Jake and Ron interview one of the most exciting science-fiction novelists in recent years, Samit Basu, author of The City Inside published by TorDotCom!
Samit Basu is a prolific veteran of fantasy and science-fiction novels. He's also quite versatile, with work ranging from the bestselling Gamewold trilogy to YA titles such as The Adventures of Stoob, Terror on the Titanic, and even comic books. He has written columns and essays for several leading Indian and international publications. On top of that, Samit is also a screenwriter and director. He co-directed the film House Arrest, which was part of the Netflix International Originals program in 2019. His UK/US crossover occurred with the superhero novels Turbulence and its sequel, Resistance, published by Titan Books. Said Wired Magazine of Turbulence: "... it has it all. Solid writing, great character development, humor, personal loss, and excellent points to ponder in every chapter" Turbulence won the Wired Goldenbot Award.
His latest novel The City Inside, published by TordotCom, tells the story of Joey, 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.
It turns out some of those live streams are manufactured to your tastes and desires. Popularity, views, and likes are now part of the sophisticated disinformation machine. To make matters worse, Joey and her friends live in an outright surveillance state. Understanding where cameras are located and being careful about what they say are in the forefront of their minds. To survive in near-future Delhi, one needs to constantly play defense and be on alert.
The City Inside reads not as a dystopia, but rather as a forecast for tomorrow. Samit's education at the University of Westminster, London in broadcast and documentary film-making lends itself to the immediacy felt when reading this book. Despite the extraordinary circumstances the characters live under, there is a sense of hope and humor throughout the book.
Samit prepares to write a novel by immersing himself in research. Now, you would think that someone who spent a multitude of hours researching potential issues for the human race would be quite dour, but he was very affable and we absolutely enjoyed our conversation with him. As you'll see, he's very thoughtful during the interview. Although he lives in Delhi, India, Samit was kind enough to interview while he was on vacation. We reached him in Berlin, Germany.
Samit Basu Links
The City Inside by Samit Basu (2022)
https://publishing.tor.com/thecityinside-samitbasu/9781250827487/
Samit Basu Official Web Site: https://samitbasu.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/samitbasu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samitbasu/
Samit Basu interviews author Bruce Sterling: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=samit+basu+bruce+sterling
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Music
Land Of The Me-me by Aleksandar Dimitrijevic (TONO)
Licensed under the NEO Sounds Music License Agreement