Anubhav Shankar

'Fait Accompli’ by Anubhav Shankar begins in Russia in 1941 on a late afternoon when the weather is heavy and everyone can feel that something is about to happen and it does, in the worse(!) way imaginable. Then it shifts to present day in Delhi, India. Where people who have been dead are returning from the dead and turned into mindless and soulless monsters because of an unknown pathogen. The government are not sure what to do. On the other side, Shanaya, a regular girl living in the city, has opposite effect of the pathogen. It turned her into a human weapon. She's confused and don't know what to do with this newfound superhuman powers. Then comes Niloufer Mirza, a woman no one knows about, who happens to know about the pathogen and its effects and she guides Shanaya.

I found myself really invested in the storylines and lives of the different subjects. The pacing was fast with quick which prevented some storylines from becoming lost in the background or boring. We follow a few separate people as they deal with deceased ones suddenly reanimating recently, As no one can figure out what caused awaken the dead.

I greatly appreciated how the author Anubhav Shankar gave us almost all the puzzle pieces to put together ourselves, but didn't over-explain, and certainly didn't waste valuable time laying out the fundamental rules of this fantastical situation. In fact, the impetus for the main conflict--the dead coming back to life--is completely mysterious, and even in the resolution of the plot remains completely obscure. Which is a good thing. The people author writes in this book are instantly recognizable and easy to sympathize with. They are normal, in all their normal, complex, disturbed, deeply flawed, beautiful, creative glory.

'Fait Accompli’ is a book that makes you think, what would you do? So much happens once the pathogen spreads over the city, the government find themselves making the wrong decisions, how do you handle people who are technically alive but not alive, do they have rights? Do they have a place in the world? Can they return to their families?

I found Fait Accompli to be a powerful read, so many questions are raised and so many social problems are brought forward, you will get very engrossed in this story, there is so much to this book that you will find enjoyable, enlightening, scary and most of all make you look at the world around you. A strong and remarkable beginning to the series and impatiently waiting for the next book.

There have already been accusations that the book is copied version of the game 'Prototype'. Though author has already mentioned this on the cover that the book is inspired from the game 'Prototype', the strong visual language of the novel would certainly make a quite gruesome and glorious experience to anyone. Highly recommended to science fiction fans.
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