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Sagramanda
Set in Sagramanda, city of 100 million, this is the story of Taneer, a scientist who has absconded with his multinational corporation's secret project code and who is now on the run from both the company and his father. Depahli, the fabulously beautiful woman from the "untouchable class" would die for him, just as surely as his father would like to kill him for shaming the very traditional family for such a relationship. Chalcedony "Chal" Schneemann doesn't want to kill Taneer, if he doesn't have to, but it wouldn't upset him terribly much if it came to it, and he'll stop at nothing to recover the stolen property for the company that pays him very, very well to solve big problems discreetly and quickly. Sanjay Ghosh, a poor farmer-turned-merchant in the big city of Sagramanda would like to help Taneer unload his stolen items, for the $30 million dollars his 3 percent fee is worth. Jena Chalmette, a crazy French woman pledged to Kali, simply wants to kill for the glory of her god, and she's very good at it. Chief Inspector Keshu Singh would like to put this sword-wielding serial killer away as quickly as possible before the media gets a hold of the story.
Then there's a man-eating tiger, come in from the nearby jungle reserve and just looking for his next meal.
Then there's a man-eating tiger, come in from the nearby jungle reserve and just looking for his next meal.
A fast-paced and gripping techno-thriller set in an India just around the corner from today.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
6 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Alan Dean Foster
498 books2,034 followersBestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 22, 2023
I grabbed this book mainly because it's by Alan Dean Foster (born 1946) whose books I have always enjoyed reading. I'm thinking of his Flinx and Pip science fiction series and other books set in that same universe of the Humanx Commonwealth. This one from 2006 is not set in that universe, but in the equally bizarre world of India, specifically the future city of Sagramanda. It's a huge city of 100,000,000 inhabitants in the near future. The story that takes place there concerns corporate espionage. Taneer is a scientist who is on the run having stolen a secret code from his company. In pursuit is an operative for the company who will get the stolen goods back-if he has to kill Taneer to do it. In the story as well is a drug-addicted European convert to Hinduism who is sacrificing people to the bloodthirsty goddess Kali. And if that's not enough, there's a tiger that has entered the city looking for his next meal... It's basically a good fast-paced thriller that shows some of the technological developments of the future-and I thought it was particularly intriguing that it's set in India-complete with a tiger.
August 24, 2012
A very nicely written techno-thriller set in near-future India. The setting was very well realized, and the characters were convincing and engaging. He drew all of them together quite well, too. Foster's obvious enthusiasm for the titular city made me feel like I was there. The big secret development in genetic engineering that the plot hinges about was just a little of a let down, but I enjoyed the fast-paced plot twists very much. A very good novel!
March 27, 2018
An easy technothriller read set in near future India. As near-future Indian technothrillers go, I'm rather fond of this one, though it lacks the brilliance of The Girl in the Road, or the thoroughness of Ian McDonald's River of Gods. Foster is a mainstay of my science fiction shelves because of books like this. Not worth paying full price for--get it from your local library or buy it used.
November 12, 2010
I reviewed two Foster books for the Fall 2007 issue of Prometheus, the quarterly newsletter of the Libertarian Futurist Society. Here is an excerpt of one of them. The other review is of his Transformers movie novelization.
Alan Dean Foster’s Sagramanda is a far better novel than his Transformers. While not especially libertarian, it is also far more so than his Transformers . Sagramanda is a science fiction techno-thriller set in the near-future Indian city of the novel’s title. In this, Foster’s novel follows in the footsteps of Ian MacDonald’s River of Gods and MacDonald indeed has a blurb on the back cover in praise of Foster’s novel and remarking on “the growing swell of writers realizing we may be living in the Indian Century.” As far as I can tell Foster does a good job of capturing the spirit and atmosphere of India. (My wife is Indian but she was unable to read the novel before the deadline for this issue.)
