I decided to explore what I assumed to be the nerd life by attending a fantasy book signing at Monte Casino. The book is called Unicorn and is written by Richard Gradner, a very well-known marketing guru living in Cape Town.
I wasn't blown away by the book title or cover, it's an overplayed word and the cover was far from eye catching but as my mother used to say, when I was forced to buy a book once a term, never judge a book by its cover. Thus, I judged it based on the past and present marketing tactics of the author, the guy that painted our country red for redbull and wittingly displayed this book to me on every single social media platform for months prior to its release.
The book is similar to Trump's presidential election campaign, lots of unnerving stuff going on page after page with interjection thoughts amidst a battle.
The launch was also an opportunity for me to gain some insight into Richard's face-to-face social skills with like-minded fanatics and see how wide his net had been cast. Contrary to my expectations, his net was not that wide but it was sardine packed inside. Geeks were nowhere to be seen, rather lots of well-dressed Sandton high society folk getting their first addition signed copy, which I hung back from doing. That night brought me back to a decade earlier when a wildlife photography book with one-liners was launched, "my book, by Brian Joffe", the billionaire Bidvest CEO that too attracted zero genre support from the national geographic enthusiasts but tons of people and so, I came to a very incisive and valuable conclusion about these sorts of events.
Although I have a couple of chapters still to go, Unicorn is rather captivating. The book is similar to Trump's presidential election campaign, lots of unnerving stuff going on page after page with interjection thoughts amidst a battle. Reminiscent of the Hillary/Trump debates and a lot of primitive religious perspectives re-enforced, except this time being eastern Hindu philosophy and what book is complete or a Trump reference made without bringing up the part where a man touches a woman and so, this book has it all.
If you are familiar with "The Lord of the Rings" you might like the idea that three characters voyage off through mountainous mazes encountering battles as they quest to find an antidote to save a life and if you like the descriptive manor in which Hemingway novels are written you won't be disappointed with being spoon-fed the most colourful of illustrations.
In summary, it's easy reading and if you have an active mind that is focused and vision driven, pick this book before you travel and let your imagination tour India, in a fictitious era some 6500 years ago. Books are not always about literally comprehending the philosophical author's point of view but what seeds of inspiration were planted and where your mind travels when the pages run out and you're back into your daily routine.
The * review ranking prior to publication, was 4.4/5.