Jinn-Bot of Shantiport

416 pages

English language

Published Oct. 3, 2023 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom, Tordotcom.

ISBN:
978-1-250-82751-7
Copied ISBN!
ASIN:
1250827515
Goodreads:
65211707

View on OpenLibrary

5 stars (1 review)

From international bestseller Samit Basu, The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport is an exuberant new sci-fi adventure with heart that reads like a mash-up of Aladdin and Murderbot—with gloriously chaotic results

Shantiport was supposed to be a gateway to the stars. But the city is sinking, and its colonist rulers aren’t helping anyone but themselves.

Lina, a daughter of failed revolutionaries, has no desire to escape Shantiport. She loves her city and would do anything to save its people. This is, in fact, the plan for her life, made before she was even born.

Her brother, Bador, is a small monkey bot with a big attitude and bigger ambitions. He wants a chance to leave this dead-end planet and explore the universe on his own terms. But that would mean abandoning the family he loves—even if they do take him for granted.

When Shantiport's resident tech billionaire coerces Lina into retrieving a …

2 editions

A solid, fun, imaginative and enjoyable book

5 stars

Samit Basu doesn’t lack humour and imagination, which make this story very enjoyable. His previous books have mixed cultural and political elements of Indian life with fantasy and science fiction, enriching old westerner tropes and bringing new life to genres that have for too long been only explored by white dudes.

The heart of the story is the question: if you were living in a world menaced by sea rise and dominated by ultra rich factions, and if you found a magic lamp with a genie, what would you ask them? Of course you’d have first to find said magic lamp, and fight your way to keep it when the whole power structure wants it too. Luckily in this scenario you’d be a mischievous monkey robot with delusions of grandeur…