As a science fiction novel, Sagramanda is replete with scientific advances and nifty technological innovations, some military but most of a civilian consumer nature – from human-piloted cow removers designed to clear the streets of sacred roadblocks (gently and humanely, of course) to holographic avatar projectors that can superimpose images over their users, programmed with the complete Kama Sutra, for both instructional and entertainment purposes. In near-future India, futuristic and ancient technology co-exist side by side. Hydrogen powered cars are commonplace, as are camels as beasts of burden still. One character wields high-tech handguns loaded with explosive rounds and neurotoxin-filled syringets while another kills with a very traditional, yet for all that still very effective, sword.
As a techno-thriller, the central plot revolves around a revolutionary and potentially very profitable scientific discovery stolen from a powerful multinational corporation. We do not find out the nature of the discovery until the very end of the novel. All we know is that the scientist who stole it hopes to sell it to another multinational corporation for a huge sum and, rightly, fears for his life, for the corporation he stole the discovery from is willing to kill in order to get the information back. One of the main protagonists is that scientist, and he is a likeable and largely honorable fellow, with the glaring exception of his theft. Arguably, the scientist did not have a right to the discovery, seeing as how he was only one among others working under contract on the project for the corporation over at least a few decades. On the other hand, the multinational corporation he worked for is obviously not a completely honest or just business concern. Other major characters include the scientist’s beautiful yet tough fiancée, an Untouchable; his traditionalist father, who is out to kill him for tarnishing the family name; a enterprising villager who has risen out of poverty as a successful city shopkeeper; a sociopathic, yet perversely scrupulous, company tracker/hitman; a sword-wielding serial killer sacrificing innocent locals and tourists to the goddess Kali; and, finally, a man-eating tiger.
Foster tells a fast paced and entertaining story but, as I noted at the outset, it is not an especially libertarian story. That the main protagonist is a thief is one reason. Another is that both government and business are shown in both positive and negative lights. Foster sees a legitimate role for government in regulating business, at least to some extent, and the city police are depicted as dutiful and efficient; on the other hand, Foster makes reference to notoriously corrupt Indian politics. It is really only in its portrayal of capitalism, business and entrepreneurship that Sagramanda can be considered to have any libertarian theme at all. Sagramanda is not an overtly political book, however. Small business appears to be shown in a better light than large multinational corporations but, again, we are not given an unambiguous picture of either as primarily good or bad. Popular entertainment and the businesses that provide it are both appreciated and criticized. Capitalism is clearly portrayed as enabling the rise out of poverty for those with the requisite ability, initiative and responsibility. Capitalism has clearly brought great prosperity to growing numbers of Indians and, for all its faults, even its excesses may only be so in the eye of the beholder.
I recommend Sagramanda primarily as an entertaining science fiction techno-thriller with an exotic setting, nifty technological innovations, and interesting characters. Experience the vivacious world of near-future India. Just don’t expect an unambiguous or overt defense of liberty and the free market.
[Read the rest.]
Alan Dean Foster’s Sagramanda is a far better novel than his Transformers. While not especially libertarian, it is also far more so than his Transformers . Sagramanda is a science fiction techno-thriller set in the near-future Indian city of the novel’s title. In this, Foster’s novel follows in the footsteps of Ian MacDonald’s River of Gods and MacDonald indeed has a blurb on the back cover in praise of Foster’s novel and remarking on “the growing swell of writers realizing we may be living in the Indian Century.” As far as I can tell Foster does a good job of capturing the spirit and atmosphere of India. (My wife is Indian but she was unable to read the novel before the deadline for this issue.)
As a science fiction novel, Sagramanda is replete with scientific advances and nifty technological innovations, some military but most of a civilian consumer nature – from human-piloted cow removers designed to clear the streets of sacred roadblocks (gently and humanely, of course) to holographic avatar projectors that can superimpose images over their users, programmed with the complete Kama Sutra, for both instructional and entertainment purposes. In near-future India, futuristic and ancient technology co-exist side by side. Hydrogen powered cars are commonplace, as are camels as beasts of burden still. One character wields high-tech handguns loaded with explosive rounds and neurotoxin-filled syringets while another kills with a very traditional, yet for all that still very effective, sword.
