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Turbulence #2
Resistance
In 2020, eleven years after the passengers of flight BA142 from London to Delhi developed extraordinary abilities corresponding to their innermost desires, the world is overrun with supers. Some use their powers for good, others for evil, and some just want to pulverize iconic monuments and star in their own reality show. But now, from New York to Tokyo, someone is hunting down supers, killing heroes and villains both, and it’s up to the Unit to stop them…
289 pages, Paperback
First published July 8, 2014
16 people are currently reading
508 people want to read
About the author
Samit Basu
48 books532 followersSamit Basu is an Indian novelist best known for his fantasy and science fiction work
Samit's most recent novel, The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport, was published by Tordotcom in the US and Canada in Oct 2023.
His previous novel, the anti-dystopian near-future The City Inside (Tordotcom, '22) was on the Washington Post and Book Riot best SFF of 2022 lists and earlier shortlisted for the 2020 JCB Prize (India) as Chosen Spirits.
Samit's first novel, The Simoqin Prophecies, published by Penguin India in 2003, when Samit was 23, was the first book in the bestselling Gameworld Trilogy and marked the beginning of Indian English fantasy writing. The other books in the trilogy are The Manticore’s Secret and The Unwaba Revelations.
Samit’s US/UK debut, the superhero novel Turbulence was published in the UK in 2012 and in the US in 2013 to rave reviews. It won Wired‘s Goldenbot Award as one of the books of 2012 and was superheronovels.com’s Book of the Year for 2013.
Samit has also written children's books, published short stories for adults and younger readers in Indian and international anthologies, and has been a columnist and essayist in several leading Indian and international publications.
Samit also works as a screenwriter and director. His debut film, House Arrest, was released as part of Netflix’s International Originals in 2019, and was one of Netflix’s top 5 most viewed Indian films that year. He wrote the film and co-directed it with Shashanka Ghosh.
Samit’s work in comics ranges from historical romance to zombie comedy, and includes diverse collaborators, from Girl With All The Gifts/X-Men writer MR Carey to Terry Gilliam and Duran Duran.
Samit was born in Calcutta, educated in Calcutta and London, and currently works between Delhi and Kolkata. He runs a newsletter, Duck of Dystopia (samit.substack.com) and can be found on social media at @samitbasu, and at samitbasu.com
Samit's most recent novel, The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport, was published by Tordotcom in the US and Canada in Oct 2023.
His previous novel, the anti-dystopian near-future The City Inside (Tordotcom, '22) was on the Washington Post and Book Riot best SFF of 2022 lists and earlier shortlisted for the 2020 JCB Prize (India) as Chosen Spirits.
Samit's first novel, The Simoqin Prophecies, published by Penguin India in 2003, when Samit was 23, was the first book in the bestselling Gameworld Trilogy and marked the beginning of Indian English fantasy writing. The other books in the trilogy are The Manticore’s Secret and The Unwaba Revelations.
Samit’s US/UK debut, the superhero novel Turbulence was published in the UK in 2012 and in the US in 2013 to rave reviews. It won Wired‘s Goldenbot Award as one of the books of 2012 and was superheronovels.com’s Book of the Year for 2013.
Samit has also written children's books, published short stories for adults and younger readers in Indian and international anthologies, and has been a columnist and essayist in several leading Indian and international publications.
Samit also works as a screenwriter and director. His debut film, House Arrest, was released as part of Netflix’s International Originals in 2019, and was one of Netflix’s top 5 most viewed Indian films that year. He wrote the film and co-directed it with Shashanka Ghosh.
Samit’s work in comics ranges from historical romance to zombie comedy, and includes diverse collaborators, from Girl With All The Gifts/X-Men writer MR Carey to Terry Gilliam and Duran Duran.
Samit was born in Calcutta, educated in Calcutta and London, and currently works between Delhi and Kolkata. He runs a newsletter, Duck of Dystopia (samit.substack.com) and can be found on social media at @samitbasu, and at samitbasu.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
May 15, 2014
(Disclaimer, or whatever it's called: I begged a copy of Resistance from the publisher. I honestly can't remember whether I got a freebie of Turbulence or whether I bought it, but let's assume I was sent that too, so you can consider me entirely bribed, except that seriously: I get sent a LOT of books and I don't write up many of them. Plus also, if you want to bribe me you really need to think more in terms of expensive Italian wine, glorious hotels and very, very large amounts of money. I'm sure there are books I could be bribed with - books that contain, say, the locations of very, very large amounts of unclaimed platinum or the secret to immortality or the formula for anti-gravity - but I don't seem to get sent those. So I don't make a claim to exceptional virtue here, I'm just saying that my integrity is a high-ticket item and in this review I'm doing my best to give it to you straight. Okay? Good.)
