Vauhini VaraReseñas

I don't know about this book. It was interesting and well-written, I liked the premise, but the plot sort of just … like, what happened at the end? Also i forgot to add it when i started it

A very creative novel about a Dalit (Indian) immigrant living in Washington State. His business is located on Bainbridge Island. Corporations have taken over our country and his high tech company was the most powerful. His daughter is more into environmentalism and saving the planet. This puts her at odds with her dad's interests. A very unique story that deals with the modern conflict between nature and technology.

Fun read. The writer was a WSJ Tech reporter. It seems to me that she combined the idea of Apple, Theranos, social media dominance and the future consequences. I found the idea of a programmer becoming a God interesting.

Aside from pacing that was a little slow at times (in places this read a little like a history book), I quite enjoyed this story of a dystopian near future. Vara does an excellent job of painting a scenario that's alarming for being an all-too-logical extension from where we are now. There's a bit of a Brave New World vibe.½

King Rao is born to the lowest caste in Kathapalli, India, in the 1950s. (King is his given name, not a royal title.) Through determination and luck, he ends up in the US to obtain an education. He co-founds a technology company with his future wife. They develop innovative products, and the company succeeds. The US government outsources their services to corporations. This eventually leads to one worldwide governing Board with responsibility to Shareholders.

King Rao is selected first CEO of the Board. He designs a mechanism to connect humans’ thoughts and memories to the Internet, which leads to disastrous consequences. Individuals who protest against this powerful Board are allowed to live on specified islands but must make their own way. Athena, King Rao’s daughter, rebels against her father and joins the protestors. She narrates the story by writing a letter to the Shareholders.

The storyline switches between past and present, covering King Rao’s roots in India, early years in the US, and how he gained power, as well as Athena’s relationship with her father and how she arrived in her current situation. It is set in a near-future dystopian society where tech companies run the world, and social standing (as measured by the Algorithm) has essentially become the new caste system.

“Unless you had created and sold some valuable piece of IP, your best bet on this continent, that is, if you were good-looking and charismatic enough, was to try to make it as an influencer. Otherwise, you were left to look after those who had made it – to nurse their children, scrub their toilets, trim their hedges, stencil their toenails. It’s the same as what happened at the end of the ancient regime, slavery, apartheid, but this time the Algo is responsible, and who’s going to argue with an all-knowing algorithm? How conceited would that be?”

The story contains enough complexity to maintain interest without becoming too technical. In addition, it contains deeply drawn multifaceted characters. The relationship between King Rao and Athena is one of the highlights. It is commentary on a wide variety of topics, such as power, globalization, materialism, class status, and social media, all woven together into a compelling story. It is an excellent example of speculative fiction and extremely thought-provoking. I could run out of superlatives in describing how much I enjoyed this book. Suffice it to say I loved it. It is beautifully written and addresses relevant worldwide concerns.

“The stories of our lives are ephemeral. When we die, they die too. But what if someone…could gather up these stories and hold onto them for safekeeping. When humans finally drive ourselves to extinction, wouldn’t that be our best shot at proving to the universe that once upon a time we were here?”

Smart, Clear-eyed, Riveting!

A clear-eyed and endlessly thought-provoking entertaining read of the age-old debate of the role of technology as a tool for betterment, and opportunity.

The author displays her journalist skills as she effectively combines a matter-of-fact view with intimate details across a vast and diverse timeline from 1950s India of a rural Dalit community to the 1970s United States and the beginning of the rise the entrepreneurial technological behemoths to the futuristic corporate-run governments with algorithm driven solutions being the norm as climate change rages its revenge.
This was a smart, original, and completely absorbing read for me from the mysterious introduction of the narrator, Althea, accused of murdering her father (the King Rao of the title), the fresh look at the Dalit community, and the encroaching role of technology versus individual choice/freedom.

Raising fascinating questions, this book is a terrific pick for book groups that enjoy discussing timely issues.

A story told of three time periods: the childhood of King Rao as a Dalit in India, his adulthood as the Steve-Jobs-like creator of personal computing and ultimately the dystopian capitalist new world order, and the life of his daughter, all narrated by his daughter who is in prison for his murder and, through his experimentation, has his memories. Ultimately extremely nihilistic.½

THE IMMORTAL KING RAO by Vauhini Vara
I thought this was going to be an Indian dalit makes good in the tech world, creates a new world order that turns on him and he responds with more techie intrigue book.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be a wide ranging but superficial family drama with a vast cast of characters that jumped from past to present to near past to middle past and back to present with jarring regularity. Oh, yes, there is some techie stuff thrown in but it is an obvious afterthought to the family drama.
The techie part was interesting. Can you turn your mind into a computer and then pass it on to another? What an intriguing idea. I wish more of the book revolved around this idea. I was disappointed.
There were too many characters, many of whom make only brief appearances before disappearing. The time jumps occurred without warning. The characters, even King and his daughter, Athena, were not fully fleshed out. The story of how a dalit family became land owners was interesting but was glossed over.
Ultimately unsatisfying.
3 0f 5 stars @BookBrowse