As a techno-thriller, the central plot revolves around a revolutionary and potentially very profitable scientific discovery stolen from a powerful multinational corporation. We do not find out the nature of the discovery until the very end of the novel. All we know is that the scientist who stole it hopes to sell it to another multinational corporation for a huge sum and, rightly, fears for his life, for the corporation he stole the discovery from is willing to kill in order to get the information back. One of the main protagonists is that scientist, and he is a likeable and largely honorable fellow, with the glaring exception of his theft. Arguably, the scientist did not have a right to the discovery, seeing as how he was only one among others working under contract on the project for the corporation over at least a few decades. On the other hand, the multinational corporation he worked for is obviously not a completely honest or just business concern. Other major characters include the scientist’s beautiful yet tough fiancée, an Untouchable; his traditionalist father, who is out to kill him for tarnishing the family name; a enterprising villager who has risen out of poverty as a successful city shopkeeper; a sociopathic, yet perversely scrupulous, company tracker/hitman; a sword-wielding serial killer sacrificing innocent locals and tourists to the goddess Kali; and, finally, a man-eating tiger.
Foster tells a fast paced and entertaining story but, as I noted at the outset, it is not an especially libertarian story. That the main protagonist is a thief is one reason. Another is that both government and business are shown in both positive and negative lights. Foster sees a legitimate role for government in regulating business, at least to some extent, and the city police are depicted as dutiful and efficient; on the other hand, Foster makes reference to notoriously corrupt Indian politics. It is really only in its portrayal of capitalism, business and entrepreneurship that Sagramanda can be considered to have any libertarian theme at all. Sagramanda is not an overtly political book, however. Small business appears to be shown in a better light than large multinational corporations but, again, we are not given an unambiguous picture of either as primarily good or bad. Popular entertainment and the businesses that provide it are both appreciated and criticized. Capitalism is clearly portrayed as enabling the rise out of poverty for those with the requisite ability, initiative and responsibility. Capitalism has clearly brought great prosperity to growing numbers of Indians and, for all its faults, even its excesses may only be so in the eye of the beholder.
I recommend Sagramanda primarily as an entertaining science fiction techno-thriller with an exotic setting, nifty technological innovations, and interesting characters. Experience the vivacious world of near-future India. Just don’t expect an unambiguous or overt defense of liberty and the free market.
[Read the rest.]
June 4, 2022
Elements of India, elements of standard action/thriller movies -- sometimes science fiction is a strange, composite genre. An excellent read, well-paced, well-developed characters, and a mysticism overlaying the whole thing. Recommended!
February 2, 2011
I'm a casual reader of science-fiction and tend to be most attracted to "near-future" scenarios set on Earth (for example, Ian MacDonald's intriguing River of Gods, Richard Morgan's high-octane Altered Carbon,or Paolo Bacigalupi's disappointing Windup Girl), so this relatively slim book set in near-future India jumped off the shelf at me. To be sure, it's not in the same league as MacDonald's epic River of Godsm, but it has no ambitions to be. Rather, it's a very fun, fast-paced thriller about corporate espionage, a serial killer whose murders are devotions to the goddess Kali, and a man-eating tiger lurking at the edges of the titular megacity (which looks to be modeled on Calcutta).
The main storyline concerns a scientist named Taneer who stole a new invention from his corporate employer and had gone into hiding as he seeks to sell it for something on the order of $100,000,000. Acting as his agent and middleman is the honorable proprietor of a tourist kitch shop, who also dabbles in illegal trade. Unfortunately, for both men, the corporate giant has brought in a highly respected freelance "problem-solver" to track Taneer down and recover the information, alive if possible, dead if not. A further fly in the ointment is the determination of Taneer's estranged father to kill him for taking up with an unsuitable lower-caste woman. Meanwhile, the seemingly unconnected beheadings around the city have attracted the attentions of the police, and an investigation is launched to track down the cruel killer. The book bounces back between the two plots (and the tiger), only to bring them all together in a slightly predictable final confrontation.