I really enjoyed Samit Basu's Turbulence - because it was just a terrifically enjoyable new angle on the superhero actioner. It's centred on Asia rather than North America, and the difference permeates everything in the story and straightforwardly makes the book(s) infinitely more interesting. Basu has a great sense of pop culture cool mediated by a nicely ironic awareness of ubiquitous human frailty and our lack of self-knowledge which informs his superheroes and their powers. Those powers are themselves derived from personality and desire, which of course makes the whole thing the more revealing.
This book picks up the story a little down the road from the end of Turbulence, and it's every bit as zinging. Giant lobsters fight mecha warriors in the sea off Japan, the team from the first book are as torn and dangerous as they were before, and the whole world may be about to end. In other words, the scene is set for exactly the kind of heroics and unravellings you'd hope for.
Fresh, exciting heroics with a serious spine. What's not to like?
I really enjoyed Samit Basu's Turbulence - because it was just a terrifically enjoyable new angle on the superhero actioner. It's centred on Asia rather than North America, and the difference permeates everything in the story and straightforwardly makes the book(s) infinitely more interesting. Basu has a great sense of pop culture cool mediated by a nicely ironic awareness of ubiquitous human frailty and our lack of self-knowledge which informs his superheroes and their powers. Those powers are themselves derived from personality and desire, which of course makes the whole thing the more revealing.
This book picks up the story a little down the road from the end of Turbulence, and it's every bit as zinging. Giant lobsters fight mecha warriors in the sea off Japan, the team from the first book are as torn and dangerous as they were before, and the whole world may be about to end. In other words, the scene is set for exactly the kind of heroics and unravellings you'd hope for.
Fresh, exciting heroics with a serious spine. What's not to like?
July 22, 2018
Cilvēki ar superspējām. Detalizētas un iespaidīgas cīņas ainas. Indiešu autors ir radījis darbu, kas atgādina Michael Bay filmu ar Bolivudas piešprici, domāju stāsts ļoti labi ekranizētos ar visiem briesmoņiem un transformeru cienīgajām ainām. Šeit bija daudz man negaidītu pavērsienu.
Mūžīgais jautājums - cilvēki ar superspējam būtu supervaroņi vai superļaundari? Un vai maz ir atšķirība starp tiem?
Tikai izlasījusi 2/3 grāmatas, konstatēju, ka šī ir sērijas 2. grāmata. Oups?! Bet tas īstenībā maz traucēja, ja nu vienīgi visi šie indiešu izcelsmes vārdi nedaudz juka kopā :D
Mūžīgais jautājums - cilvēki ar superspējam būtu supervaroņi vai superļaundari? Un vai maz ir atšķirība starp tiem?
Tikai izlasījusi 2/3 grāmatas, konstatēju, ka šī ir sērijas 2. grāmata. Oups?! Bet tas īstenībā maz traucēja, ja nu vienīgi visi šie indiešu izcelsmes vārdi nedaudz juka kopā :D
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April 30, 2022As reviewer Tony said: "An OK superhero tale with loads of battles and destruction. Became somewhat boring after a while."
MY VERDICT: ~2 stars. Could've been 3+ as a graphic novel.
Suspension of disbelief = low/none. Competently written, but I struggled to stay awake by the 30% point. It did pick up towards the end, battle-wise at least.
MY VERDICT: ~2 stars. Could've been 3+ as a graphic novel.
Suspension of disbelief = low/none. Competently written, but I struggled to stay awake by the 30% point. It did pick up towards the end, battle-wise at least.
September 6, 2022
3.5 stars. Decent and entertaining enough. A bit too much artificially created illogical suspense for obvious plot purposes.
September 27, 2017
An OK superhero tale with loads of battles and destruction. Became somewhat boring after a while.
