James Bond is a Choirboy

In Bunker 13 , his first novel, the Indian investigative journalist Aniruddha Bahal works so hard to be shocking that it's difficult not to love the guy. He has concocted a story preposterous enough for Austin Powers, never mind James Bond, extravagantly overstuffed with sex, drugs and gore interwoven in Baroque variations. The action begins with the India-Pakistan conflict in Kashmir and ultimately embraces rottenness and greed on a global scale.

Bunker 13 suffers from some common flaws of the thriller. The love interest never rises above the level of a plot device, and the secondary characters are...

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