by Ian McDonald
First published 2004
Aj wanders the crowded streets of future India as a waif with the gift of reading minds. When she encounters a man desperate to remain concealed, her discovery sets events in motion that will reshape the subcontinent. India approaches its hundredth birthday as a nation fractured into twelve semi-independent territories, home to one and a half billion people and nine million gods. A gangster pursues his schemes while a cop investigates crimes his wife cannot fathom. A politician maneuvers for power as a comedian performs for crowds and a set designer crafts illusions. A journalist chases stories while a scientist decodes messages from beyond Earth and a dropout searches for meaning. War erupts across the divided nation. Love crumbles under pressure. The great Ganges continues its eternal flow while these nine souls find their destinies intertwined. Their choices will determine whether India survives its centenary or fragments forever under the weight of its own complexity.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, 21st-century, alternate-history
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, political-intrigue
Setting: India
Period: 21st Century
583 pages · Hardcover · SIMON & SCHUSTER
Content warnings: violence