The City Inside

It’s a slow start, like wading into quick sand. The prose is dense, sentences and paragraphs spanning longer than they have any right to, with future jargon on constant tap that tracks just enough to seep into understanding. Entire shifts in scenery occur without warning, but somehow subtly, like the flicker of one dream into the next same but different dream. Once you gain fluency in this world, it’s easy to become lost in the kaleidoscopic tapestry. This all felt intentional, and reading some interviews afterwards confirmed this for me.

It’s not as experimental as something like Dead Astronauts, or quite as fever dreamy as Land of Milk and Honey, but it’s still not a light read. I don’t know if smaller sessions would have been better, or just precluded my eventual flow state of fluency that unlocked the ease of the last portion of the book, when the ideas started to converge. Should you read it? Hard to say, but I thought it was a poignant and dark reflection of a reality my privilege shields me from, for now, while not beating the point or layering the guilt. There’s hope woven in and even the darkest of topics are given enough allusion off screen to provide granular grit without having to look too closely and require strong trigger warnings. That’s the whole point though, isn’t it? (But seriously, if allusions or mentions of dark topics is enough for one of your triggers, be sure to check).

I have very complicated thoughts about this book. On the one hand, there were some very interesting worldbuilding concepts and perspectives of a near-future India. On the other, characters were rather unlikeable and the author used a dialogue-heavy writing style tending toward stream of consciousness—building up a feeling almost of doomscrolling, which may have been intentional but set my teeth on edge nevertheless.

3 stars but still recommending it! I really thought this was going to be at least a four star read but it didn’t quite get there. I enjoyed the speculation about what the near future might hold. I see this book as a story about the time before dystopia fully takes hold, and how a plucky group of youngsters try to use their positions in the institutions leading the world there to avoid the final plunge. It’s all about subversion and potential revolution. Although there are mentions of a climate crisis, the story is most interested in a how social media might evolve in this proto-dystopian world, and the many permutations - pure entertainment, unapologetic product promotion, and even political movements - it might take. I’m not sure it quite gets to where it wants to go. There’s a joke about 1/3 through about a self help seminar the protagonist calls “Desi Power Chakra” (if you don’t know what desi is look it up before reading this book). It has to do with making your enemies think you’re friends and being three steps ahead of everyone, and that idea plays into the climax. But it seems the book might be three steps ahead of itself. So many things are brought up and almost get to something, but nothing gets resolved or returned to once the plot moves past it. It’s a shame because if any one of those themes had come to a resolution, I would likely have had only good things to say about the book, even if a few were still left floating. But to not use any of them seems like a lack of structure. Perhaps that’s meant to reflect the state of India, the constant push towards revolution and innovation but so much remaining the same. If it was intentional, it didn’t work for me. Still there was a lot of interesting ideas and I’m sure I’ll be thinking about it for a while.

I hate ambiguous endings. I don't want to invest time in reading a whole novel and then end up not knowing what happened. I genuinely don't see how that can be enjoyable.
This happened recently with The City Inside by Samit Basu. I loved the world building in this book. This is a near future version of India. Specifically it is set in Delhi. There has been massive political upheaval, waves of pandemics, and the climate is wrecked.
Flows are channels where people live stream a very scripted version of their lives. Joey is a "reality controller". She is producer for her ex-boyfriend Indy's flow. She is considered to be the best in the business. Indy is on the verge of superstardom. This puts her on the radar of several very unsavory individuals.
I don't think there is anything quite as scary as near-future dystopia. Everything in this book is so distressingly possible. Everything that seems odd on the surface is logically derived from things that are happening now. The world building is the best part of this book. I loved seeing where the author thought life was going to go.
The story wasn't as good and that is where the ending comes in. As soon as the audiobook finished I went immediately to Goodreads to see if I missed something or if I was just too stupid to understand what happened. It didn't appear to be either of those. Everyone else was confused too. Basically, there appears to be a big plan that she is putting in place. You see each person being carefully manipulated to do what Joey wants. And then..... it is over. Did it work? What was the master plan anyway?? No idea.
So read this for the amazingly detailed world building. Admire that beautiful cover. Just don't expect a cohesive story.

This was a really great read - a unique experience. I think this is a book that will struggle to find its audience, though. It’s got an “all vibes no plot” feel that lit fic readers would enjoy, yet this is an SF setting. Most SFF readers are looking for more plot. Fortunately for me, introspective narration plus SF is a combo I love.

The setting is a bit tough to get a handle on because it is not explained to you. It’s the near future, and the main thing to understand is that the Flowverse exists with stars who live scripted lives which are live-streamed to their audiences. This book has tons to say about social media and the powerful people behind it, corrupt governments, nepotism and greed. The focus is on two characters who are trying to get by and struggle with guilt over their “safe” life choices.

My one complaint would be that the ending felt kind of strange. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Joey’s conclusion in particular. Perhaps it was an indication of how she’s not totally free? Or how endless the fight is? It’s less a conclusion and more just a point the book stops, which could be intentional.

I think folks who like this would also enjoy Severance by Ling Ma as well as Version Control by Dexter Palmer.