The characters are developed in just enough depth for the reader to sympathize with their motivations, but no further. Similarly, the mix of old and new, gods and technology, East and West, is all decently if somewhat predictably, done -- there's not a lot of depth to any of it. However, the story allows Foster to riff on all kinds of technology that's evolved to meet the needs of a 70-million-person megacity. For example, automated transports that gently remove wandering cattle form the streets, high-tech clothing of all kinds, various communication devices, specialized and stylized robots, biometric security systems, self-sealing fast-food bags, and on and on. The thing I liked is that this technology all seemed plausible, while at the same time, there are still teeming masses of destitute people (some so much so that some have become a cannibal gang!) living in the gutter right next to a gleaming 5-star hotel, temples, sadhus, and plenty of street food. It's not a work of genius, but it is an entertaining glimpse of one imagining of a near-future India that would make a great TV miniseries.
The main storyline concerns a scientist named Taneer who stole a new invention from his corporate employer and had gone into hiding as he seeks to sell it for something on the order of $100,000,000. Acting as his agent and middleman is the honorable proprietor of a tourist kitch shop, who also dabbles in illegal trade. Unfortunately, for both men, the corporate giant has brought in a highly respected freelance "problem-solver" to track Taneer down and recover the information, alive if possible, dead if not. A further fly in the ointment is the determination of Taneer's estranged father to kill him for taking up with an unsuitable lower-caste woman. Meanwhile, the seemingly unconnected beheadings around the city have attracted the attentions of the police, and an investigation is launched to track down the cruel killer. The book bounces back between the two plots (and the tiger), only to bring them all together in a slightly predictable final confrontation.
The characters are developed in just enough depth for the reader to sympathize with their motivations, but no further. Similarly, the mix of old and new, gods and technology, East and West, is all decently if somewhat predictably, done -- there's not a lot of depth to any of it. However, the story allows Foster to riff on all kinds of technology that's evolved to meet the needs of a 70-million-person megacity. For example, automated transports that gently remove wandering cattle form the streets, high-tech clothing of all kinds, various communication devices, specialized and stylized robots, biometric security systems, self-sealing fast-food bags, and on and on. The thing I liked is that this technology all seemed plausible, while at the same time, there are still teeming masses of destitute people (some so much so that some have become a cannibal gang!) living in the gutter right next to a gleaming 5-star hotel, temples, sadhus, and plenty of street food. It's not a work of genius, but it is an entertaining glimpse of one imagining of a near-future India that would make a great TV miniseries.
February 10, 2013
I really wish I hadn't wasted my time with this book. I should have expected less from Alan Dean Foster, but I've read a few of his Aliens and Star Wars novelizations or spinoffs and they're really not too bad for what they are. Maybe his writing just doesn't stand well without the visual richness of a film to back it up.
There are far too many characters with their own chapters devoted to them for the reader to get close to any one in particular, and they often come off as flat and totally uninteresting except for the big man-eating tiger that's roaming around on the periphery. Despite the rich futuristic setting that Foster has set up for us, there's not much colorful description that paints a picture for us--mostly just futuristic techno-jargon about handheld transmitters and other gadgets. But the worst part is the prose; in many cases the writing is too technical and dry for any kind of novel. For the sake of being a critic and a jerk, here are a couple of examples:
"Even as he spoke, he was alerting the pilot, indicating with gestures that the man needed to be ready to receive new instructions."
If you're gesturing to a pilot, there's no doubt that you're trying to alert him to something or get his attention. This sentence could have effortlessly been cut in half and the reader would still know that the character is gesturing to the pilot because he wants him to know something.
"After a short drive during which the station receded into the distance behind them, the 4x4 slowed as it approached a gate in a tall, high security fence."
OK, folks, here's a lesson in physics: When you drive in any direction, objects or places behind you will always recede into the distance away from you. This is pretty widely accepted amongst most humans. The reader doesn't need to be told that the station that they're driving away from is receding into the distance! Also, in the same sentence: "a tall, high security fence?" Look up "tall" in a thesaurus and one of the first entries that you'll see will probably be "high." The redundancy here is unnecessary and almost embarrassing. I wouldn't have submitted that sentence to the creative writing class I took in High School.
