Critical Essays On English And Bengali Detective Fiction

Download Critical Essays On English And Bengali Detective Fiction full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online Critical Essays On English And Bengali Detective Fiction ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

Critical Essays on English and Bengali Detective Fiction

Author : Debayan Deb Barman
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1793649588
Total Pages : 255 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (936 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Critical Essays on English and Bengali Detective Fiction by : Debayan Deb Barman

Download or read book Critical Essays on English and Bengali Detective Fiction written by Debayan Deb Barman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-02-28 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critical Essays on English and Bengali Detective Fiction brings together three strains of detective fiction: British, American, and Bengal. The import of detective fiction from Britain has influenced generations of writers of Bengali detective fiction. In this anthology of critical essays by scholars on detective fiction, we have divided the contents into three groups. First, there are essays on classic British detective fiction, with essays on Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, P.D.James, Kate Atkinson, and Margery Allingham. The second section is on American hard-boiled fiction with essays on Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. The third section is on Bengali detective fiction with essays on Hemendra Kumar Roy, Saradindu Bandyopadhay and Satyajit Ray. Together, these essays bring three strains of detective fiction into conversation to show the gradual postcolonial attempt of Bengali detective fiction to outgrow colonial influences and create an original and organic tradition of regional and vernacular detective fiction.

Clues: A Journal of Detection, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Fall 2023)

Author :
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476651647
Total Pages : 147 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Clues: A Journal of Detection, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Fall 2023) by :

Download or read book Clues: A Journal of Detection, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Fall 2023) written by and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-10-26 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over two decades, Clues has included the best scholarship on mystery and detective fiction. With a combination of academic essays and nonfiction book reviews, it covers all aspects of mystery and detective fiction material in print, television and movies. As the only American scholarly journal on mystery fiction, Clues is essential reading for literature and film students and researchers; popular culture aficionados; librarians; and mystery authors, fans and critics around the globe.

Certainty and Ambiguity in Global Mystery Fiction

Author : John J. Han
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (651 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Certainty and Ambiguity in Global Mystery Fiction by : John J. Han

Download or read book Certainty and Ambiguity in Global Mystery Fiction written by John J. Han and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2024-02-08 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mystery fiction as a genre renders moral judgments not only about detectives and criminals but also concerning the cultural structures within which these mysteries unfold. In contrast to other volumes which examine morality in crime fiction through the lenses of personal guilt and personal justice, Certainty and Ambiguity in Global Mystery Fiction analyzes the effect of moral imagination on the moral structures implicit in the genre. In recent years, public awareness has attended to the relationship between social structures and justice, and this collection centers on how personal ethics and social ethics are bound together amidst the shifting moral landscapes of mystery fiction. Contributors discuss the interplay between personal guilt and social guilt – considering morality and justice on an individual level and at a societal level – using frameworks of certainty and ambiguity. They show how individual characters in works by Agatha Christie, Gabriel García Márquez, Natsuo Kirino, F.H. Batacan, and Stephen King, among others, may view their moral standing with certainty but clash with the established mores of their culture. Featuring essays on Japanese, Filipino, Indian, and Colombian mystery fiction, as well as American and British fiction, this volume analyzes social guilt and justice across cultures, showing how individuals grapple with the certainty, and, at times, the moral ambiguity, of their respective cultures.

Clues: A Journal of Detection, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Spring 2023)

Author :
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476651639
Total Pages : 185 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Clues: A Journal of Detection, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Spring 2023) by :

Download or read book Clues: A Journal of Detection, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Spring 2023) written by and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-10-19 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over two decades, Clues has included the best scholarship on mystery and detective fiction. With a combination of academic essays and nonfiction book reviews, it covers all aspects of mystery and detective fiction material in print, television and movies. As the only American scholarly journal on mystery fiction, Clues is essential reading for literature and film students and researchers; popular culture aficionados; librarians; and mystery authors, fans and critics around the globe.

