Turbulence

Samit Basu

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Turbulence

‘For wicked wit, for post-modern superheroics, for sheer verbal energy and dazzle, Samit Basu doesn’t so much push the envelope as fold it into an n-dimensional hyper-envelope, address it to your hind-brain and mail it with a rail gun.’- Mike Carey (X-men, Lucifer, the Felix Castor series)

‘You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll gasp and you will demand a sequel.’- Ben Aaronovitch (Doctor Who, Rivers of London)

“Turbulence has it all… Solid writing, great character development, humor, personal loss, and excellent points to ponder in every chapter.” – Wired

“The characters are brilliantly written… With a globe-trotting sensibility even James Bond would be proud of, the cinematic action sequences are as breath-taking as anything Hollywood has to offer, so the campaign for a big-screen version, or failing that, at least a sequel to the book begins here!” – IGN

“… inventive and very clever. But most of all, it is fun. If you have ever picked up a comic book and enjoyed it, then this is a must-buy.” – Starburst

“… a thoughtful exploration of the blurry difference between heroes and villains. Ethical questions are deftly scrutinised in a depth that a comic book or film would struggle to match.” – The Sun

No. 1 bestseller (India)

Best books of 2012 lists – Wired (Geekdad Goldenbot Award), Forbidden Planet, Reader Dad

No. 2 on hot new SF release list (Amazon UK)

Aman Sen is smart, young, ambitious and going nowhere. He thinks this is because he doesn’t have the right connections – but then he gets on a plane from London to Delhi and discovers, a few days later, that he has turned into a communications demigod, able to control and manipulate all networks, including the internet. And he’s not the only one with a secret.

Everyone on Aman’s flight now has extraordinary abilities corresponding to their innermost desires. Vir, an Indian Air Force pilot, can now fly. Uzma, a British-Pakistani aspiring Bollywood actress, now possesses infinite charisma. Tia, a housewife from the troubled Indian north-east, can now live out all the lives she dreamt of by splitting into multiple bodies. And these are just the nice ones. Terrible new forces have been unleashed. Businessmen, politicians, criminals, each with their own agenda. One of these is Jai, an indestructible one-man army with an old-fashioned goal – military conquest of the world. And there’s another, even more sinister force at work. A mind capable of manipulating mobs, of driving humans and superhumans into an all-destroying frenzy.

Aman and his rag-tag collective of superhumans find themselves in grave danger in a part of the world that needs radical change much more than it needs protection. They must decide what to do with their powers and their lives – and quickly. Aman dreams of uniting their powers to fight the world’s real villains – faceless, amorphous corporations, corrupt government officials, religious fanatics. Of ensuring that their new powers aren’t wasted on costumed crime-fighting, celebrity endorsements, or reality television. He wants to help those who need it most – untold millions without food, power, schools or voices. He intends to heal the planet. Save the world. But with each step he takes, he finds helping some means harming others, playing with lives, making huge, potentially disastrous decisions. Will they actually make the world better or will it all end, as 80 years of superhero fiction suggest, in a meaningless, explosive slugfest?

TURBULENCE is a hyper-real novel set in an over-the-top world. It features the 21^st-century Indian subcontinent in all its insane glory – F-16s, Bollywood, radical religious parties, nuclear plants, cricket, terrorists, luxury resorts, crazy TV shows – but is essentially about two very human questions.

How would you feel if you actually got what you wanted?

What would you do if you were given the power to change the world?

Buy the book (UK)

More Reviews (UK)

“Turbulence is an excellent book, a thoughtful read that throws out questions without any easy answers, that opens up the superhero genre to deeper analysis, and yet is also an incredibly enjoyable superhero story itself.” – Fantasy Faction

“As unpretentious as it’s entertaining, as compelling as it’s thought-provoking, it not only establishes once and for all that the novel is as much a home for the superhero tale as film, tv and comics… it’s not just an astute and captivating read, but an important one too.” – TBTAMC

“Turbulence is a new breed of superhero novel and likely to appeal to both classic hero fans as well as fans of contemporary fiction…This is one of those rare superhero stories that is not overshadowed by the powers but is told in the humanity that pulls the superhuman together.” – Geek Native

“Basu knows his stuff… he conjures up a vast array of imaginative powers… unflinchingly depicts the costly consequences…” – SFX

“He is the country’s preeminent fantasist… Turbulence delivers exactly what it intends: an entertaining, well-written read. In the genre’s history it will be seen as an important work, a reflection of the subcontinent’s growing self-confidence.” – Anil Menon, World SF

“If you’re looking for brilliantly written, fun and fast paced action that leaves you wanting more, this is definitely it. One word of warning though, you may ignore your loved ones completely until you’ve finished it.” – The Tattooed Book.

” … the best fantasy writer you’ve never heard of… looks set to redefine the superhero genre for the twenty-first century.” – Reader Dad

“Turbulence is very deliberately of its time, and it works very well as a slice of early 21st century life. Any story looking at superheroes will reflect back what we as a society revere and amplify, the signals sent out about the qualities we seek in our idealised selves” – British Fantasy Society.

“It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s intelligently witty, it’s great…. I found it difficult to put down. Loved, loved, LOVED it.” – SFFWorld.com, Mark Yon.

“The action is fast and full of iconic fight scenes… The humour and cultural references are fun and spot on… ” – Geek Syndicate

” …his comic timing especially with his characters is quite excellent… Basu has definitely got his own flair for the extraordinary” - Pissed Off Geek

“You can see the novel as a film from the word go and I’ve never read a book like that before. I’d love this to be made in to a film actually for my imaginings to become reality.”- BookGeek

Interviews/Articles/Posts (UK)

Geek Native Interview

TBTAMC - The most in-depth interview yet! On Turbulence.

Q and A at The Tattooed Book.

Interview at the British Fantasy Society.

Interview at Reader Dad

SFFWorld

Guest post at Pissed Off Geek: Top 10 Superhero Films

Ben Aaronovitch being extremely kind to the book.

Reviews (India)

Other covers

This is the Indian paperback cover, designed by Peter Cotton.

There’s also a limited edition Indian hardback, with an extra section that reveals more about a few characters. This is the cover, the image is by that formidable world-famous artist duo Sarnath Banerjee and Bani Abidi. Remember to play spot-the-difference with the back cover if you pick this up.