I would like to preface this review with the fact that in my opinion, one of the book's issues is its blurb, which if it had described the main turning point would have been enough for me to understand that this wasn't the one for me, and I wouldn't have requested an advance copy. I will address it at the end of this review, so you can make up your own mind as to whether or not you might also care about it.

In this book, we follow mainly Joey and Rudra as they live in Delhi after the Years Not To Be Discussed, where democracy died and now social media stars have become Flowstars. Big corporations own countries, even bigger ones own the world. There are many things going on in such a packed novel, and if you like stories full of big ideas and themes, this one might be a good one to pick up.

Among these themes, the most interesting bits for me were the exploration of digital versus real self, and ownership of the digital space in this near-future, post-apocalyptic Delhi. I also wished there would have been more regarding gene mutation and the human trafficking sub-plot that was going on, but to me it felt underdeveloped. This book could have been much longer, delving deeper into all the sub-plots, or it could have been made into a duology or trilogy. There are many interesting ideas that I would really like to read more about another time.

Much of the overall story also felt forced, from the descriptions to the dialogues, and especially the feminist bouts throughout the novel. If this was supposed to be the point, I felt it missed it entirely, and it left a bad taste in my mouth as every single character was trying to prove how much of a feminist they were, sometimes going on well-rehearsed tangents to prove so. This, paired with the dry writing style, made me feel like this book could have been further refined. However, if you like a writing style that tells you everything you need to know and spares no time for fluff, then you could like this story.

Now, my main qualm with this book: the sexual assault public allegations that is purely a plot device meant for the main characters to react and do something new with their lives. I didn't like the way this part of the book was handled at all, and once the plot had been nudged into more action, the allegations were pushed under the rug and everybody else moved on like nothing had happened, blaming it on "every rising star faces allegations like that at some point, people will forget about it." It just rubbed me the wrong way, when there could have been many other situations that could have pushed the plot forward and had the same results. I wish this turning point was mentioned in the blurb, because had I known, I would have skipped this novel altogether.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

There’s a chilling effect to Basu’s (The Simoqin Prophecies) new near-future sf epic, set in a social media–glutted world where surveillance is everywhere. In the near-future city of Delhi, Joey is a Reality Controller. It’s her job to create a safe, sanitized version of the social media star she showcases, while the government uses censorship to spoon-feed news, opinions, and entertainment to numb a populace that can’t keep up with the constant re-writing of history and alternate political realities. The “surveillance capitalism” of the State is designed to keep the wealthy in power while convincing the people being exploited that everything is fine. When Joey learns that the exploitation is even more heinous and literal than she imagined, she has to decide whether to resist. She is caught between protecting herself and her loved ones and exposing a rot that everyone is programmed to ignore. .VERDICT Readers will empathize with Joey’s dilemma and get caught up in the minutiae of her life. The novel’s theme, that the truth does not and cannot set anyone free, is as disturbing as it is thought-provoking.

Set in near future Delhi, India and follows two main characters, Joey and Rudra. The book took the time to introduce the reader to the environment such as needing masks when going out and making sure no skin is exposed since climate change has gotten worse. There was also the technology and the internet where most of my qualms arose.

This book felt so much longer. It’s atmospheric, I’ll give it that, and the themes were spot on; mirrors today quite well. But I spent the entire book waiting and looking for the story, for something to follow at least. It started off well, I grew interested in Joey until it was just pages and pages of info dumping I could not make sense of. It was so tiring to keep up with the endless details and technicalities. It felt like there were so many things happening at the same time, so many characters talking at once (dialogues were supeeer long), the narrative didn’t know which to focus on. I guess this is what a book’s like when there’s just too much world building I couldn’t form a clear picture of it anymore. And after it all, what was the point? It failed to get me to care for a single thing. How would I anyway? There were so many words I no longer knew what I really was reading.

Giving this 2 stars instead of a 1 because I think the author took the time here, there was an idea, the execution was just not it for me. All I could say to sum up is that I don’t know, I don’t understand.

