This article is also available in:
Italiano
Avatar, the first Indian science fiction anthology from the Future Fiction publishing house, a way to discover new imaginaries and universes in which technology goes hand in hand with nature and the harmony of the cosmos
Avatar
India, the near future: these nine stories, like threads reaching towards tomorrow, explore the variegated tapestry of Indian speculative fiction, touching on themes like the advent of bio-politics, the connections between new (social) media and language, the inexorable rise of Big Data and algorithms, the spread of 3D printers, and the increasing use of prosthetics and human enhancement, without neglecting the risks associated with the use of bio-technologies and computer surveillance, concluding with the philosophical dilemmas posed to immortality by the presence of virtual avatars and the climate emergency in the era of the Anthropocene. To try to understand the most pressing issues of our times, we need to look at the future.
Indian science fiction speaks to nature
One of the things I found most interesting and fascinating about “Avatar” was discovering how Indian science fiction, compared for example to the Turkish one, tends to develop a decidedly more visceral relationship and contact with Mother Nature and the harmony of the cosmos, giving this book an absolutely and totally new dimension. In fact, while maintaining characteristic elements of this literary genre, Indian authors tend never to forget the central role of plants and vegetation on our planet, giving us a better idea of what, willy-nilly, is destined to be our future.
Obviously, as often happens in science fiction texts, even in this one the pitfalls for humanity are just around the corner but, precisely because nature, the cyclical nature of time and the harmony of the cosmos tend to triumph, one can observe a least terrifying image of what awaits us, making us wait anxiously and hopefully for what will happen.
A book that really surprised and fascinated me and that can be considered with good reason one of the gems of the Future Fiction publishing house, which takes care of showing new ways and universes to write science fiction; soon I will also bring you Kalicalypse, the second Future Fiction anthology dedicated to Indian science fiction.
Follow me on facebook, Spotify, YouTube and Instagram, or on the Telegram channel; find all the links in one place: here. Every like, share or support is welcome and helps me to devote myself more and more to my passion: telling the story of the Middle East and the “Islamic world”. A crowdfunfing will be active from 1 January 2023