So yeah, I don't know why I kept reading this book all the way through. Maybe I was just hoping to see that man-eating tiger gobble up all of the characters that I couldn't care less about. Even if that had happened, I'm not sure that it would have been worth it.
There are far too many characters with their own chapters devoted to them for the reader to get close to any one in particular, and they often come off as flat and totally uninteresting except for the big man-eating tiger that's roaming around on the periphery. Despite the rich futuristic setting that Foster has set up for us, there's not much colorful description that paints a picture for us--mostly just futuristic techno-jargon about handheld transmitters and other gadgets. But the worst part is the prose; in many cases the writing is too technical and dry for any kind of novel. For the sake of being a critic and a jerk, here are a couple of examples:
"Even as he spoke, he was alerting the pilot, indicating with gestures that the man needed to be ready to receive new instructions."
If you're gesturing to a pilot, there's no doubt that you're trying to alert him to something or get his attention. This sentence could have effortlessly been cut in half and the reader would still know that the character is gesturing to the pilot because he wants him to know something.
"After a short drive during which the station receded into the distance behind them, the 4x4 slowed as it approached a gate in a tall, high security fence."
OK, folks, here's a lesson in physics: When you drive in any direction, objects or places behind you will always recede into the distance away from you. This is pretty widely accepted amongst most humans. The reader doesn't need to be told that the station that they're driving away from is receding into the distance! Also, in the same sentence: "a tall, high security fence?" Look up "tall" in a thesaurus and one of the first entries that you'll see will probably be "high." The redundancy here is unnecessary and almost embarrassing. I wouldn't have submitted that sentence to the creative writing class I took in High School.
So yeah, I don't know why I kept reading this book all the way through. Maybe I was just hoping to see that man-eating tiger gobble up all of the characters that I couldn't care less about. Even if that had happened, I'm not sure that it would have been worth it.
November 25, 2020
I read this first quite a while ago, and recently re-read it. And it's... aged fast, and not entirely well.
The allure here is that Alan Dean Foster is simply an excellent writer. He paints attractive worlds, makes likable characters, and is a master of pacing and action scenes. This is a book comprised of one lush set-piece after another, intrigue and violence and gorgeous description. It's just an attractive book, one you enjoy reading.
The problems, I think, are two-fold. First, while the book isn't really that old, it feels old, in a sense. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it, but there's a hint of orientalism here, a little bit of sexism, nothing genuinely gross but enough to make you feel maybe a little off. Essentially, Foster is showing his age -- the man is nearly eighty, and while I absolutely believe he is well-intentioned and doing his best, you still get a certain sense of 'this is written by an old white guy.'
The other problem is that while the book is a very vivid, pretty picture, it's also a bit of a shallow one. None of the characters get much development, the world is painted heavily in broad strokes and stereotypes (the corporate assassin, the wretched slum), there isn't really much complexity here.
At the same time, I do like the book, and I'll probably read it again. Best think of this as cake. It's not a filling meal, but sometimes you just want something light and sugary where you can turn your brain off and enjoy.
The allure here is that Alan Dean Foster is simply an excellent writer. He paints attractive worlds, makes likable characters, and is a master of pacing and action scenes. This is a book comprised of one lush set-piece after another, intrigue and violence and gorgeous description. It's just an attractive book, one you enjoy reading.
The problems, I think, are two-fold. First, while the book isn't really that old, it feels old, in a sense. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it, but there's a hint of orientalism here, a little bit of sexism, nothing genuinely gross but enough to make you feel maybe a little off. Essentially, Foster is showing his age -- the man is nearly eighty, and while I absolutely believe he is well-intentioned and doing his best, you still get a certain sense of 'this is written by an old white guy.'
The other problem is that while the book is a very vivid, pretty picture, it's also a bit of a shallow one. None of the characters get much development, the world is painted heavily in broad strokes and stereotypes (the corporate assassin, the wretched slum), there isn't really much complexity here.
