Saad Z. Hossain's Kundo Wakes Up is a companion to the Ignyte and Locus Award-Nominated novella The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday.
Hundreds of miles away from the techno-utopia of Kathmandu, the all-powerful, all-seeing AI known as Karma has gone silent, leaving the dying city of Chittagong-along with all its remaining residents-to continue its inexorable fall into the sea.
Kundo, once a famous artist with the Karma points to prove it, goes searching for his missing wife, only to uncover more inexplicable disappearances. And so Kundo and a group of motley companions embark on a tumultuous journey through an overwhelming maze made up of Chittagong's neighborhoods, the hidden backrooms of video game parlors, and the depths of cyberspace, culminating in the realm of the djinn themselves, in search of love, redemption, and a good meal.
About the AuthorSaad Z. Hossain writes fantasy, science fiction, and black comedy. His novels include
Escape from Baghdad! and
Djinn City. His short stories have appeared in anthologies
A Djinn Falls in Love, The Best Science Fiction and
Fantasy of the Year, Vol 12, and the
Apex Book of World SF Vol 4. He lives in Dhaka, the most ridiculously crowded city in the world, teaming with humans, wildlife, and djinn.
Industry Reviews
"Hossain blends futuristic technology and Arabic mythology in this rabbit hole of a mystery. . . . Gaming enthusiasts and ancient mythology fans alike should snap this up."
Publishers Weekly
"Cyberpunk, high fantasy, climate catastrophe and, at its heart, a compelling story about broken people finding each other and a way to become whole again."
Samit Basu
Praise for The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesdsay
Hossain spins satire out of myth and science fiction in the near-future postapocalyptic paradise of Kathmandu. . . . Compact and quippy, this is a whirlwind story that cleverly blends genres and finds humor and pathos in human failure.
Publishers Weekly
In the space of this slim novel are elements of buddy comedy, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, and philosophy . . . . [An] entertainingly madcap story that asks what it means to be a citizen and what equality really looks like.
Kirkus
Saad Z. Hossain continues to blow through the flimsy walls of genre like a whirlwind with The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, sweeping science-fiction, fantasy, myth, and satire into the wildly imaginative vortex of his ever-expanding fictional universe of alternate djinn-history and futures. Hossain's wit and wry compassion create a vision of humanity's hurtling path through time and space as both farcical and epic, leaving a blazing trail of casualties and wonders.
Indrapramit Das