April 12, 2021
Find my reviews at Feminist Quill
Mild Spoilers
Synopsis: 11 years after the events of Turbulence, the world is overrun with and being shaped by superheroes. It is up to them to work with other humans to try and create a world where they can all coexist in harmony.
Resistance… to Character Development
The self-absorbed self-importance of Unit – i.e. what’s left of the original superhero team Uzma was meant to be leading at the end of Turbulence – is extremely irritating. Uzma as a leader is a terrible idea, mostly because she doesn’t seem to have bothered to do much character development in the 11 years since she first figured out her powers. She shows little to no loyalty to anyone – not to her team members, not to old acquaintances like Tia, nor even to Jai Mathur, who has been her slave for 11 years now. Uzma doesn’t bother to understand people. Everybody around her is incidental to getting whatever she wants. She may as well still be in Mumbai, charming random producers into auditions and ignoring poor Saheli.
The only person Uzma cares about even a little bit is Aman, who in turn is also terribly unfit to be a leader because he’s afraid to personally get involved in anything. By dint of faking his own death and hiding on an unknown island, Aman too has managed to avoid character development for more than a decade. Seriously, the way these people act, you’d think that changing the tiniest bit about themselves would kill them instantly. Vir and Tia fare better, because at least they’re constantly searching for who they’re meant to be, constantly reinventing themselves (a task that is much easier for Tia than for anyone else. I still think about one of the Tias picking up smoking in Turbulence and it devolving into an argument because another Tia didn’t want to merge with her anymore). But most surprisingly, the only person who’s actually evolved as a person was the one who spent the intervening period between books in what’s practically a coma.
Anticlimactic Antagonists
A lot has changed since the events of Turbulence, but not much has changed in the writing. The action sequences are still superb. The humour bravely manages to be relevant even in the face of long, preachy meandering. All the characters we know and love are back. Familiar pop culture elements are remixed in imaginative ways… although some things made me wonder whether this book was brought to us by the same minds that dreamed up Godzilla vs. Kong.
Much like GameWorld, Resistance has a dizzying array of story arcs. Unlike GameWorld, however, not all of those story arcs are tidily sorted out by the end. And, while it’s not too difficult to keep track of what’s happening where, it is a little difficult to be interested in all of those storylines at the same time.
For example, I neither knew nor cared what Utopic was, until they actually sat down and explained themselves to us. And even then, they were pretty boring antagonists, with a pretty obvious Evil Plan™.
The secondary antagonist, Norio, is far less impressive than the Mob Controller from the first book (although he’s treated as as much of an afterthought as the Mob Controller was at the end). And in the end, none of what he does matters. All that build up… and it ends in a pop, not a bang. Oh, and with Uzma and Aman back on top, calling the shots for no apparent reason than that they can. 🙄
Satire and Insights
As with Turbulence, Basu treats this book as a way of exorcising and resolving his personal philosophies. The tortured introspection of a superhero book comparing itself to the rest of superhero literature in real time is exhausting. Just as exhausting is the preachiness – the dude from Utopic goes on for pages about how the world is this and the world is that until I really wanted Jai to toss him out of the plane.
That’s not to say the book isn’t insightful. It is, as long as it manages brevity and avoids boring the reader into a coma.
But the book shines when it comes to satire – more specifically, satirising all things Indian – and the phrase Call Centre Mafia will be etched into my brain forever.
From Sher Sena to the walled city of Gurgaon, Resistance draws a detailed, realistic and humorous picture of a dystopic (north) India. Tricky as it would be to pull off on a larger scale, I, for one, would not be opposed to seeing more of this world – especially if it features the further and fantastic adventures of Sher.
Overall, while an enjoyable book, Resistance does require a preexisting level of investment in the characters and patience with the story to be able to finish reading it.
Review of Book 1: Turbulence here.
Mild Spoilers
Synopsis: 11 years after the events of Turbulence, the world is overrun with and being shaped by superheroes. It is up to them to work with other humans to try and create a world where they can all coexist in harmony.
Norio moves so fast Aman barely has time to flinch. He has plenty of time to roll about on the floor rubbing his jaw afterwards, though.
