Chosen Spirits

DETAILS : 

• Author : Samit Basu
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster
  
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 December 2024
  
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
  
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
  
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 8197949220
  
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8197949227
  
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 250 g

ABOUT THE BOOK

Chosen Spirits, authored by the highly acclaimed novelist Samit Basu and published in 2020 by Simon & Schuster India, is a landmark speculative fiction novel that was shortlisted for the prestigious JCB Prize for Literature. Set in a smog-choked, water-scarce New Delhi at the end of the 2020s, the book serves as a fiercely intelligent, terrifyingly prophetic critique of near-future algorithmic control, media manipulation, and surveillance capitalism.

The narrative follows Joey, a "Reality Controller" whose highly demanding job involves scripting, editing, and curating the multi-reality multimedia livestreams—known as "Flows"—for Indi, a charismatic but problematic online celebrity who also happens to be her college ex-boyfriend. Through Joey's perspective, Basu details an uncomfortably familiar world dominated by algorithmic nightmares, where public dissent is seamlessly erased by corporate monopolies and simulated digital realities. The plot shifts dramatically when Joey impulsively rescues her childhood friend, Rudra, who is trying to escape his wealthy, complicit neo-elite family. By bringing Rudra into her orbit, Joey sets off a dangerous domino effect of corporate takeovers, corporate espionage, and institutional betrayals.

Rather than leaning into traditional, action-heavy cyberpunk tropes of chosen heroes toppling empires, the novel explores the exhausting psychological weight of maintaining the status quo. Basu brilliantly weaves real-world societal anxieties, including caste disparities, youth-led protests, corporate greed, and climate crises, into the everyday fabric of his characters' lives. The author famously describes the book not as a traditional far-off dystopia, but rather as a realistic "best-case scenario" of where modern techno-political structures are currently heading, making it an unsettling call to awareness for contemporary readers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Samit Basu is a versatile and highly celebrated Indian novelist, film director, and screenwriter who pioneered the wave of modern Indian English fantasy writing. He made a massive literary debut in 2003 at the age of twenty-three with The Simoqin Prophecies, the first volume of his bestselling Gameworld Trilogy. He achieved widespread international breakthrough with his acclaimed superhero novels, Turbulence and Resistance, with Turbulence winning Wired's Goldenbot Award in 2012.

Basu's creative versatility spans multiple mediums, ranging from children's fiction series to graphic novels developed in collaboration with global artists. Beyond his literary achievements, he wrote and co-directed the romantic comedy film House Arrest, which premiered globally as part of Netflix's International Originals in 2019. Known for his razor-sharp wit, sociological insights, and mastery of genre-blending fiction, Basu divides his time between Delhi and Mumbai, continuing to push the evolutionary boundaries of contemporary global speculative fiction.