The Enemy Of My Enemy II – Banana Republic , a sequel to India's first multiplayer game book was launched recently in Chennai. Banana Republic is about five baboons, who are plotting to take over the world. The author Anshumani Ruddra gave an introduction and did a run through of the book. Apart from game books, he has also written an audio book called ‘Cricketmatics' and several short stories.
“Game books are a relatively unknown genre in India, except for a few big names like R.L. Stine's ‘ Give Yourself Goosebumps'. I think there's just one other author in India who writes game books. Game books used to be big in the 1980s with ‘G.I. Joe' and ‘Dungeons and Dragons', but it slowed down after that. They are popular in the west, but it's mostly for adults, not children,” Anshumani said.
To a question he answered that he is comfortable writing for the 10 -16 age group. A game-book lets you decide how the story progresses, adding a role-playing element and making the story more involving. There are multiple endings to the story, and each decision can affect the final outcome. Being a multiplayer game book, almost any number of people can read it together.
“We did a reading in Bangalore, with hundreds of students. We've held readings at schools in several cities.” said Anshumani. At the end, there was a question and answer session, after which he signed copies of the book for his fans.
Harsha is a III year, B.A Literature student in the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.
