Doomsday Conspiracy OR a Doomed Visionary?. Review on Doomsday Conspiracy, The - Sidney Sheldon

''A shock from the well-trusted stable of Sidney Sheldon!'' These were my first words when I had finally put down the book.

Believe me, I flipped through the last few pages a second time only to make sure that I hadn't missed the climax. Well, since I'm assured that I didn't miss any pages, I finally warn you that kindly turn a blind eye whenever you see this book anywhere and feel an urge to read it. I just guess that Sheldon had a bad day when he penned down that climax. Otherwise, the rest of the story was excellent & worth reading. However, since desserts play an important role in deciding the mood of the departing guest so does the climax of a book decide its fate.

I had bought this book during my trip to kerala last year. However, since traveling & sightseeing took the importance in that trip, I had buried this book in my shelf. Now, since I've got my vacations (I know the engineers/would-be Engineers from Mumbai must have raised an eyebrow to this line. Well, let me tell u this. Our present VC of Mumbai University has some crude ideas these days and this short vacation is just the lull before the storm) that's how I picked up this book to catch-up on one of my favourite hobbies. I had read Sheldon's other creations like ''Tell me your dreams'', ''Windmills of God'', ''If Tomorrow comes'' & ''Sands of Time'' before this and I am an ardent fan of Sidney Sheldon. However, I forgive him for even thinking of such a boring climax in this book just because I believe that Sheldon is human and can make mistakes.

Sheldon's Writing Style for this book has been impressive, as usual. He has played around the working environment, lingo, jargons, pressures & thrills of a detective's job in a perfect way. I just couldn't stop flipping through the pages and feeling like living the character of Commander Robert Bellamy myself. The author had built up a lot of expectations in the initial half and maybe that's what led to the feeling of being cheated from a good climax at the end of it.

There's another point to be highlighted in this book. I appreciate the way Sheldon has portrayed the role of Robert as a husband who yearns for the return of his wife (Susan) into his life. All those of you who have loved & lost (at least once) will be able to identify with this part of the story. Susan and Robert seem to share a beautiful ''THE IDEAL COUPLE'' relationship and all's well until Robert's secret-profile job interferes and rocks the foundation of their marriage. What's mesmerizing, is the style in which Sheldon has described the closeness & love that both Robert & Susan feel even after being divorced & Susan being married to another Man. The telephonic conversations between the ''once lovers, now divorcee'' couple is warm yet, heart-wrenching. Well, the relationship that these two characters seem to share go right on to prove that Friendship is the foundation of a good, long-lasting relationship. Read the book if these lines don't make any sense. I don't recommend this book. However, now that I've told you not to expect much from the climax...you may as well read it, keeping this warning in mind so that you don't miss the beauty of the rest of the book.

Also, there are other aspects of the book that are praise-worthy & worth reading like the betrayal of trustworthy friends, suspense, and there's another thing that this book promises. It also acts like a travel guide of Europe! Yeah! :) As the commander travels to identify the unknown witnesses so, does Sheldon take the reader on a free trip all over Europe. I'm sure, if I ever do get a chance to travel to Europe, I'll be identifying the places on account of the description that Sheldon has provided ;) Well, or so it seems...

Well, I deliberately avoided mentioning the main theme of the book because I feel disappointed by the way it has been presented. Ok, to name it, it's UFO (with some haphazard description of aliens thrown in just for the heck of it). But, I'm not talking anything more about it. Had the book been written only to expose the unscrupulous behaviour of power-hungry Politicians & Government Officials, it would have well been one of the most-recommended books of Sidney Sheldon! Alas, nothing's perfect in life and so is this book tilted towards imperfection!

What inspired Sheldon to write this book is an account of true incidents when people/officials/scientists who claim to have NEWS about UFO & Aliens have been ''terminated'' in the past. He has collected this information and it is available in the end pages of this very book.

So, I'd suggest that you may read this book at your own risk and keep in mind ''The climax Sucks!'' so, don't pin-up any hopes to it if you are really reading it!

Cheers!

Sindhu'