Resistance… to Character Development
The self-absorbed self-importance of Unit – i.e. what’s left of the original superhero team Uzma was meant to be leading at the end of Turbulence – is extremely irritating. Uzma as a leader is a terrible idea, mostly because she doesn’t seem to have bothered to do much character development in the 11 years since she first figured out her powers. She shows little to no loyalty to anyone – not to her team members, not to old acquaintances like Tia, nor even to Jai Mathur, who has been her slave for 11 years now. Uzma doesn’t bother to understand people. Everybody around her is incidental to getting whatever she wants. She may as well still be in Mumbai, charming random producers into auditions and ignoring poor Saheli.
The only person Uzma cares about even a little bit is Aman, who in turn is also terribly unfit to be a leader because he’s afraid to personally get involved in anything. By dint of faking his own death and hiding on an unknown island, Aman too has managed to avoid character development for more than a decade. Seriously, the way these people act, you’d think that changing the tiniest bit about themselves would kill them instantly. Vir and Tia fare better, because at least they’re constantly searching for who they’re meant to be, constantly reinventing themselves (a task that is much easier for Tia than for anyone else. I still think about one of the Tias picking up smoking in Turbulence and it devolving into an argument because another Tia didn’t want to merge with her anymore). But most surprisingly, the only person who’s actually evolved as a person was the one who spent the intervening period between books in what’s practically a coma.
Anticlimactic Antagonists
A lot has changed since the events of Turbulence, but not much has changed in the writing. The action sequences are still superb. The humour bravely manages to be relevant even in the face of long, preachy meandering. All the characters we know and love are back. Familiar pop culture elements are remixed in imaginative ways… although some things made me wonder whether this book was brought to us by the same minds that dreamed up Godzilla vs. Kong.
Much like GameWorld, Resistance has a dizzying array of story arcs. Unlike GameWorld, however, not all of those story arcs are tidily sorted out by the end. And, while it’s not too difficult to keep track of what’s happening where, it is a little difficult to be interested in all of those storylines at the same time.
For example, I neither knew nor cared what Utopic was, until they actually sat down and explained themselves to us. And even then, they were pretty boring antagonists, with a pretty obvious Evil Plan™.
The secondary antagonist, Norio, is far less impressive than the Mob Controller from the first book (although he’s treated as as much of an afterthought as the Mob Controller was at the end). And in the end, none of what he does matters. All that build up… and it ends in a pop, not a bang. Oh, and with Uzma and Aman back on top, calling the shots for no apparent reason than that they can. 🙄
Satire and Insights
Aman’s always felt it was unfortunate that the First Wave happened at a time when most of the globally popular works of fiction were fantasy in one form or the other, the whole super phenomenon was tough enough to deal with without the occasional outburst of vampire and zombie plagues.
As with Turbulence, Basu treats this book as a way of exorcising and resolving his personal philosophies. The tortured introspection of a superhero book comparing itself to the rest of superhero literature in real time is exhausting. Just as exhausting is the preachiness – the dude from Utopic goes on for pages about how the world is this and the world is that until I really wanted Jai to toss him out of the plane.
That’s not to say the book isn’t insightful. It is, as long as it manages brevity and avoids boring the reader into a coma.
This whole obsessive self-analysis thing is just the last few generations. Our ancestors didn’t take selfies. Until someone finally understands the science behind what’s going on, it’s just a bunch of people trying to live their lives.
But the book shines when it comes to satire – more specifically, satirising all things Indian – and the phrase Call Centre Mafia will be etched into my brain forever.
There’s a dead dog on top of the third arch. Filing it all under Mysteries of India I Don’t Need to Solve, Norio leans back in his seat and reaches for his NutriPac.
From Sher Sena to the walled city of Gurgaon, Resistance draws a detailed, realistic and humorous picture of a dystopic (north) India. Tricky as it would be to pull off on a larger scale, I, for one, would not be opposed to seeing more of this world – especially if it features the further and fantastic adventures of Sher.
Maybe this is what being in your thirties is like for everyone. Life not turning out how you expected it to. Regrets, misses, what-might-have-beens. What really twists the knife in is that we have superpowers. If our lives don’t meet our expectations, what’s the point?”
Overall, while an enjoyable book, Resistance does require a preexisting level of investment in the characters and patience with the story to be able to finish reading it.
Review of Book 1: Turbulence here.
