Kashmir has always been home to brilliant writers, be it those writing in English, Urdu, or Kashmiri. The books written here have tried to encapsulate the turbulent past as well as the human emotions. Many such books have gathered international fame. However, hardly anyone has tried to write science fiction from Kashmir. More so, a children’s science fiction book.
An attempt on this subject has been made by a Kashmiri Pandit Rakesh K Kaul whose novel Dawn: The Warrior Princess of Kashmir has received a positive response since it was published in September 2019.
Set in the year 3000, the book is about the supergirl ‘Dawn’ and how she manages to fight an army weaponized with Artificial Intelligence and hyper-modern technology:
Here is how the book’s summary reads on Goodreads.com where it has a 4.2 rating with 205 votes so far. The paperback can be bought on Amazon for Rs 199.
It is AD 3000. Hiding from the world in a cave in Mount Kailash, Dawn encounters two strange beings on her sixteenth birthday. They urge the long-lost princess of Kashmir to fulfil the prophecy of fighting the Troika. This nefarious trinity-the merciless leader Arman, the AI war machine AIman and their supreme, omniscient overlord Dushita-is a vicious manipulator of stories, minds and histories. With an army of weaponized AIs and mind-controlled automatons based in Kashmir, they rule over a deadly world where men have lost their souls and women have been slain-all heading to Sarvanash, the Great Apocalypse.
With a motley group of five outlaw boys, Dawn sets upon a tumultuous journey across Time and Space to battle the most technologically lethal empire known to humanity. Her only hope is to seek out secrets hidden in the Niti folk tales of Kashmir and unlock the powers within her to become the ultimate warrior.
As the only female left in the world, Dawn will decide the fate of the Universe. But can she unleash her body, mind and spirit and ignite the fiery cosmic power of all the women who have ever lived?
A sci-fi saga that reveals eternal truths as it traverses the terrains of the Kashmir Valley-the birthplace of the greatest stories ever.
