Desert Hunt by K S R Menon

Dubai based novel on terrorism released by Shashi Tharoor

Thiruvananthapuram:  'Desert Hunt,' a thriller set in Dubai with terrorism in its backdrop, authored by senior journalist K S R Menon was released at a function at the Press Club,Thiruvananthapuram, on October 14, 2013  by Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor.

Tharoor handed over the first copy of the book to former diplomat T P Sreenivasan at the function.

Speaking at the function, Tharoor said the theme and plot line of the novel were fascinating. "We have mythical stories, love stories and historical works in Indian writing, but thrillers are few," he said.

He commended the author for coming out with an unabashed and straightforward thriller with an Arab as the protagonist fighting terror in the Middle East. "It is interesting to see an Indian writer creating a work in an under-developed and under-exploited genre in Indian writing," he said.

Placing an Arab as the protagonist was a wonderful departure from normal writing as thrillers dealing with terror always had Westerners as heroes. "This creates a shift in empathy on the part of the reader," Tharoor said.

Menon said the novel was a re-look at how terror outfits are changing tactics. The novel attempts to unravel the sensitive geo-political situation in West Asia, where equations in the game of terror were being constantly re-written, he said.

Ambassador Sreenivasan said the novel was so well researched that at times the reader would wonder where facts stopped and fiction began. Ambassador Sreenivasan had featured the book in his television program on foreign policy recently.

Menon was the correspondent in Dubai for Indian news agencies PTI and later UNI for nearly 17 years. For a year, he was also news editor at the Emirates Evening Post, Dubai.