23rd June 2169: will Ztocmi be able to put Earth Resort into the orbit? Book Review

Indians writing science fiction? This expression is something that I have heard several times when I discussed Indian fiction with some of my friends who are very ardent readers. However, their discontent with Indian novelists is not entirely unjustified. They do know why they are having such shocking surprises with the idea of Indian novelists writing science fiction novelist. Nevertheless, at times, we can certainly have pleasant surprises as well. The same can be said to have happened with me when I was sent this title in science fiction genre by one of my friends for review – 23^rd June 2169: will Ztocmi be able to put Earth Resort into the orbit? Though the title and the subtitle give away a big chunk of story to the readers who are keen to observe these details, the novel was indeed gripping to a very great extent. Let me break it down into pieces for you. My name is Shankar and I will review this novel written by Gajender Sharma for you on Desi Readers — the one-stop platform for book review and everything literary!

The novel begins with a random narrator explaining the world of the 22^nd century to the readers. This narrator is the novelist himself and he wants to set the pretext for his novel before we begin reading it.  We come across a world that is filled with an air of security – people are watched 24*7 with the help of very small cameras that move as you move. Moreover, the machine – artificial intelligence loaded robots and holohumans – live with men and there is a perfect harmony between these two species which is almost equal now. Humans beings are lashed with the skills and techniques that we see in robots, generally. For example, the capacity of searching anything on the internet just by a blink of thought, bringing up a magic digital screen anytime as per the wish, getting things done without even moving a single step…

The major plot of the novel is taken by a mission, that is in the subtitle as well, Earth Resort. Ztocmi is a leading scientist not only on the earth but also known among the scientists on the moon and the mars. He is leading this project that is deadlined 23^rd June 2169. There is almost a decade of working on permutations and combinations and the deadline arrives to see something happening that was not expected at all – what happens on that day? Does the project go well and ends happily for all the scientists involved? You will have to find out this answer by reading this wonderful novel written with a tight plot and loose narrative – a blend that is not in symmetry but certainly enjoyable.

In the end, I will say that this novel by Gajender Sharma was something that I enjoyed reading with certain apprehensions in my mind as well. The concept behind having a superMo controlling the Moon’s civilisation and a superMA controlling the Mars’ civilisation is something that will certainly find reflection, sooner or later, in some movies. It is certainly heartening seeing that many new talents in Indian English fiction are emerging day by day with the help of self-publishers in India. Though the novel has certain flaws but it could have been better with some advice from the experts in some traditional publishers or even the self-publishing company that has published it. The novel could have been met with a more serious and subtle narrative that could hold the plot and the themes tight but that is lacking in this novel. In the end, if you want to spend some hours of anxiety and tour the world of the future – how may it look like? What may be the changes that you want to see? Will AI take over the world? Decide for yourself after reading this novel by Gajender. You can get a copy of this novel from Amazon India website. You can also read many reviews done by other reviewers and myself on this website by browsing the appropriate sections on this website.

Buy the novel – click here to buy from Amazon India

Review by Shankar for Desi Readers