Silver Hair Sins by Saumick Pal #BookReview

Silver Hair Sins is a thriller that revolves around a middle-class family- Mary, Aasma and Azad trying to survive a society where all Religions are merged into One God Artificial Intelligence. In their journey, they tackle questions of Morality, Religion, Love, Science and God.

What I Liked about Silver Hair Sins

1. I found the visual novel style really unique. The accompanying pictures made the author’s vision come to life. The images selected and the printing quality are both very good. They did not break the flow of my reading and I enjoyed looking at the pictures.
2. The author calls it a thriller but it is really a social commentary on our times in a very different setting. He weaves some recent events into the narrative and that makes it more relatable.
3. The concept of One Religion is excellent. Creating a single global religion based on all the religions in the world seems to be the solution for today’s turmoil ridden world. It is an excellent theory.
4. I quite liked how the author has charted a path for society. He uses silver hair as a metaphor and his vision of deterioration is scary. It is very well done, it stayed with me long after I’d finished the book. That said, it is extremely scary. Books like this remind us that as a human race, we need a serious wake up call. The need to reboot our systems and beliefs is now.
5. The climax. Oh my God, the climax. I did not see that coming and it just gobsmacked me in the stomach! I quite enjoyed it.

What I Did Not Like about Silver Hair Sins

1. The flow of the novel is not really seamless. It is a bit jerky for a novel. It would work very well for a visual medium. If this book were to be made into a movie, the screenplay becomes intriguing. In a book however, it becomes a little difficult to adjust to the changes of time, space and characters.
2. The characters had a lot of potential but I could not connect with any of them at an emotional level. I did not feel their pain, their enthusiasm, their bitterness. Perhaps the flow of the story is the reason here. When the characters are going through these emotions, too little of their story is known to us. Everything gets stitched together and explained later. Maybe if I went and re read the book, I’d be able to connect better.
3. I like happy stories. This one makes the future look bleak and that just made me a little bit sad. I wish it was peppered with some positivity too.

Final Thoughts About Silver Hair Sins

I would not call this a light read. If the author’s intent was to provoke us into thinking, he succeeds. The book does not provide a solution, does not show us a utopian world as I’d thought in the beginning. It left me unsettled about the future of the human race. Did I like it? Yes, it has certainly been an interesting read. Pick it up when you have an open mind. Ponder a bit. Maybe a solution will come to you.

I was sent the book by the author. My views about the book are genuine and unbiased. If you wish to by it, it is available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle versions