Review: Daredreamers: A Start-up of Superheroes

Daredreamers: A Start-up of Superheroes by Kartik Sharma
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wisdom tells us that there are two ways to live life – make the most of the situation you are in and cope with it on a daily basis, or be brave – follow your dreams and almost always you will find your way. Good books find a way to make this point with stories which engross. This book is fairly successful at that.

Rasiq completes his MBA and gets a job at a leading investment bank. He is one of the few from his college to get selected and is proud of that, as well as the salary he gets. In return for the good salary he draws though, he is expected to slog long hours, meet unsustainable deadlines and be part of a culture which is not exactly considerate or respectful. This takes a toll – on his mental peace as well as his relationship with his girlfriend Ruchika. The stress combined with the feeling of elitism his salary brings to him, makes Rasiq unpredictable and in one instance he beats up an attendant over a simple parking matter. He also goes out and buys a Harley Davidson bike on impulse, while his relationship runs into rough weather. This early section of the book narrates a very typical scenario well, with a touch of humour in parts.

Rasiq leaves his job, has a serious accident and very soon has lost most of his savings. However, his dad subsequently encourages him to pursue his passion of creating a startup for emergency services. Rasiq launches DareDreamers and the team he builds is a diverse one with Nick (a tech geek and collegemate), Halka (a security personnel), Natasha (worked as body double stunt woman), Arjun (a marksman) and Vyom (an imaginative and intuitive doctor). The team pulls off some dramatic rescues and saves lives. This, however, worries Rakeysh (the CEO of GForce – a security services company) and he is determined to see them fail. The story subsequently is about the successes and challenges the DareDreamers face – can they survive as a company and make money or will they have to fold up?

The book has a number of things going for it - a good & different story, strong characters and good messages. There are aspects which could have been better though – one rescue involving a minister is silly, and a few others are overly dramatic & far fetched, and the personal relationships of the characters finds less space than it should (especially that of Rasiq in the later part of the book).

A book I certainly recommend. It might make you dream as well.

My rating: 3.75 / 5.

I received a free copy of the book for an honest review.


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