The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction Volumes I and II

Author : Tarun K. Saint
Publisher : Hachette India
ISBN 13 : 935731587X
Total Pages : 793 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (573 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction Volumes I and II by : Tarun K. Saint

Download or read book The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction Volumes I and II written by Tarun K. Saint and published by Hachette India. This book was released on 2024-02-05 with total page 793 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The professionals meet the amateurs in this first–ever anthology of Indian detective fiction. Volume 1 An elite squad detective from the future travels back in time to hunt down a time escapee. Across the city of Tokyo, liquids are turning blue, and elsewhere a Tamil actress is kidnapped. The gruesome murder of an adult industry star spirals into a web of deceit and leads to a bizarre revelation. A journalist races against time to find the missing link between the deaths of a daily soap actress, a classical vocalist and a famous painter. And more... Volume 2 A detective delves into a cold case; a ship that disappeared in the Bay of Bengal in the year 1913. A man is bludgeoned to death in an apartment and a piece of paper with the word 'STOP!' is nailed to his forehead. Six deaths under mysterious circumstances and the only common link is a box of arsenic–laced sweets. A soldier's homecoming dredges up memories of a murder that took place a decade ago in the family. And more... The first–ever anthology of its kind, The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction compiles more than 30 compelling whodunits, supernatural mysteries, serial murders and absurd crimes spread across two volumes. Through hybrid, self–reflexive and experimental forms of writing (including translations from Bengali and Tamil), this collection invites readers to unravel mysteries with every turn of the page, masterfully showcasing distinctive instances of the genre. Red herrings simmered in blood gravy, served up with family feuds, ancient curses, long–haired lady sleuths and many other typical subcontinental chutneys provide a rare feast for the avid reader of crime fiction! Featuring the works of: Volume 1 Satyajit Ray * Gopa Majumdar * Saradindu Bandopadhyay * Gopa Majumdar * Ambai * Gita Subramanian * Ankush Saikia * Meeti Shroff Shah * Suchitra Bhattacharya * Radha Chakravarty * Sujan DasGupta * Chandana Dutta * Anirudh Kala * Tamilvanan * Rabindranath Tagore * Shampa Roy * Anil Menon * Tanuj Solanki * Timeri Murari * Navin Weeraratne * Kehkashan Khalid * Sumit Bardhan * Kiran Manral * Shweta Taneja * Saad Z. Hossain Volume 2 Rajarshi Das Bhowmik * Arunava Sinha * Vikram Chandra * Giti Chandra * Swati Kaushal * Ajay Chowdhury * Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay * Debaditya Mukhopadhyay * Vish Dhamija * Salil Desai * Mahendra Jakhar * Sharatchandra Sarkar * Shampa Roy * Vaseem Khan * Nev March * Anuradha Kumar * Madhulika Liddle * Arjun Raj Gaind * Shashi Warrier * Avtar Singh For detailed content, please look inside the book. * Illustration continuity across covers and spine * 2–volume collectible (Royal 8vo hardback set) * A magnetic clasp box–wrap * Detective–element themed sprayed edges * Endpaper artwork by Manjula Padmanabhan

The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction Volume 1

Author : Various
Publisher : Hachette India
ISBN 13 : 935731282X
Total Pages : 383 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (573 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction Volume 1 by : Various

Download or read book The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction Volume 1 written by Various and published by Hachette India. This book was released on 2024-02-05 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An elite squad detective from the future travels back in time to hunt down a time escapee. Across the city of Tokyo, liquids are turning blue, and elsewhere a Tamil actress is kidnapped. The gruesome murder of an adult industry star spirals into a web of deceit and leads to a bizarre revelation. A journalist races against time to find the missing link between the deaths of a daily soap actress, a classical vocalist and a famous painter. And more... The first-ever anthology of its kind, The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction compiles more than 30 compelling whodunits spread across two volumes. Hybrid, self-reflexive and experimental forms of writing that blur the boundaries between genres, with supernatural mysteries, serial murders and at times absurd crimes jostling for the attention of both amateur and professional detectives in these stories. Red herrings simmered in blood gravy, served up with family feuds, ancient curses, long-haired lady sleuths and many other typical subcontinental chutneys provide a rare feast for the avid reader of crime fiction!

