The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport
by Samit Basu
Note that my last paragraph spoils a little.
I read this novel on Libby, which is a library app I recommend to just about anyone. I get access to library e-books from my home library back in the states. Most of the time, I live far from English language book stores, and that makes me cautious about buying physical books.
At about the 90% mark in the book, I decided to buy it. It’s important to me to support good authors. That said, in the last 10%, I was a little disappointed. Not so much that I regretted the purchase, but I did wish Basu had followed through on some promises he made.
The story blends elements of fantasy, adventure, and social commentary. It’s set in a fantasy-future city that is mostly dystopian. The Jinn is a a sentient, off-world technology capable of granting three wishes. The way it grants the wishes is to alter the electronic and computer systems. So you can’t wish someone just disappears, but you can wish someone’s assets get transferred to your enemies. Why 3 wishes? Because it’s a demo version of the software. Okay, that was cute.
The story is told from the perspective of another artificial intelligence in the form of a floating bot. The story is split between two siblings. The sister, Alina, is human. The brother, Bador, is a construct, a mostly human-like bot in the shape of a monkey. The story is split between them.
The first half is a bot-fighting, urban dystopian scifi adventure. The monkey-brother could have been a Marvel character. There was fighting, kaiju, mafia. Bador becomes super powerful because of a “magic” ring (also tech, which basically upgrades his software and hardware). It was engaging and fun.
Halfway through, there was an intermission that bogged the story down, but made the point that I think the author wanted to make; technocracies are ultimately unequal. People with technology have access to information, money, and power. This is bad, and our heroes are trying to end that. This could have been a bit more interestingly written. It felt heavy-handed. But it wasn’t that long.
The second half of the book was focused on the sister, Alina. She falls in love with a “Not-Prince,” who of course is a prince. She finds the “lamp,” which was actually a lamp, and the Jinn within. This introduces a moral dilemma and explores the consequences of unchecked desire. Shantiport, the city (planet really) in which the story is set, is plagued by corruption, inequality, and decay. Alina wishes herself power, which translates as financial wealth and “access” to systems, locations, and people. Like she becomes a Not-Princess.
Basu explores the corrupting influence of power, unchecked desire, and the moral implications of technology that is so powerful it can essentially grant wishes.
That said, the ending was a little disappointing. Before the climactic fight, we learn that Bador was created to be essentially sentient armor for Alina. Then, story-wise, Basu separates the two characters and never actually delivers on that very specific promise. Then, when the super-Bador fights the major bad-guy in the final boss battle, Basu completely skips it and writes an epilogue saying Bador won. This is another broken promise. I’m still glad I bought the book. I just wish (only two wishes) that Basu had delivered on those promises.
B.S. Donovan 