Count Cobra (Masud Rana-465)

Count Cobra (Masud Rana 465) is another entry in Qazi Anwar Hussain’s monumental spy-thriller series, which has been a constant of Bengali popular fiction since 1966. The title hints at one of the series’ regular pleasures: an antagonist with a memorable name and a flair for dramatic gestures, the kind of opponent against whom Masud Rana’s quiet competence reads particularly well.

The Masud Rana books are equal parts homage and original creation — Qazi Anwar Hussain has drawn on James Bond, Robert Ludlum, and many other international thriller writers, and has reshaped their material for a Bangladeshi readership in his own brisk, colloquial Bengali. Decades of practice show in every chapter break.

For long-time readers, Count Cobra is one more reliable evening with an old friend. For new readers, it is a fully self-contained thriller that requires no prior knowledge of the series.