Review Book – Exit Point 1

Author – Anil Goel

While sci-fi/tech fiction thriller is nothing new, author Anil Goel’s Exit Point: 1 has built an entirely new space for itself by fusing technology with our unending fascination for life after death questions, and the spiritual and psychological elements related to it. Set in the year 2016, the tech thriller attempts to uncover a dark, mysterious online world where the primary plot of the mysterious death of a teenage girl while chatting is linked to an ancient mystery that if finally being unraveled. The narrative is quite fast-paced, with different parts of the puzzle presented to the reader in an unsorted manner, as the story moves across Australia, India, China, Hong Kong, London, and America, and covers events from the distant past to the present date.

Usually tech thrillers leave a lot to the reader’s imagination, but author Anil Goel has made it a point to explain every little detail, which makes the readers glued to the emerging storyline on every page. Details about the various technology elements in the story such as the external app called ‘deathswitch’, the futuristic social networking site called ‘X-Net’, details about the founder of X-Net, etc. seem so real, as it they already exist. Another interesting characteristic is the author’s ability to connect seemingly disparate events to a central storyline, where the protagonist Alok searches for answers and ends up uncovering a mystery that has global implications, covering the entire human race. A must read for every sci-fi/tech fiction thriller aficionado.