03:02 – Book Review

Author: Mainak Dhar

Paperback: 350 Pages

Publisher: Westland Books (June 15th 2016)

Language: English

Genre: Thriller/Science Fiction/Dystopia

ISBN-13: 9789385152962

About The Book:

At 03:02 on a Sunday morning, the world as we knew it came to an end.
Mumbai suddenly went black — no electricity, no phones, no internet and no working cars. It was as if someone had turned off the master switch of our civilization, turning us back hundreds of years overnight. We learned that it was not just Mumbai, but much of the world that had been impacted.
We also learned that it was no accident. A deadly enemy was behind it. An enemy that was now in our midst, seeking to conquer us and destroy our way of life. This is how our war for freedom began. A war that was to be waged not on the borders or by the Army, but in our homes and streets, with us as the soldiers.
This is our story.

About The Author:

After finishing his schooling at Modern School, Barakhamba Road and his under-graduation at Hindu College, Delhi, Mainak Dhar graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He has spent two decades in the corporate sector — starting with Procter & Gamble in India. He spent eighteen years with P&G, fifteen of them outside India across the Asia Pacific region. In 2014, he moved back to India as the CEO of the India operations of a major consumer products multinational.
A self-described cubicle dweller by day and writer by night, Mainak is also the author of over a dozen books, some of which have been bestsellers in India and abroad. These books have been translated into Turkish, Vietnamese, Japanese, French, German and Portuguese. He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Puja, and their son, Aaditya. When not at work or with his family, he can usually be found working on, or thinking about his next book. Learn more about him and contact him at

My Take:

Book is the mix of everything in just the right proportions. It has love, horror, thrill, action, guilt.. you name it and it’s there. Nothing is over done. Book feels like a journey through the eyes of the protagonist, going through the ups and downs and feeling the helplessness and despair right within our hearts. It makes the reader think what of this happens for real. It makes us laugh at the mere futility of things we run after in our life. The book subtly points out to the life we all have conveniently forgotten.
The characters of the book except the main protagonist are to be short-lived in the memory of the reader because there are just too many of them and list goes on increasing every few chapters. Main protagonist Avinash, though manages to leave the mark displaying all the characteristics of the flawed human being we all are deep down. Even the other characters of the story are well placed and well portrayed, very much vulnerable and susceptible to the dangers that are found to be lurking in the darkness.
Though the book falls under the genre of mild thriller, the traces of romance found shattered here and there are bound to bring a smile on the face of the reader. It clearly highlights one thing we often ignore in our lives, that is, the need to love and to be loved. There are times in the book when the pace of the story slows down and repetitive events seem to drag the story. The style of writing is somewhat similar to author’s previous book “Chronicles of the Undead”, which brings about the urge of the single man to come forward and help the community or whatever of the same it left.

Bottom line: A gripping tale of survival when hope leaves you in darkness and there’s nothing to depend upon.

My Rating:

3.5/5

Scale of Rating: 1– Ignore It!! 2-Don’t Touch It!! 3-One Time Read!! 4-Add To Your TBR!! 5-Read it NOW!!!

This review is a part of Book Review Programme at Writersmelon.com