A review by tacanderson
The City Inside by Samit Basu

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Disclaimer: I'm an American who has worked in tech for decades and worked with a lot of Indians both in India as well as in America and England. I've spent several weeks in India, but my review is ignorant of the realities of India and is only presented as an outsiders view. Normally that's fine, books open up new worlds to us, that's the beauty of books. But this book obviously has a specific message for and about India and reading this book feels a little bit like you're eavesdropping on a long-standing family discussion. 

That being said, I've long enjoyed Samit Basu's books and readily recommend him to people. The near-future sci-fi ideas in this book are some of the best I've read in a long time. The City Inside definitely shares some DNA with William Gibson's Pattern Recognition. India is the perfect setting for the new wave of cyberpunk. I've read quite a few books by local Indian authors and I always find new compelling ideas. India is this fascinating mix of post-colonial western with a core that is staunchly Indian. They proudly hold on their heritage and traditions but can't escape their 3,000 year old caste system. This book brings all of that to the forefront while highlighting the struggles in a future context. 
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