Science fiction is one genre of literary writing that is evolving at a speed which is much more rapid in comparison to the development of any genre. It began as early as with Mary Shelly and it continues to be written on till date. However, hindi writers have not experimented that widely in science fiction writing in hindi. Aalok Kumar in his novel, "World War" has made the attempt to write in hindi giving it a science fiction touch and to a certain extent has been convincing enough. The novel changes genres as it progresses. This adds to the diversity of the nature of things the author has attempted to cover through the novel.
Through the novel, he has attempted to make an interesting amalgamation of superhero like qualities in the protagonist and at the same time also giving it the futuristic touch by mentioning things that are likely to happen in the future. He may have given superhero like qualities to the protagonist, yet the readers get to connect closely with him and his thoughts many times when they get to hear him through the first person narrative. This also adds on to make him appear more human and more realistic. He comes across as being closer to life and the reader can expect such a person to be actually walking on the streets. In this manner, he comes closer to the reader and the reader eventually starts identifying himself/herself with the lead character too. Also, another important concern he raises through the novel is the plight of the education system and the condition of education imparted to the students. This is one of the majorly dominating issues of today's date and it becomes even more important as the results of this system become visible when young minds are not able to explore their talents or do not get proper opportunities. The author not only writes about this issue but also takes a third person perspective to comment and critique the system and also tries to highlight how this is affecting the present generation and if not changed, it may affect the coming generations more adversely.
As far as the title is concerned, the world war is not which is happening but as per the author's conviction, it can happen if the situation remains unattended. The war which so far has not taken the forefront may actually take place. On a broader perspective, the author tries to give the youth of the day a voice and tries to gives words to their collective agony of being forced to fit into the system the way it has been always.
Initially as the story begins, the reader gets the flavor of a science-fiction book. Later on, the nature of the book and the genre seem to change. The plotline of the book is about introducing the characters and their backgrounds initially and later on it begins to unravel. They are all well developed and stand out on their own. The speed of the plot and its development is fine. The book can be read by people belonging to all groups of age and may be popular among the youth because of the sensitive nature that it throws like on.
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