What a great and unexpected book. I had no idea even what it was about when I picked it up. So glad I stumbled on this unique story. Here is my book review The Immortal King Rao: A Novel by Vauhini Vara.

dystopian (dis’to pean)

We seem to be going through a phase of several remarkable books placed in a dystopian time, somewhere in the near future with a focus on a negative world, the result of an online world we have created. For reference;

adjective – relating to or denoting an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.

Not only does The Immortal King Rao take us to such a place, but the next book I picked up to read (see next week’s review) did the same. The Candy House and The Immortal King Rao were eerily similar. What the what?

The Immortal King Rao

Vara introduces us to a child, whose name is King, whose beginnings are simple and modest, whose life is based on a coconut farm in India in the 1950’s. But whose future will change the world forever.

Through a series of fortunate (or unfortunate?) circumstances and meetings as King grows into a man and travels to the USA to be educated, King Rao will become the most powerful and accomplished tech CEO and leader of the world. Until he is not.

A World In Disarray

Technology has taken over the world. Climate change is raging. King is in the middle of it all. The world is run by a corporation rather than a government, and it is only a matter of time until revolt.

Surprising to me a major part of the story takes place on two islands in Washington State, both just a few miles from where my home is. The island’s, Bainbridge and Blake, have become a shelter for people who have turned against the world order. Including King Rao’s daughter Athena.

But Athena is more than a normal human being, because through technology created by King, Athena holds in her brain all of King’s memories from his remarkable life. There are many people who would take everything to get a hold of that…everything.

I really enjoyed this unusual story, somewhat difficult to describe, but totally worth a read. As is next week’s book the Candy House. I hope you enjoyed my book review The Immortal King Rao: A Novel by Vauhini Vara.

See last week’s book review The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox.

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