb 2013
Kathmandu, the Novel- Book One, a book about “Dreamers, Schemers, Heroes and Holy Men” by writer Gerry Virtue, was launched amid a ceremony at the Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka on Tuesday.
The novel is the first of two linked novels of adventure and intrigue set in Kathmandu and Nepal following the turmoil of recent times and the increasing uncertainty of the future, the author said speaking during the book launch ceremony.
Virtue’s novel starts when aid worker Andrew, newly arrived in Kathmandu, receives a seemingly innocuous letter by mistake and thereon finds himself caught in the web of a covert ortganisation controlled by Merrick, a menacing and dangerous Englishman. He finds his life threatened. A nine-year-old kitchen boy, Ashok, from the hotel where Andrew is staying enters the scene. He takes Andrew and Kate, the protagonist’s girlfriend, for help to the boy’s teacher, Sadananda, an old sadhu who holds court in Kathmandu’s most famous old meeting house.
Sadananda becomes a ‘wise helper’ to the tense and agitated Andrew. The old sadhu eases their fears, and calms them with tales of the ancient Himalayas. He relates these tales, along with sage advice, at significant moments in the novel, and they give Andrew and Kate useful insights into their predicament and suggest possible solutions.
While Merrick’s secretive group devises a covert operation that will tear the subcontinent apart, the hunt for Andrew and Kate intensifies. Then young Ashok goes missing and the fugitives are drawn further into a frightening world of conspiracy, deception and death.
The writer said that the book’s sequel will be out in mid-2013 and will feature an explosive climax in which Andrew comes face to face with Merrick.
Published by Inspiring Publications Ltd, the novel is available at leading book stores in Kathmandu.