Daredreamers: A Start-up by Superheroes written by the father son duo Ravi Nirmal Sharma and Kartik Sharma will delight any reader who loves reading superhero fantasy novels. It is not exactly about human beings with some special super powers and a super villain. But it’s about a bunch of ordinary human being with great skills used for saving human life.
Story in Brief
The story is about Rasiq, who, after meeting an accident tumbles upon the idea of starting an accident rescue company called Dare Dreamers. For which he gathers a skilled team, which consist of a doctor (MD Vyom), a body builder (Halka), a tech nerd (Nick), a sharp shooter (Arjun) and a stunt woman (Natasha). Passion to save people binds them all together as a team. But things were not so easy.
Bipartite
The book could be divided into two parts- first part was about Rasiq as an investment banker earning insanely but not happy with his job
profile.
Investment Banking always rings bell in my mind. I think of the protagonist Radhika in the book One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat who
earns 70 lakhs as the bonus and her salary was like a hundred thousand dollars. I am sure Rasiq also earns near to it, only to my
disappointment the authors didn’t disclose the amount.
Nowadays the market is flooded with books with stories on startup. The protagonist is fed up with his ever demanding job and desperately wants to listen to his heart and carve out his own path.
The authors have realistically portrayed the physical and mental draining of Rasiq and the life of youngsters, which is spend in working hard and partying even harder.
The second part was about the Start-up Dare Dreamer which Rasiq started with the help of his carefully curated team of partners.
Apparently there is no connection between these two parts. No threads from the first part lingers to the second part except Rasiq himself. Not even the money and experience he earned during his job as an investment banker find its way into the second half.
The Protagonist
Rasiq’s character was the center of focus initially. Flawed yet a strong character. But with the arrival of other characters in the latter half of the book, the character of Rasiq weakens immensely as he doesn’t have any special skill. I just wonder why his character was given so much importance in the story, whereas rest of the characters were introduced in the second half of the book and were straight into action.
Like Chetan Bhagat, the author duo also seems to be obsessed with IIT Delhi and IIM A. It has become such a cliche that the readers will
instantly take it for a granted that the protagonist is extremely intelligent and smart if he is an IITian and IIM Alumnus.
Time and again, the authors tried to push Rasiq’s character in the second half, but it appeared superficial to see him in action. I was
more interested in knowing the story of Natasha, Arjun, Dr Vyom and Halka. But they all come into the picture out of the blue and became an integral part of the story with no real back story. The story of Rasiq is so common, but it would have been intriguing to read the stories of a Bollywood double stunt or an ace sharpshooter or a bodybuilder.
Stand Out Factors
Nevertheless the book is adventurous and thrilling to read due to the latter half, which has several rescue scenes. Those rescue scenes and sabotage attempts will ensure that your interest remains vested in the book till the end. I think the fantasy lovers who like reading
superhero fictions will definitely enjoy reading the action of bravery by the team of Dare Dreamers.
Something which stood out and you will remember for long was the prologue. In the prologue the old fable of the hare and the tortoise was given a remarkable twist which resonates with the story of the book. I loved it. Hats off.
I don’t know the comfort level of both the authors with each other, but in the story, Rasiq shares a healthy and lively relationship with
his father. There were many light moments between the two which was fun to read.
The Verdict
Sometimes the story may sound far fetched and improbable yet it was fun and entertaining read like action filled Hollywood style movie
wrapped around Bollywood style drama.
Rating : 3/5
About The Authors
Kartik Sharma is an alum of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, who pursues his passion for writing while working as a public health professional. He leads the difficult life of an optimist. Kartik’s father Ravi ‘Nirmal’ Sharma is an alum of Delhi College of Engineering. After
being a serial entrepreneur for more than two decades, he now works as a creative conceptualizer. The duo is Delhi-based.