What did I just read?? Anti-dystopian, near-future Delhi is somewhere I would *not* like to go, that I know for sure. Samit Basu built an eerily real world that I could absolutely imagine happening. And while I did enjoy this book, especially Joey, a few small things kept me from truly loving it, and that starts with word choice. The R word was used in the first 1/4 of the book which immediately left me uneasy, wondering if there would be more ableist language to come, and there was. That took me out of the story whenever it occurred, reminding me of the first slur. That, and the prose, at times, was full of exposition, but since I LOVE world building A LOT, at most points I didn't mind. And that last chapter!! I agree with Joey, sometimes I feel like my life is a reel of deleted scenes.

So, I suppose I'm putting this in the 3.5 region, if I had to give a star rating. The story and world sparkled, and I look forward to rereading on audio.

The premise is intriguing but the dry writing lacks punches. The characters feel flat and the world is lackluster. It feels like the author is trying too hard. The cover is nice though.

Some books are just hard to read - not because of any writing style issues (I really enjoyed the narrative flow of this), but because they make you feel a bit grimy whilst you're reading it. The City Inside isn't as graphic, or as grim in outlook, as some other titles, but it's certainly a book to try and be in a good headspace before reading. The narrative is hugely effective, leaving the reader feeling implicated in some ways.
I raced through it, especially after the first quarter, and really wanted to see what happened next. However, it still felt as if something was missing. I was intrigued by the world-building, but found the glimpses of this alternated between info-dumping and under-exploration - things I would have liked to have seen explored more weren't, and aspects I was less interested in were zoomed in on in detail. The conclusion also felt quite hasty - I'd almost rather have had it be more open-ended, as opposed to trying to wrap everything up in one chapter.
That said, many of my issues may well have been a personal taste thing - there's no arguing against how well written this is, and how thoroughly it pulls you into its world.

I think this book just had a little too much going on and, because of that, I really just struggled to get into the story. The first part of the book was a real in depth and, at times, confusing look into how Delhi became the city it is today and towards the end we just get dumped with information.

I loved the idea, and the authors writing style certainly makes for a fast read, but there was just too much information, too many characters for me to get my head around and I never felt like I got into the story at all,

A slow-burn that builds a whole world, a future entirely plausible and simultaneously predictable and unexpected. It took me a minute to fall into the pattern of the book and once I did, I would've lived in it for ages -- the intricacies of the Flows and the balance between competing interests was fascinating. The ending expanded outward in a way that reminded me of the end of classic dystopias like FAHRENHEIT 451, both frustrating and fascinating.

"The City Inside, a near-future epic by the internationally celebrated Samit Basu, pulls no punches as it comes for your anxieties about society, government, the environment, and our world at large - yet never loses sight of the hopeful potential of the future.

"They'd known the end times were coming but hadn’t known they'd be multiple choice."

Joey is a Reality Controller in near-future Delhi. Her job is to supervise the multimedia multi-reality livestreams of Indi, one of South Asia’s fastest rising online celebrities - who also happens to be her college ex. Joey’s job gives her considerable culture power, but she's too caught up in day-to-day crisis handling to see this, or to figure out what she wants from her life.

Rudra is a recluse estranged from his wealthy and powerful family, now living in an impoverished immigrant neighborhood. When his father's death pulls him back into his family's orbit, an impulsive job offer from Joey becomes his only escape from the life he never wanted.

But as Joey and Rudra become enmeshed in multiple conspiracies, their lives start to spin out of control - complicated by dysfunctional relationships, corporate loyalty, and the never-ending pressures of surveillance capitalism. When a bigger picture begins to unfold, they must each decide how to do the right thing in a world where simply maintaining the status quo feels like an accomplishment. Ultimately, resistance will not - cannot - take the same shape for these two very different people."

Surveillance capitalism will never not be a relevant topic.

I tried to get into this book but the world was a little confusing for me to follow. I thought that if I read a book set in a city I live in then it would be easy to follow but dystopia as a genre just isn't for me. Maybe people interested in dystopia and social media propagandas would enjoy this book but it wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tordotcom for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

CW: sexual assault (on and off page), gaslighting, racism, mentioned human trafficing and genocide.

“They'd known the end times were coming but hadn’t known they’d be multiple choice.”

This one was really interesting, definitely a book I'd recommend to many people (no promise they'll enjoy it though).

The City Inside is a slice-of-life slow burn anti-distopian story set in near future Delhi ("anti-distopian" meaning that the world presented by Samit Basu isn't that far-fedged as to be called distopian).
Regarding the precise time The City Inside takes place, I've heard conflicting opinions, going from late 2020s to 2070s. To me personally, there were too many pop-culture references to be set more than 20 years from now.
But the exact year isn't that important. What is important, is that it's near-future and things are bad.

