Genre fiction has been an essential part of South Asian literature since antiquity. We can however see a new resurgence of science fiction and fantasy written by South Asian writers that reflect on local imagery, tradition and concepts. Below, we have discussed five of the works that we deem has had a good influence in the home-grown sci-fi scene.
Leila by Prayaag Akbar
Prayaag Akbar’s 2017 dystopian novel is set in the 2040s, dealing with a mother trying to find her missing daughter. A significant work of speculative fiction, Akbar’s Leila harkens back to the dystopia and haunting emotions of works such as Margaret Atwood and Kazuo Ishiguro
The Devourers by Indra Das
The 2015 debut novel by Bengali author Indra Das is a groundbreaking work of Indian science fiction and fantasy. incorporating elements of the fantastic, Das’s story is one of shapeshifters, taking place across a huge span of time – from the Mughals to Modern India.
The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z Hossain
Saad Z Hossain is a familiar named in Bangladeshi genre circles. Often writing on themes of slip-stream, fantasy, techno-thrillers and Jinns, his 2019 novella for Tor.com is a maddening work of speculative fiction, telling the story of a Djinn King who wakes up from a slumber after a millennia to a world of technology and climate ruin.
Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan by Usman T. Malik
Usman T. Malik is an author specializing in science fiction and fantasy in Pakistan. His collection of stories, Midnight Doorways, accompanied with beautiful art by several Pakistani artists is representational of the scope and talent of Pakistani sci-fi today.
The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
Wijeratne, a nebula-nominated science fiction author from Sri Lanka, has been a mainstay in the international genre scene for quite a while. His novel The Savage Crew is about an AI and their not-so-perfect human crew arriving to salvage a starship at what they think is a backwater planet, only for everything to go worse when secrets begin to emerge.