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Sagramanda: A Novel Of Near-Future India by Alan Dean Foster
01/09/2007 . Source: Eamonn Murphy 
pub: Prometheus Books. 293 page hardback. Price: $25.00 (US). ISBN: 1-59102-488-9. Buy Sagramanda: A Novel Of Near-Future India in the USA - or Buy Sagramanda: A Novel Of Near-Future India in the UK  check out website: www.pyrsf.com and www.alandeanfoster.com
Someone once said of George Bernard Shaw that he couldn't write a boring sentence. Alan Dean Foster can but he doesn't write very many of them. Even when adapting less than excellent animated ''Star Trek' scripts, he turns in a good line or two. Presenting his own plots and characters his prose is frequently divine, full of apt phrasing and neat similes. If nothing else, this book is a pleasure to read.
Happily, there is something else, mostly a good plot, an interesting cast of characters festooned with hi-tech gadgets and a rich setting. Sagramanda is an Indian city of one hundred million very unequal citizens, ranging from the rich in protected suburbs to the poorest of the poor living in the gutter. The social background is one of unfettered capitalism.
The catalyst for the plot is Taneer, a scientist who did research for a global corporation and has now absconded with the fruits of his labour, information worth billions. He plans to sell it on the black market. His fabulously beautiful partner, Depahli, is with him all the way. As his go-between for the sale, he recruits Sanjay Ghosh, a poor farmer now trying to make it as a shopkeeper. Sanjay sells trinkets to tourists and illegal drugs to other customers. He is delighted to be offered three percent of a billion dollar deal.
All the characters are positive, driven people. Sanjay has a strong work ethic, motivated by a desire to bring his wife and children to the big city one day. Chief Inspector Keshu Singh is also dedicated to his job, which currently involves tracking down a mad female serial killer. Jena Chalmette is devoted to her work, too, killing people as offerings to Kali, the Goddess of Death. Her latest victims are tourists, which is one reason the authorities are keen to stop her. Even Chalcedony Schneeman, a professional assassin, works hard and wants to be the best at his trade. He is tracking Taneer with orders to take him alive although killing anyone else to get the job done doesn't bother him a bit. Meanwhile, Taneer's father is also searching for him. He wants to preserve the honour of his family and caste by killing his son for sleeping with the untouchable Depahli.
The book has no central character but shifts viewpoints between each of these individuals as they pursue their own ends. Naturally, their destinies interweave and it moves nicely towards a resolution. It would make a pretty good film.
This is the sort of future Robert Heinlein might have envisaged but he would have written about more upright characters and had at least one of them delivering homilies. Foster simply presents this assortment of villains with no social commentary at all. If you want to read about angst, ennui or moral dilemmas then spend your shekels on another book. If you fancy a fast-paced, very readable techno-thriller, this is it. Ideal for the plane, coach or beach this summer or for staying in out of the rain if you're in England.
Eamonn Murphy
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