Connecting India’s tumultuous 19th and 20th centuries to its potentially apocalyptic future, this sweeping tale of rebellion, courage, and brutality reinvents historical fiction for our time. Set in a near-future Delhi, a former journalist searches for answers after losing her identity and citizenship, becoming embroiled in a conspiracy involving secret detention centers, government-sanctioned murders, online rage, and nationalist violence, all linked to a figure known as the “New Delhi Monkey Man.” In Bhopal, 1984, an assassin pursues a whistleblower in a city on the brink of the worst industrial disaster in history. In Calcutta, 1947, a veterinary student’s life connects him to an ancient Vedic aircraft. Meanwhile, in 1859, British soldiers seek the last surviving leader of an anti-colonial rebellion in the Himalayas. These interwoven timelines create a kaleidoscopic epic, with each section focusing on a character's pursuit of hidden truths in their respective eras. The narratives reflect and reimagine Indian identity and history, illuminating the connections between past and future. This astonishing work is a brilliant reimagining of one of the world’s oldest civilizations.
Siddhartha Deb Books
Siddhartha Deb is an Indian author with an academic background in India and at Columbia University in the United States. He commenced his professional journey in journalism, initially focusing on sports reporting in Calcutta before transitioning to broader journalistic work in Delhi.