From climate catastophies over unbreatheable air to your home spying on you for the government. There are daily crises reports and gruesome pictures on the news - but alas, just turn on content filters to protect your parents from being over-whelmed.
In this beautifully detailed setting, we follow two average citizens just trying to get through life in one piece.
While I loved Joey, Rudra I didn't find that interesting. Maybe because Joey actually speaks up for herself throughout the whole story instead letting others use her as a punching-bag like Rudra does for the most part.
But all the characters were original and eye-catching, and I definitely had opinions about them all (not all of them good).

The one problem I had with this book was the plot - which might be surprising to people who know my reading taste. But while I never need much plot and actually prefer slow-moving stories, The City Inside simply lacked sense of direction. I didn't mind so much the middle part where things were a little stagnant but got frustrated near the end. Because this is when things get more interesting, but then the final execution of what's built-up during the last three chapers, fell flat for me. It was just too vague and lacked in detail - escpecially compared to the immersive world-building.
In the end, I wasn't satisfied. Perhaps a few more pages would have helped to further explain what was going on there, and it's not like this book was so long that 20 pages more would have been too much.

But despite an ending that left me wanting, I can't get this world out of my head. I want to further explore this terrifying yet fascinating Delhi, and I want to read more of Samit Basu's cutting but charming opinions on how the world might look 10 to 20 years from now.

It's a world that you can't look away from and that often makes you laugh only because you would otherwise cry.

This is a well thought out near-future dystopia. I really enjoyed the maneuvering of scandals and intrigue of celebrities in a highly technology-reliant world. The pacing felt a little off to my preferences, which is why I think others may enjoy it more than me. I am very glad I read it and I appreciated it's reflective qualities that hit very close to home. A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for this review!

I thought the premise of this book was really intriguing, and I enjoyed the world-building. Unfortunately, I didn't feel I really had a reason to care about the main characters. Beyond the natural tension inherent for characters living in a dystopian world, there weren't very clear stakes until very late in the book.

Rather than being propelled forward by the story, I had to make a conscious effort to keep reading. For me, this was a 2-star read until the last section, which bumped it up to three stars.

From the synopsis I thought that I would enjoy this story, however, I just couldn't get into this writing style. I finished the whole book and was just as confused as to what it was supposed to be about, as when I started. I think the whole thing just went over my head.

Stars: 3.75/5.0

For fans of Black Mirror, 1984, and any other future, dystopian, and/or totalitarian story fans, read this book!!! (Caveat when you are in a good headspace because things felt like they could easily be our potential future too). As someone who loves studying the influence media has on global issues (including how it can distract from), as someone who obsessed over the quote "Ignorance is Strength" from 1984, as someone who has had some experience in social media management, I couldn't get enough of this story.

We begin in a near future India, where Flowstars (the next influencer) are the next capitalistic investment to keep the average person entertained while the world continues to fall apart and abuse around them. From here, we are immersed into a very similar world to ours, where pandemics, wars, climate change, and more are all swept away by what the latest trending Flow (similar to a live stream/reality tv show). It takes some time to learn the worldbuilding of this book as you'll go through and relearn what we already have terms for, but because we already have similar terms, it's not the most complicated world building.

My primary complaint is we spend almost the entirety of the book building up to the choice of Joey and Rudra, but then we get Rudra's choice and then just accept that he's gone mia and Joey we barely see her plans forming in the deleted scenes. As I mentioned in the beginning though, I couldn't get enough of this story!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor.com for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I did not know what to expect when I first picked this up but for a character driven/slice of life anti-dystopian sci-fi it felt like a page turner for me even though the plot is not what was driving the narrative. I thought Joey and Rudra were amazing characters to follow this near future India. I appreciated how well developed their characterizations were and also seeing how they respond to information as their situations evolve. This was a literary work that had a writing style that really worked for me. The authorial voice was able to make the scenes come to life and help me be in the heads of the characters. I also really appreciated the witty satire and commentary on standard resistance SFF tropes. I am still thinking about the ending and am excited to re-read this one day!

Batshit insane sci-fi that had me on the edge of my seat. The characters, the world-building, the masterful writing - it had me sold on the first page.

