A review by lumberingjuggernaut
Turbulence by Samit Basu

4.0

The book is reminiscent of Salman Rushdie's Midnight Children in its tone, an attempt at an updated Midnight's Children if you will. What I liked about Samit Basu when I read the Gameworld Trilogy is his habit of taking fantasy or sci-fi tropes and turning them on their head. This book is no different. At many instances, the events in the book are predictable because the use of these tropes, but the motivation or internal monologue of the characters is where the flip comes. This trick is interspersed through the book and straddles the line between over-used self-awareness and comical irreverence. This makes this book a fresh read. There are obviously times when it was evident that the book is already 11 years old and some elements do feel dated right now. However, I could see how these elements would have been new to me had I not consumed other pop culture between then and now. Overall, a nice breezy quick-paced thriller that I finished in a day's worth of reading.