Music Men Volume 1: Badoga
Publication: Notion Press
Page Count: 298
Review: Fantasy Fiction
As a child, though I enjoyed my comics and onscreen superheroes from He-Man, SpiderMan, SuperMan, Mandrake, Chacha Choudhari, Flash Gordon, Phantom et al; I soon outgrew them moving on to other stuff. Needless to say, when I opened up this one to discover it was a fantasy novel of a superhero named BADOGA, I wasn’t really keen on it. However, I’m so glad that I persisted in reading it.
The first book in the Music Men Series introduces us to the Superhero BADOGA. Sartaj, an engineer from Haryana who shows streaks of violence during his teens, moves to Bangalore along with his best buddy, Vishal in a bid to stay out of trouble despite his doting rich dad’s protests. The boys strike up a friendship with Bangalore babe, Ranjana and soon the trio are inseparable.
The story builds up further with other situations and characters being introduced until finally, Sartaj transforms into BADOGA, the reluctant vigilante. Question is can he really take on the burden of responsibility after realizing his childhood dream? As they say, be careful what you wish for.
Do I recommend it?
Pankaj Saini has managed to get to me with the build-up of his slightly flawed yet lovable protagonists Sartaj, Vishal, and Ranjana. I thoroughly enjoyed the back story of our superhero. The music and song lyrics add a nice touch. A promising novel that left me asking for more. I can’t wait to read about the next adventure.
Taking inspiration from Clark Kent, Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, etc. Pankaj Saini’s introduction of our very own desi geek Sartaj aka BADOGA does manage to impress. Behold another Superhero is born. This one has a million questions and doubts about his existence at that.
Rating: 5/5 stars
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So, that was our review of Pankaj Saini’s Music Men: Badoga.
Love reading Fantasy Fiction? Then, don’t forget to read this: The Conspiracy Unknown
What are your favorite fantasy fiction reads? Do let us know in the comments below!