'Baptism by Blood' by Rohit Ramachandran: A Fable on Redemption

"Baptism as an experience can also be described as an ordeal by which a person is purified."

Three individuals meet on a night in a derelict church. Amidst a bloodbath, all of them learn some new lessons and find their path to redemption. 'Baptism by Blood', written by Rohit Ramachandran, is set in a lawless hellhole called The Dregs. It features three protagonists who are compelled to work together when their lives are threatened by multiple enemies. 

The paths of a con artist who has to rely on his wit to escape imminent death from the hands of whom he conned, a limping, violence-abhorring priest who is also an ex-soldier, and a hitman whose lucky streak seems to have ended and is round up by enemies, converge in a church. A Mexican standoff soon ensues, and inevitably the first domino falls and carnage results.

The plot is primarily narrated using three points of view of the three main characters, except when it follows someone else for a short while. The con artist narrates in the first person and others in the third. I've seen this narrational style used in several recent books that I read, 'We Are Voulhire' by Matthew Tysz being the latest. It uplifts the character who talks in first person and compels the readers to have a certain intimacy with that one, who is more complex. I would like to read a version of this book from the priest's perspective. He's a deliciously complex character. 

The book has a definite Western vibe with its lawless setting and unruly characters, with the Mexican standoff and the shady protagonists. The writer is successful in weaving a story with a breakneck pace and a lot of action, but still managed to put forward three individuals' struggle to find their moral compass when hell comes breaking on them. But the best element of the book is its dark humor that pokes its head at unexpected places. 

In the initial few chapters, I was put off by the writing style, which is ornate and verbose. My expectation was a standard thriller, and the language wasn't sharp at all as you normally find in such books. But soon I discovered that it isn't just a plain thriller and has heavy undertones of dark humor and a Biblical search for redemption. That realization was instrumental in my enjoyment of the book. 

Even when the writing brilliantly complements the narrative, there are some places where the writer goes overboard with cliches and repeats many elements that he used before. I believe some of the 'walls closing on' a character or the 'moving like wraith' could be avoided. Another element that could be toned down was the constant comparisons propping up in the tale. For example:

...he ascended like a phantom. Silent as the falling snow, he infiltrated the ventilation shaft, navigating its claustrophobic twists and turns. Inside the fortress, he moved through dimly lit corridors like a wraith...

In three consecutive sentences, the character's action is continuously compared to three different things. When this tendency repeats throughout the narrative, it bogs it down to some extent. 

Overall, 'Baptism by Blood' is a brilliant enactment of the human quest for redemption, told in the background of extreme violence and anarchy, with enough humor and a quick pace. The Dregs is a locality that reminded me of 'Sin City,' and I hope I will get to read more about the place and get to meet more of its inhabitants.