Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Immortal King Rao | 2022 | Vauhini Vara | Buy |
The Immortal King Rao (2022) is Vauhini Vara’s debut novel, spanning decades and continents as it tells the story of King Rao, who rises from a low-caste family in India to become the head of a global technology empire. The narrative is framed by his daughter Athena, who tells his story from a future where corporations have replaced democratic governments.
The novel moves between the coconut groves of India’s Andhra Pradesh, the tech corridors of Seattle, and a dystopian future society. It asks big questions about who benefits from technological progress and what is lost when power concentrates in fewer and fewer hands. The personal family story grounds the speculative elements and keeps the book from becoming abstract.