This novel from Hind Yugm is a Hindi medium (हिन्दी माध्यम) book written by Nilotpal Mrinal, meant for civil services aspirants (सिविल सेवा अभ्यर्थी) and for readers of contemporary Hindi fiction (समकालीन हिंदी उपन्यास). < cite index="162-1">Its theme is the struggle of students preparing for the country's most prestigious service — the civil services — and it is written in a Bihari tone; the author has also used abusive language where realism demanded it, which is not a new experiment in Hindi literature. There is a good amount of humour and satire in it, and on some pages a reader ends up laughing more than reading, while at other points the same reader finds tears in their eyes. < cite index="163-1">In his very first novel Nilotpal showed real courage, scraping frankly at the sediment of reality to write the truth of a world that had never been written about at this length before — a document of lived experience, the truth of a hot furnace of an interesting and intellectual world in which some are tempered into gold and others burn to ash. डार्क हॉर्स is a journey through a dark road toward light; the author's language has flow, his satire has edge, and his dialogue carries deep rises and falls of feeling, with a storytelling manner of its own that compels the reader to keep going. < cite index="159-1">The author mentions in his preface only that he has given the novel an English name, and asks readers to read the whole book to understand what the title means. It is not a story of passing one class after another and collecting a degree — preparing for a competition and clearing it is a wholly different matter, and when that competition is the IAS and the other civil services, it becomes different again. < cite index="158-1">The book has been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar. The whole book is written in Hindi in the Devanagari script (देवनागरी लिपि). Key Features: Hindi medium book — complete content written in Hindi (Devanagari script) Written by Nilotpal Mrinal, published by Hind Yugm Winner of the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar (2016) The author's first novel and one of the most widely read Hindi books of recent years Subject — the daily life and struggle of civil services aspirants A rare, unvarnished look at a world rarely written about at this length Strong humour and satire running alongside genuinely moving passages Written in living, spoken Hindi with a Bihari tone Distinctive storytelling voice with sharp dialogue Especially relatable for UPSC, RAS and other competitive-exam aspirants Also read widely by general readers with no exam background A leading title of the "नई वाली हिंदी" wave of contemporary writing By the author of औघड़ and यार जादूगर Often bought as part of the author's three-novel combo Note: contains strong language used for realism — intended for adult readers हिन्द युग्म द्वारा प्रकाशित 'डार्क हॉर्स : एक अनकही दास्ताँ' नीलोत्पल मृणाल का पहला उपन्यास है, जिसे साहित्य अकादमी युवा पुरस्कार से सम्मानित किया जा चुका है। इसकी थीम है देश की सबसे प्रतिष्ठित सेवा — सिविल सेवा — की तैयारी कर रहे छात्रों के संघर्ष की दास्ताँ। लेखक ने अपने पहले ही उपन्यास में बड़ा साहस दिखाते हुए बेबाकी से यथार्थ की तलछट को कुरेदा है और एक ऐसी दुनिया का सच लिखा है जिस पर पहले कभी इतना नहीं लिखा गया — एक ऐसी गर्म भट्टी का सच, जिसमें कई लोग तप कर सोना हो जाते हैं तो कई जलकर ख़ाक। भाषा बिहार की टोन में है और यथार्थ वर्णन के लिए कहीं-कहीं गालियों का भी प्रयोग हुआ है। इसमें हास्य-व्यंग्य पर्याप्त मात्रा में है — कुछ पन्नों पर हँसी रोके नहीं रुकती, तो कहीं पढ़ते-पढ़ते आँखें भर आती हैं। लेखक ने भूमिका में शीर्षक का आशय नहीं खोला, बस पूरा उपन्यास पढ़ने का अनुरोध किया है। नीलोत्पल मृणाल की अन्य कृतियों में 'औघड़' एवं 'यार जादूगर' शामिल हैं। सम्पूर्ण पुस्तक हिन्दी भाषा एवं देवनागरी लिपि में है।