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Description
An Other Tale of Two Cities - In the Dragon's Lair, is a multi-genre epic - an intense Romance -Action-Adventure - a Literary saga that explores the sporting, familial, cultural and political ethos of the two modern nations - India and China - as much as it exposes the contrasts and the rivalry between them and their strong personalities. The novel was set at a time when there was an attempted coup to over throw the current President Xi of China. While a subtle civil war was sending shivers through the spine of China, a diplomatic war also erupts between it and India - two modern nations, with ambition to be the next superpowers and jostling for space in the 21st Century. It also becomes a matter of life and death for the three friends who risk their lives - all for winning the Table Tennis Gold at the Games at Shanghai! ***Kula and Jay are friends - uniquely talented, yet unknown Table Tennis player trying to win Gold at the Games at Shanghai - a feat known to be analogous to taming the 'Dragon in its Lair'. As they find winning rhythm against the highly rated hosts, the top seeded Chinese team, they are constantly subverted by a bitter loser, Deng, who has been variously described as vicious, vindictive and venomous.They also find true and eternal friendship with Li Ling, a member of the host Chinese women's team, who bravely voices her support for them! Soon the sublime romance between the two friends is enhanced by the third lovable Li, competing for affections! Can ultimate sacrifice be far behind? The powerful Deng conspires to have them both banned by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) for three years. Li too is incarcerated by the Chinese Federation and loses her place in the team. When they are fortunate to get your reinstatement and are on their winning ways at the next edition of the Games, they suddenly find themselves thrown into the vortex of Chinese domestic political power struggle and an attempted coup on the President. Kula and Li are on the run to escape charges of sedition and sure gallows for both.The tightening police dragnet pushes the 'fugitives' into the Shanghai suburb with their maniacal nemesis chasing them gun in hand and a shoot-out ensues... ***One of the many story-lines of the book portrays an internecine power struggle between a top politburo member and the President leading to an impeachment attempt on the President (a virtual coup attempt, considering Chinese politics). This fictitious plot was developed based on research on the political affairs of China at that time and had chronicled the real events that were clearly a run up to the eventual coup attempt. The Government of China admitted to the coup attempt, through an official press release to the Hong Kong-based The Standard newspaper that was published on 19th Oct 2017.***There are several similarities between 'An Other Tale of Two Cities - In the Dragon's Lair, ' and the original 'Tale of Two Cities'.Both are tales of triangular love and of supreme sacrifice, intertwining the lives, loves and times of the paired cities during the respective periods.This modern 'An Other Tale' is a startling adventure set in the back drop of the most turbulent times in China, since the coup attempted by the Gang of Four in the 1970s, just as the Dickens' 'Tale' was set in the times of the French Revolution.'An Other Tale' offers an interesting comparison of the contrasting cultures, societies, family values, political systems, progress and personalities of the two Modern cities - Chennai and Shanghai. The similarities end there. Everything else about 'An Other Tale' is refreshingly different! The stories have been set in different times. The plot, the personalities, their experiences and the classes they represent are different. The morals and integrity of the characters are different, while they reflect the times they live in. The story telling styles are different... to spot a few differences
An Other Tale of Two Cities - In the Dragon's Lair, is a multi-genre epic - an intense Romance -Action-Adventure - a Literary saga that explores the sporting, familial, cultural and political ethos of the two modern nations - India and China - as much as it exposes the contrasts and the rivalry between them and their strong personalities. The novel was set at a time when there was an attempted coup to over throw the current President Xi of China. While a subtle civil war was sending shivers through the spine of China, a diplomatic war also erupts between it and India - two modern nations, with ambition to be the next superpowers and jostling for space in the 21st Century. It also becomes a matter of life and death for the three friends who risk their lives - all for winning the Table Tennis Gold at the Games at Shanghai! ***Kula and Jay are friends - uniquely talented, yet unknown Table Tennis player trying to win Gold at the Games at Shanghai - a feat known to be analogous to taming the 'Dragon in its Lair'. As they find winning rhythm against the highly rated hosts, the top seeded Chinese team, they are constantly subverted by a bitter loser, Deng, who has been variously described as vicious, vindictive and venomous.They also find true and eternal friendship with Li Ling, a member of the host Chinese women's team, who bravely voices her support for them! Soon the sublime romance between the two friends is enhanced by the third lovable Li, competing for affections! Can ultimate sacrifice be far behind? The powerful Deng conspires to have them both banned by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) for three years. Li too is incarcerated by the Chinese Federation and loses her place in the team. When they are fortunate to get your reinstatement and are on their winning ways at the next edition of the Games, they suddenly find themselves thrown into the vortex of Chinese domestic political power struggle and an attempted coup on the President. Kula and Li are on the run to escape charges of sedition and sure gallows for both.The tightening police dragnet pushes the 'fugitives' into the Shanghai suburb with their maniacal nemesis chasing them gun in hand and a shoot-out ensues... ***One of the many story-lines of the book portrays an internecine power struggle between a top politburo member and the President leading to an impeachment attempt on the President (a virtual coup attempt, considering Chinese politics). This fictitious plot was developed based on research on the political affairs of China at that time and had chronicled the real events that were clearly a run up to the eventual coup attempt. The Government of China admitted to the coup attempt, through an official press release to the Hong Kong-based The Standard newspaper that was published on 19th Oct 2017.***There are several similarities between 'An Other Tale of Two Cities - In the Dragon's Lair, ' and the original 'Tale of Two Cities'.Both are tales of triangular love and of supreme sacrifice, intertwining the lives, loves and times of the paired cities during the respective periods.This modern 'An Other Tale' is a startling adventure set in the back drop of the most turbulent times in China, since the coup attempted by the Gang of Four in the 1970s, just as the Dickens' 'Tale' was set in the times of the French Revolution.'An Other Tale' offers an interesting comparison of the contrasting cultures, societies, family values, political systems, progress and personalities of the two Modern cities - Chennai and Shanghai. The similarities end there. Everything else about 'An Other Tale' is refreshingly different! The stories have been set in different times. The plot, the personalities, their experiences and the classes they represent are different. The morals and integrity of the characters are different, while they reflect the times they live in. The story telling styles are different... to spot a few differences
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