book-review · dystopia · fantasy · fiction · indian-authors · sci-fi

“The Black Dwarves of the Good Little Bay” by Varun Mathew

🍂”The Black Dwarves of the good little bay” by Varun Mathew is an epic dystopia, set in modern-world Mumbai now known as Bombadrome, for there is no land to live on, no resources to replete, and the only way to live is to live in suspended dorms hovered in the air.
When the ecological system collapsed, and the rains stopped all together ‘visiting’ this city, the newly formed government, with the promise to set things in order, proposed an artificially equated society, where everyone is equal and everyone’s lives are technologically driven to happiness, there is one but no man who remembers what it was like to live in Bom Bahia.
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🍂While the city is changed and there seems to be a state of utopia on the surface, the story of how the city came to be what it is now, is harrowing and highly relevant to times today as well.
Layered with elements of ecological deterioration, the protagonist’s childhood, his part to play in the new world order, political agendas and propagandas, the tale is a strong statement on the various facets of Indian society; its mob, its corruption, its casteism, its classism and more importantly, turning a blind eye to injustices if it serves one’s personal purpose.
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🍂Gripping narration, an engrossing storyline, and a scathing recital, peppered with subplots from the last and the present, this dystopian account keeps you on your ends all the time, wondering what will happen next.
Highly recommended.
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🍂 Thank you hachette_india for this gifted copy, in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Genre: dystopia, indian-literature, contemporary, science-fiction