A Best SFF of 2022 pick by The Washington Post | Book Riot | Quill to Live
The City Inside, a near-future epic by the internationally celebrated Samit Basu, pulls no punches as it comes for your anxieties about society, government, the environment, and our world at large—yet never loses sight of the hopeful potential of the future.
“They'd known the end times were coming but hadn’t known they’d be multiple choice.”
Joey is a Reality Controller in near-future Delhi. Her job is to supervise the multimedia multi-reality livestreams of Indi, one of South Asia’s fastest rising online celebrities—who also happens to be her college ex. Joey’s job gives her considerable culture power, but she’s too caught up in day-to-day crisis handling to see this, or to figure out what she wants from her life.
Rudra is a recluse estranged from his wealthy and powerful family, now living in an impoverished immigrant neighborhood. When his father’s death pulls him back into his family’s orbit, an impulsive job offer from Joey becomes his only escape from the life he never wanted.
But as Joey and Rudra become enmeshed in multiple conspiracies, their lives start to spin out of control—complicated by dysfunctional relationships, corporate loyalty, and the never-ending pressures of surveillance capitalism. When a bigger picture begins to unfold, they must each decide how to do the right thing in a world where simply maintaining the status quo feels like an accomplishment. Ultimately, resistance will not—cannot—take the same shape for these two very different people.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Genre: Science Fiction
The City Inside, a near-future epic by the internationally celebrated Samit Basu, pulls no punches as it comes for your anxieties about society, government, the environment, and our world at large—yet never loses sight of the hopeful potential of the future.
“They'd known the end times were coming but hadn’t known they’d be multiple choice.”
Joey is a Reality Controller in near-future Delhi. Her job is to supervise the multimedia multi-reality livestreams of Indi, one of South Asia’s fastest rising online celebrities—who also happens to be her college ex. Joey’s job gives her considerable culture power, but she’s too caught up in day-to-day crisis handling to see this, or to figure out what she wants from her life.
Rudra is a recluse estranged from his wealthy and powerful family, now living in an impoverished immigrant neighborhood. When his father’s death pulls him back into his family’s orbit, an impulsive job offer from Joey becomes his only escape from the life he never wanted.
But as Joey and Rudra become enmeshed in multiple conspiracies, their lives start to spin out of control—complicated by dysfunctional relationships, corporate loyalty, and the never-ending pressures of surveillance capitalism. When a bigger picture begins to unfold, they must each decide how to do the right thing in a world where simply maintaining the status quo feels like an accomplishment. Ultimately, resistance will not—cannot—take the same shape for these two very different people.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Genre: Science Fiction
Praise for this book
"An extraordinary, immersive read about a horribly plausible near future of grotesque wealth disparity, climate change, abusive yet useless government, invasive technology, and people carefully ignoring it all by plugging themselves into electronic entertainment. To say it hits home is an understatement. . . . Brilliantly written, structurally inventive, completely immersive." - KJ Charles
"An instant classic. . . . Captures in perfectly immersive disorientation the sense of India as a country perpetually spaghettifying in the event horizon between competing mythic pasts and futures." - Indra Das
"The City Inside is one of the most horrifyingly plausible near futures I have ever read. It's also funny, relatable, supremely clever, and deeply political. Highly recommended." - Kate Elliott
"The City Inside is a triumphant exploration of near-future India that is as compelling as it is urgent. Don't miss this one." - Lavie Tidhar
"An instant classic. . . . Captures in perfectly immersive disorientation the sense of India as a country perpetually spaghettifying in the event horizon between competing mythic pasts and futures." - Indra Das
"The City Inside is one of the most horrifyingly plausible near futures I have ever read. It's also funny, relatable, supremely clever, and deeply political. Highly recommended." - Kate Elliott
"The City Inside is a triumphant exploration of near-future India that is as compelling as it is urgent. Don't miss this one." - Lavie Tidhar
Visitors also looked at these books
Used availability for Samit Basu's The City Inside