You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.5 AVERAGE
4.5 AVERAGE
I think this deserves a second go-round. And it’s short enough to make it easy. This is a dystopian prophecy of what the future might hold if certain structures do not yield to egalitarian and libertarian trends. But ultimately, one finds the 60k word ‘novel’ (more of a very mature outline for something more epic) making a 90° turn toward hope and promise. Powerful stuff that must have been fermenting in Gupta’s mind for some time to bang out in 6 days. Would love to know if he’s still planning on expanding finishing the novel.
Round 2 (June 2023):
Mother of hydrogen, thou art the void,
the interstellar interstitial infinities
are the expanses of your body.
Holy are your ways,
unimagined,
unknown and unseen.
While the roughness of Gupta’s writing shone brighter this time (see/read second image), the narrative still held. I was more aware of my biases and how the arc of the story played to some of those readily. The novel’s concept would make this easily an interesting dystopian film or series. Part Orwellian/Bradburyian in its ambience, the story is grounded speculative literature, looking into the feasible future with many reasonable leaps. Totalitarian/fascist societal structures, war-based economy, off-world bioengineering, remote robot and drone-tech all in friction with legacy bodies of knowing and existing in harmony with the rest of the universe. A psychological profile of a young person, coming of age with tools to fight the fascists and yet torn apart by the state of the world. Sounds delightful! Great amounts of hope peppered throughout, mind you.
Round 2 (June 2023):
Mother of hydrogen, thou art the void,
the interstellar interstitial infinities
are the expanses of your body.
Holy are your ways,
unimagined,
unknown and unseen.
While the roughness of Gupta’s writing shone brighter this time (see/read second image), the narrative still held. I was more aware of my biases and how the arc of the story played to some of those readily. The novel’s concept would make this easily an interesting dystopian film or series. Part Orwellian/Bradburyian in its ambience, the story is grounded speculative literature, looking into the feasible future with many reasonable leaps. Totalitarian/fascist societal structures, war-based economy, off-world bioengineering, remote robot and drone-tech all in friction with legacy bodies of knowing and existing in harmony with the rest of the universe. A psychological profile of a young person, coming of age with tools to fight the fascists and yet torn apart by the state of the world. Sounds delightful! Great amounts of hope peppered throughout, mind you.
What a ride! Fast paced, thought provoking, challenging, a little rough in places, excellent plot sequence, entertaining concepts... Now for his nonfiction...