Indian Genre Fiction

Author : Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 0429850905
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (298 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Indian Genre Fiction by : Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay

Download or read book Indian Genre Fiction written by Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2018-07-06 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume maps the breadth and domain of genre literature in India across seven languages (Tamil, Urdu, Bangla, Hindi, Odia, Marathi and English) and nine genres for the first time. Over the last few decades, detective/crime fiction and especially science fiction/fantasy have slowly made their way into university curricula and consideration by literary critics in India and the West. However, there has been no substantial study of genre fiction in the Indian languages, least of all from a comparative perspective. This volume, with contributions from leading national and international scholars, addresses this lacuna in critical scholarship and provides an overview of diverse genre fictions. Using methods from literary analysis, book history and Indian aesthetic theories, the volume throws light on the variety of contexts in which genre literature is read, activated and used, from political debates surrounding national and regional identities to caste and class conflicts. It shows that Indian genre fiction (including pulp fiction, comics and graphic novels) transmutes across languages, time periods, in translation and through publication processes. While the book focuses on contemporary postcolonial genre literature production, it also draws connections to individual, centuries-long literary traditions of genre literature in the Indian subcontinent. Further, it traces contested hierarchies within these languages as well as current trends in genre fiction criticism. Lucid and comprehensive, this book will be of great interest to academics, students, practitioners, literary critics and historians in the fields of postcolonialism, genre studies, global genre fiction, media and popular culture, South Asian literature, Indian literature, detective fiction, science fiction, romance, crime fiction, horror, mythology, graphic novels, comparative literature and South Asian studies. It will also appeal to the informed general reader.

Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi, and Feluda

Author : Anindita Dey
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1498512119
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (985 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi, and Feluda by : Anindita Dey

Download or read book Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi, and Feluda written by Anindita Dey and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-12-27 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi, and Feluda: Negotiating the Center and the Periphery presents a postcolonial reading of Conan Doyle’s canonical detective texts—Sherlock Holmes adventures, and some lesser known detective texts written by two Bengali (Indian) writers—Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (1899-1970), and Satyajit Ray (1921-1992). The book proposes that in a postcolonial reading situation, the representation of Holmes problematizes the act of reading and also the act and discourse of inquiry. The fact that the Holmes adventures contribute to the hegemonic culture of “Anglo/Eurocentrism” is seen as a reinforcement of racial superiority among the “colonized.” This book studies how literary texts function as a signifier of a particular national identity, and can indicate the cultural construct of a state. It contends that only those texts which cater to the standards of global hierarchy are considered canonical, and indigenous texts, however significant, remain as "Other" literature. The book highlights colonial and postcolonial discourse in the Bengali detective texts and examines, how far Holmes has been able to reinforce racial dominance over the Indian detectives Byomkesh Bakshi and Feluda.

Indian Popular Fiction

Author : Prem Kumari Srivastava
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000482820
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (4 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Indian Popular Fiction by : Prem Kumari Srivastava

Download or read book Indian Popular Fiction written by Prem Kumari Srivastava and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-11-25 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The scholarly essays in this book open up experimental and novel spaces and genres beyond the traditional and the literary world of Indian Popular Fiction as it existed towards the end of the last millennium. They respond to the possibilities opened up by the technology-driven and internet-savvy reading and writing world of today. Contemporaneous and bold, most of the essays resonate with the racy and fast-paced milieu and social media space inhabited by today's youth. Combative in its drift, this book makes possible an attempt to disband hierarchies and dismantle categories that have engulfed the expansive landscape of Indian Popular Fiction for too long. It facilitates discussion on graphic novels, microfiction, popular-entertainment and political satire on television and celluloid, social media-driven romances existing in the domain of the 'real' rather than that of 'fantasy' and mythological readings against the backdrop of gender and politics. Aimed at facilitating further research by scholars and enthusiasts of Indian Popular Fiction, this book is also an ode to the current trends generated by social and internet media cosmos. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

India's Literary History

Author : Stuart H. Blackburn
Publisher : Orient Blackswan
ISBN 13 : 9788178240565
Total Pages : 540 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (45 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis India's Literary History by : Stuart H. Blackburn

Download or read book India's Literary History written by Stuart H. Blackburn and published by Orient Blackswan. This book was released on 2004 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spanning A Range Of Topics-Print Culture And Oral Tales, Drama And Gender, Library Use And Publishing History, Theatre And Audiences, Detective Fiction And Low-Caste Novels-This Book Will Appeal To Historians, Cultural Theorists, Sociologists And All Interested In Understanding The Multiplicity Of India`S Cultural Traditions And Literary Histories.