At the same time, I do like the book, and I'll probably read it again. Best think of this as cake. It's not a filling meal, but sometimes you just want something light and sugary where you can turn your brain off and enjoy.
February 13, 2015
I felt that this movie was intended to be like a cool, indie/offbeat type novel set in the future but it wasn't for me. Foster spent more time than necessary describing the technology and using metaphors that were irrelevant and forgettable. The characters were flat and the only redeeming quality was the ending that was exciting, fast paced, and what I wished for throughout the whole novel.
His descriptions at time were questionable and plain out ridiculous. He describes one person as dark as an African, because all Africans are dark? One of the characters in the story is a curvy, voluptuous woman and he describes her as having the body of a whore. Really? That's how you describe a woman who is curvy? Other times his descriptions were boring or tried to hard to be profound or unique. I personally found the writing aggravating because of how he described characters physical appearances, the futuristic technology, the over and long drawn sentences. The story line was decent but in total I felt the story could have been condensed to a short story or a novel of around 100 pages. I felt it was unnecessary to make it as long as it is now.
I did not like this book for those reasons. It could have been better and I was excited to read the book but after as while I had to force myself to finish. This was not my cup of tea but it may be for others.
His descriptions at time were questionable and plain out ridiculous. He describes one person as dark as an African, because all Africans are dark? One of the characters in the story is a curvy, voluptuous woman and he describes her as having the body of a whore. Really? That's how you describe a woman who is curvy? Other times his descriptions were boring or tried to hard to be profound or unique. I personally found the writing aggravating because of how he described characters physical appearances, the futuristic technology, the over and long drawn sentences. The story line was decent but in total I felt the story could have been condensed to a short story or a novel of around 100 pages. I felt it was unnecessary to make it as long as it is now.
I did not like this book for those reasons. It could have been better and I was excited to read the book but after as while I had to force myself to finish. This was not my cup of tea but it may be for others.
March 1, 2008
This was a quick read, and deftly written; Foster does an excellent and deceptively simple-looking job of introducing a half-dozen major characters and makes them all sympathetic (at least to some extent). On the minus side, it's not certain that this book will be memorable in the long run, and the macguffin seemed pretty arbitrary. Still, it was hugely entertaining and, at 287 pages, didn't waste my time at all.
August 18, 2011
The book gave me an impression that a foreigner got fascinated by whatever he saw in India to such an extent that he got compelled to write a book basing a story here. It was an okay okay book for me. The fact that he kept using the word "lieutenant" as a police rank for Indian policemen, was funny cuz Indian Police does not have that rankname in the first place. lol. That's why the book seemed like a foreigner's imagination of future India, which was a little exaggerated too.
December 11, 2007
Great story line. I loved the multiple stories and thought the author did a good job writing it all. His vision of the future is one I'd like to live in, but not in India. I did have to skip a few pages, but other than that, great book.
June 16, 2011
This was a nice departure from not only a typical Foster yarn, but of any genre of fiction. Set in the near future in India, the story, as always expertly delivered by Foster, introduces us to unique characters and conflicts that is guaranteed to pull you in.
Gusto Dave
Gusto Dave
June 2, 2012
A fun read, but you can pretty much see where it's headed in the first few pages. I was sort of surprised by the lack of a surprise. That said, a great "near-future" portrait of a city & the people who live there...
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January 22, 2016Sci Fi, set in India, with a Kali worshiping serial killer subplot
April 22, 2013
More thriller than science fiction.
January 29, 2013
A thriller set in the near future set in India with multiple plot threads and a ending that will keep you guessing up to the end.
January 7, 2014
Not bad, a well imagined near future universe, and all the threads of the story brought together cleanly without that nasty deus ex machina taste.
February 4, 2014
Good action -- just a fun read. Wouldn't say it gives a lot of detail on Indian society.
November 24, 2010
Wasn't best book I every read by A.D.F. Maybe he should stick to Alien and Startrek novels.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews