New Release: SPELLCASTERS by Rajat Chaudhuri
Wicked Dreams, Twisted Desires and Weird Weather
Niyogi Books takes pride in presenting its new title, Spellcasters: A Novel by Rajat Chaudhuri, partly psychological thriller and partly, a climate adventure with a twist of the occult.
Genre: Cli-Fi & Thriller
In his praise for the book, author Amitav Ghosh calls the novel ‘a phantasmagoric journey through an alternative reality of collapsed time, hallucinatory visions and spectral visitations: an unexpected and unsettling rollercoaster ride.’
Author of the book Rajat Chaudhuri, when asked for his comments on the book, says, ‘Recently, industry captains have been talking about a “70-hour work week” and how we should work harder to beat other nations. Meanwhile, cautionary voices that flag the need to slow down because of `planetary limits’ get drowned out. Limitless growth is an addictive dream, stronger than the most potent drugs, but the addict doesn’t care about the damage it inflicts. Think of the poisoned air, the Himalayan landslides or the summer temperatures that broke all records, aren’t these clear signs of a raging illness? Spellcasters is a mirror to this diseased time, when persuasive hogwash rules over mind and matter, affecting and transforming people and the living planet in unimaginable ways. It is finally the story of a commoner lured into a vortex of greed and malignant ambition where victim and perpetrator can hardly be told apart. That way, it is also the story of each one of us living this benighted present.’
On publishing the book Trisha De Niyogi, Director and COO, Niyogi Books says, ‘We feel a book like Spellcaster is a necessary read for all. Today, when we are making scientific advances in leaps and bounds but seem to have forgotten how we are impacting Mother Nature, books like this remind us what can happen if we don’t check ourselves in time.’
About the Book
Chanchal Mitra wakes up in a far-off desert town, sharing a dingy hotel room with the flamboyant Mr. Kapoor, who is planning to abduct a billionaire. Kapoor insists that the billionaire tycoon is an impostor. Chanchal is unwittingly drawn into the plot. Soon they are joined by the mystery woman Sujata, her eyes dark like murder; and then a crutch-clutching ex-sailor, who is quick with a gun.
In the smog-swathed capital city of Aukatabad, an organic chemist engaged by the tycoon to design a mind-altering drug, is found dead from an overdose. Elsewhere, the billionaire industrialist’s chocolate factory is contaminated by salmonella while Sujata fights a fiery death at the hands of hired killers. As weird weather overtakes the land and Kapoor sets out with his accomplices to kidnap the businessman, the flimsy lines between friend, foe and lover begin to quickly disappear.
Price: INR 495 / Format: Paperback / Pages: 320
About the Author
Rajat Chaudhuri’s works include novels, story collections, edited anthologies and translations. He curated The Best Asian Speculative Fiction and co-edited the Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures (Asia-Pacific) anthology.
Chaudhuri’s most recent novel, The Butterfly Effect was twice listed by Book Riot (US) as one of the ‘Fifty must read eco-disasters in fiction’ and among ‘Ten works of environmental literature from around the world’. Acclaimed for its exploration of a ‘Ballardian near-future’, this novel is now taught in Indian, American and European universities. His short fiction has also appeared in the internationally acclaimed climate fiction video game, Survive the Century.
Chadhuri has received writing fellowships from Charles Wallace (UK), Hawthornden Castle (Scotland) and Livonics (India) and residency awards from Arts Council Korea-InKo (South Korea) and Sangam House (India).
OTHER TITLES BY THE AUTHOR PUBLISHED BY NIYOGI BOOKS
About the Publisher
An internationally acclaimed publishing house, Niyogi Books, established in 2004, has more than 700 titles today. It not only specializes in textual content but also strives to give equal importance to visuals. It purveys a wide range of content on art, architecture, history, culture, spirituality, memoirs, and every aspect, which connects with our rich heritage. Under its umbrella, it has fiction and non-fiction that cover books on social science, cookery, and self-help as well as English Translations of modern classics from different Indian languages.
Niyogi Books after having launched four Imprints: Olive Turtle (English fiction), Thornbird (English Translation), Paper Missile (English non-fiction) and Bahuvachan (Hindi Translation: Fiction & Non-Fiction), has launched its newest imprint, Perky Parrot, with an aim to provide fun reads for children and young adults.
Niyogi Books has co-published a number of critically acclaimed books with reputed institutions like the British Library, Rietberg Museum Zurich, IGNCA, National Gallery of Modern Art, Ministry of Culture (Govt. of India), National Manuscript Mission, Sahitya Akademi, among many others.
For more details, please contact:
Tultul De Niyogi
Co-Publisher
Phone: +91 98110 38556
E-mail: tultulniyogi@niyogibooksindia.com
Trisha De Niyogi
COO & Director
Phone: +91 9999501175
E-mail: trishaniyogi@niyogibooksindia.com