True Crime Writings in Colonial India

Author : Shampa Roy
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 100017123X
Total Pages : 207 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (1 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis True Crime Writings in Colonial India by : Shampa Roy

Download or read book True Crime Writings in Colonial India written by Shampa Roy and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2020-08-10 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The emergent culture of crime writings in late 19th century colonial Bengal (India) is an interesting testimony to how literature is shaped by various material forces including the market. This book deals with true crime writings of the late 1800s published by ‘lowbrow publishing houses’ — infamous for publishing ‘sensational’ and the ‘vulgar’ literature — which had an avid bhadralok (genteel) readership. The volume focuses on select translations of true crime writings by Bakaullah and Priyanath Mukhopadhyay who worked as darogas (Detective Inspectors) in the police department in mid-late nineteenth century colonised Bengal. These published accounts of cases investigated by them are among the very first manifestations of the crime genre in India. The writings reflect their understandings of criminality and guilt, as well as negotiations with colonial law and policing. Further, through a selection of cases in which women make an appearance either as victims or offenders, (or sometimes as both,) this book sheds light on the hidden gendered experiences of the time, often missing in mainstream Bangla literature. Combining a love for suspense with critical readings of a cultural phenomenon, this book will be of much interest to scholars and researchers of comparative literature, translation studies, gender studies, literary theory, cultural studies, modern history, and lovers of crime fiction from all disciplines.

Class and Culture in Crime Fiction

Author : Julie H. Kim
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 0786473231
Total Pages : 239 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (864 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Class and Culture in Crime Fiction by : Julie H. Kim

Download or read book Class and Culture in Crime Fiction written by Julie H. Kim and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-04-03 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The crime fiction world of the late 1970s, with its increasingly diverse landscape, is a natural beginning for this collection of critical studies focusing on the intersections of class, culture and crime--each nuanced with shades of gender, ethnicity, race and politics. The ten new essays herein raise broad and complicated questions about the role of class and culture in transatlantic crime fiction beyond the Golden Age: How is "class" understood in detective fiction, other than as a socioeconomic marker? Can we distinguish between major British and American class concerns as they relate to crime? How politically informed is popular detective fiction in responding to economic crises in Scotland, Ireland, England and the United States? When issues of race and gender intersect with concerns of class and culture, does the crime writer privilege one or another factor? Do values and preoccupations of a primarily middle-class readership get reflected in popular detective fiction?

Detective Fiction in a Postcolonial and Transnational World

Author : Nels Pearson
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317151968
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (171 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Detective Fiction in a Postcolonial and Transnational World by : Nels Pearson

Download or read book Detective Fiction in a Postcolonial and Transnational World written by Nels Pearson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-22 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking up a neglected area in the study of the crime novel, this collection investigates the growing number of writers who adapt conventions of detective fiction to expose problems of law, ethics, and truth that arise in postcolonial and transnational communities. While detective fiction has been linked to imperialism and constructions of race from its earliest origins, recent developments signal the evolution of the genre into a potent framework for narrating the complexities of identity, citizenship, and justice in a postcolonial world. Among the authors considered are Vikram Chandra, Gabriel García Márquez, Michael Ondaatje, Patrick Chamoiseau, Mario Vargas Llosa, Suki Kim, and Walter Mosley. The essays explore detective stories set in Latin America, the Caribbean, India, and North America, including novels that view the American metropolis from the point of view of Asian American, African American, or Latino characters. Offering ten new and original essays by scholars in the field, this volume highlights the diverse employment of detective fictions internationally, and uncovers important political and historical subtexts of popular crime novels.

Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature

Author : Amaresh Datta
Publisher : Sahitya Akademi
ISBN 13 : 9788126018031
Total Pages : 1038 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (18 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature by : Amaresh Datta

Download or read book Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature written by Amaresh Datta and published by Sahitya Akademi. This book was released on 1987 with total page 1038 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Major Activity Of The Sahitya Akademi Is The Preparation Of An Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature. The Venture, Covering Twenty-Two Languages Of India, Is The First Of Its Kind. Written In English, The Encyclopaedia Gives A Comprehensive Idea Of The Growth And Development Of Indian Literature. The Entries On Authors, Books And General Topics Have Been Tabulated By The Concerned Advisory Boards And Finalised By A Steering Committee. Hundreds Of Writers All Over The Country Contributed Articles On Various Topics. The Encyclopaedia, Planned As A Six-Volume Project, Has Been Brought Out. The Sahitya Akademi Embarked Upon This Project In Right Earnest In 1984. The Efforts Of The Highly Skilled And Professional Editorial Staff Started Showing Results And The First Volume Was Brought Out In 1987. The Second Volume Was Brought Out In 1988, The Third In 1989, The Fourth In 1991, The Fifth In 1992, And The Sixth Volume In 1994. All The Six Volumes Together Include Approximately 7500 Entries On Various Topics, Literary Trends And Movements, Eminent Authors And Significant Works. The First Three Volume Were Edited By Prof. Amaresh Datta, Fourth And Fifth Volume By Mohan Lal And Sixth Volume By Shri K.C.Dutt.

Modernist Transitions

Author : Subhadeep Ray
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9356404364
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (564 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Modernist Transitions by : Subhadeep Ray

Download or read book Modernist Transitions written by Subhadeep Ray and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-12-30 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is a critical reader, focusing on the continuities and discontinuities, confirmations and confrontations, crossovers and collisions, appropriations, adaptations and assimilations in the cultural transitions between British and Bangla vernacular modernist fiction within the context of the imperial modernity of the first half of the 20th century. The volume, consisting of critical essays aspires to illuminate, from multiple but intersecting perspectives, those thematic and structural areas where these two kinds of literary modernism, each aesthetically diverse, historically segmented by onslaughts of wars and other outbreaks of suffering and violence, and ideologically convoluted, but conditioned in many ways by common socio-historical catastrophes and promises, interact with each other to constitute an 'aesthetics of motion and dissonance'. Essays cut across literary criticism to employ interdisciplinary approaches, as they blur the boundaries between histories, biographies and fictional narratives, between individual ethics in and outside the fictional world, between imagined and living communities, between real and generic politics, between the home and the world, and between the corporeal and the cultural. These essays interrogate the mastery in literary techniques, narrative motives and dualities, 'major' and 'minor' genres, (de)formations of canons in respect of the 'worldliness' formed by the textual incorporation of the intricate imperial relationships between the United Kingdom and Bangla.

Indian Writing in English and the Global Literary Market

Author : O. Dwivedi
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 1137437715
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (374 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Indian Writing in English and the Global Literary Market by : O. Dwivedi

Download or read book Indian Writing in English and the Global Literary Market written by O. Dwivedi and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-10-28 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Indian Writing in English and the Global Literary Market delves into the influences and pressures of the marketplace on this genre, which this volume contends has been both gatekeeper as well as a significant force in shaping the production and consumption of this literature.

The Butterfly Effect

Author : Rajat Chaudhuri
Publisher : Niyogi Books
ISBN 13 : 938690652X
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (869 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Butterfly Effect by : Rajat Chaudhuri

Download or read book The Butterfly Effect written by Rajat Chaudhuri and published by Niyogi Books. This book was released on 2018-08-16 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A self-obsessed Calcutta detective who goes by his last name `Kar’, an enigmatic internet cafe hostess in Seoul, and a hotshot geneticist labouring away on a top-secret corporate project. These are just a few pieces in the puzzle that need to be put together to explain a world sucked into the whirlpool of the `butterfly effect’. In the decaying capital city of a near-future Darkland, which covers large swathes of Asia, Captain Old – an off-duty policeman – receives news that might help to unravel the roots of a scourge that has ravaged the continent. As stories coalesce into stories – welding past, present and future together – will a macabre death in a small English town or the disappearance of Indian tourists in Korea, help to blow away the dusts of time? From utopian communities of Asia to the prison camps of Pyongyang and from the gene labs of Europe to the violent streets of Darkland – riven by civil war, infested by genetically engineered fighters – this time-travelling novel crosses continents, weaving mystery, adventure and romance, gradually fixing its gaze on the sway of the unpredictable over our lives.