Basu, Samit

Entry updated 20 May 2024. Tagged: Author.

(1979- ) Indian film-maker, Comics writer and author who began publishing with the Gamesworld Trilogy beginning with The Simoqin Prophecies (2003). The sequence is notable for its use of the topoi of Genre Fantasy [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below], reworked exuberantly through an Indian lens. It helped establish Basu as one of the leading voices of twenty-first-century genre fiction writers in India. Further work included a Young Adult title, Terror on the Titanic (2010), children's books and comics, of which Untouchable (2010), was co-written with Mike Carey, and the Young Adult Adventures of Stoob sequence beginning with Testing Times (2014).

Basu then published for a global audience the Turbulence sequence comprising Turbulence (2012) and Resistance (2013), which reworks American Superhero tropes in an Indian setting. Around this time Basu became increasingly involved with film-making, working as a screenwriter in Bollywood for several years. It culminated in his writing and directing his first feature film, House Arrest (2019).

Throughout his career, Basu has demonstrated a considerable range, and a relentless curiosity and skill in applying familiar genre concepts in a then-new Indian setting. His return to genre fiction was therefore worth the wait. Chosen Spirits (2020; vt The City Inside 2022) is an ambitious, angry sf novel set in a Near Future India rife with surveillance, and reflects a deep unease with the land's rising nationalism. The reality-shaping artefact discovered in the distant Near Future The Jinn-Bot Of Shantiport (2023) suspiciously resembles Aladdin's lamp. Further work is eagerly awaited. [LTi]

Samit Basu

born Kolkata, India: 14 December 1979

works

series

The Gameworld Trilogy

The Simoqin Prophecies (New Delhi, India: Penguin Books India, 2004) [Gameworld Trilogy: pb/Atanu Roy]
The Manticore's Secret (New Delhi, India: Penguin Books India, 2005) [Gameworld Trilogy: pb/Suddhasatwa Basu]
The Unwaba Revelations (New Delhi, India: Penguin Books India, 2007) [Gameworld Trilogy: pb/]

Morningstar Agency

Terror on the Titanic (New Delhi, India: Scholastic India, 2010) [Morningstar Agency: pb/]

Turbulence

Turbulence (London: Titan Books, 2012) [Turbulence: pb/]
Resistance (London: Titan Books, 2013) [Turbulence: pb/]

The Adventures of Stoob

Testing Times (New Delhi, India: Red Turtle, 2014) [Adventures of Stoob: pb/]
A Difficult Stage (New Delhi, India: Red Turtle, 2015) [Adventures of Stoob: pb/]
Mismatch Mayhem (New Delhi, India: Red Turtle, 2016) [Adventures of Stoob: pb/]

individual titles

Chosen Spirits (New Delhi, India: Simon & Schuster, 2020) [hb/]
- The City Inside (New York: Tordotcom, 2022) [vt of the above: hb/Kuri Huang]
The Jinn-Bot Of Shantiport (New York: Tordotcom, 2023) [hb/Kuri Huang]

links

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