If you are a person who loves cyberpunk and dystopian novels, run, do not walk, to pick up The City Inside. I am merely a person who sometimes likes and mostly dislikes cyberpunk and dystopia and I still found a lot to like in it. What first struck me is how real the dystopia feels. It is “objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear” kind of real. You can very clearly see how placing one foot in front of the other, and a hop skip and a jump later, we’re in this world. It felt so real and so close that I had to put the book down several times because someone would mention waves of pandemics, or something about forgetting a mask, and I would need to go look at pictures of puppies for a while. What I’m trying to say is, whatever the opposite of escapist reading is, this is that thing.

One of the ways this book felt particularly grounded to me was the scenes that everyone experiences, just with a slight twist. Talking to your parents about how not to get all their data stolen; being stuck in traffic--that constant tension between the various fragmented funhouse mirrors of the different versions you show to family, coworkers, friends. Despite feeling very grounded--I did feel there was enough originality to the world and overall the world-building was far and away the best thing about this book. (Though I would also praise the editor--this book is a tight 275ish pages and does not overstay its welcome).

I do have a few quibbles, and I’d argue that the book has strong debut energy--some very good scenes and sentences, but the quality and pacing are a little uneven, and it veers into preachiness a bit at the end. The back half is much stronger than the first, and I felt at the end that there was a bit of “the most interesting character is not the main character” and also there was one big missed opportunity--the book flirts with experimental forms, and I wish it had come down on one side of the line--either fully lean into the experimental meta nature, or just cut the crap and tell me a good story.

All in all a very interesting debut from a clearly talented author. Not in my wheelhouse, but if I were a bigger fan of dystopia and cyberpunk I’d be clapping right now.

I was provided an ARC in return for an honest review.

thought-provoking, rich, glorious, and intriguing. all of these adjectives and more describe the city inside. this book by samit basu follows joey and rudra, our main protagonists who are tasked with maneuvering their way through numerous overarching & intense themes (abusive governments, concentration of wealth, the rise of technology, and so much more). and what stands out from all of this is how despite the gravity of these themes, it's seemingly near to our own future. while this book is definitely the dystopian novel its described to be, it also has a sense of realism, which drew me in and motivated me to finish this wonderfully written book.

as i said above, this book deals with a lot of very prominent and prevalent themes we encounter today. basu explains and interacts with such topics in a smart and engaging way, which was truly a joy to read. the main protagonists were easy to read about, as i found myself relating to much of which they went through. despite the typical info dumping that occurred at the beginning of this novel, it didn't really take away with my enjoyment of the story. i have never read anything by samit basu, but i absolutely will be seeking out other novels by this extremely talented author. 4/5 stars!

thank you to both netgalley and macmillan-tor/forge for a digital e-arc in exchange for an honest review. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Mcmillan-Tor/Forge and Tordotcom, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

“They'd known the end times were coming but hadn’t known they’d be multiple choice.”

Joey is a "Reality Controller", supervising the multimedia multi-reality livestreams of Indi, one of the Asia online celebrity, her friend and ex. Her job gives her considerable culture power, but she's too caught up dealing with Indi and her job to understand that and what she wants from her own life, except proving for her family, herself and trying to protect them from the violence and injustice of the outside world.
On the other side, Rudra is estranged from his wealthy family, now living in an impoverished immigrant neighborhood and when his father dies he's forced back into his family's orbit and only a job offer from Joey helps him escape a life he never wanted.
As both of them start to become enmeshed in conspiracies, complicated relationships, lies and the constant pressure of surveillance capitalism, they will have to understand what they want from their own lives and what they can do to better their world, where everything seems finalized to maintain a status quo and where resistance means risking everything.

Set in near-future Delhi, The city inside is a powerful story, with a magnificent and very original worldbuilding and setting, a futuristic one where the main important thing is the status quo.
Dealing with survelliance, violence, racism and a world still divided in the caste system, where there's a huge difference between riches and poors, Joey and Rudra move, trying to do their job and to understand if they want to change something or if they prefer to live their own lives without rebelling.
I liked reading this book, even though it can be confusing at times, since the reader is directly thrown into the story, surrounded by a complex worldbuilding, made of technology, survelliance and lies. The story is captivating, the characterization good, even though I'd love to know more about the others.
Overall I liked this book and I recommend it to those looking for a powerful read.