July 25, 2014
Serving as a sequel to Turbulence, Resistance explores what follows when the world faces a growing number of meta-humans who are a law unto themselves. Set in 2020, a decade after a flight of passengers gained superpowers thanks to a random occurrence, the world has dramatically changed. Many superheroes are celebrities but humanity itself is losing ambition, seemingly resigned to be lorded over by super-beings. However, someone is killing off these meta-humans one by one, and they have a plan…
Serving as a deconstruction of the superhero genre as much as a celebration of its various tropes, Resistance is a closer examination of the impact superheroes would have on reality. Despite the colourful science-fiction elements present – with nods to super sentai series and kaiju films – there’s a darkly cynical undertone. For everything weirdly wonderful the world offers, there is equally something darkly wrong and problematic which makes everyday life all the harder with every passing week.
Written in a format similar to light novels, it's a book that readers can easily breeze through at a rapid pace without anything seeming underdeveloped. Furthermore, its sense of scale with heroes traversing entire continents never fails to emphasise the weight of events. This said, the book isn’t as smart as it thinks it is. A lot of this territory has been trodden before by the likes of Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, and Kurt Busiek; while its concepts are never pushed far enough to offer much more than comic readers have seen in Astro City.
Despite this, Resistance is nonetheless a great tale and entertaining from beginning to end. It offers something different from the usual yarn, and is well worth a look for any science-fiction fan.
Serving as a deconstruction of the superhero genre as much as a celebration of its various tropes, Resistance is a closer examination of the impact superheroes would have on reality. Despite the colourful science-fiction elements present – with nods to super sentai series and kaiju films – there’s a darkly cynical undertone. For everything weirdly wonderful the world offers, there is equally something darkly wrong and problematic which makes everyday life all the harder with every passing week.
Written in a format similar to light novels, it's a book that readers can easily breeze through at a rapid pace without anything seeming underdeveloped. Furthermore, its sense of scale with heroes traversing entire continents never fails to emphasise the weight of events. This said, the book isn’t as smart as it thinks it is. A lot of this territory has been trodden before by the likes of Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, and Kurt Busiek; while its concepts are never pushed far enough to offer much more than comic readers have seen in Astro City.
Despite this, Resistance is nonetheless a great tale and entertaining from beginning to end. It offers something different from the usual yarn, and is well worth a look for any science-fiction fan.
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March 19, 2015Sadly, this defeated me.
I really enjoyed the first one, and this certainly had the same wonderful sense of humour and slightly sly look at how superpowers would fit - or not - into the politics and media of a modern society.
It had some glorious comic-bright battles, larger than life, where I could see the 'Zap! Kapow!' that decorated the panels, and some moments that made me chuckle aloud - the exploding bear being a personal favourite. That and a character called 'Reload' who runs out of ammo during a fight.
However, I found myself both overwhelmed and somewhat bewildered - kaiju and mecha and giant Anime warriors and jetfighters and and and... I had no idea who was who, who their allies or enemies were, what they wanted or how they all fitted together. Frequently, I had trouble actually telling which character was which (not helped by a poor narrator, regrettably). I think this one may have been better attempted in print, rather than on audio.
On principle, I won't give a star rating to a book I didn't finish. But I may have another attempt at this one - and remind myself by reading the other one again first!
I really enjoyed the first one, and this certainly had the same wonderful sense of humour and slightly sly look at how superpowers would fit - or not - into the politics and media of a modern society.
It had some glorious comic-bright battles, larger than life, where I could see the 'Zap! Kapow!' that decorated the panels, and some moments that made me chuckle aloud - the exploding bear being a personal favourite. That and a character called 'Reload' who runs out of ammo during a fight.
However, I found myself both overwhelmed and somewhat bewildered - kaiju and mecha and giant Anime warriors and jetfighters and and and... I had no idea who was who, who their allies or enemies were, what they wanted or how they all fitted together. Frequently, I had trouble actually telling which character was which (not helped by a poor narrator, regrettably). I think this one may have been better attempted in print, rather than on audio.
On principle, I won't give a star rating to a book I didn't finish. But I may have another attempt at this one - and remind myself by reading the other one again first!
January 5, 2020
More of a 3.5 stars than just 3 stars. A solid book if you're interested in heroes and action scenes. I got lost a few times and had to go back to reread the action parts but the action sequences are actually some of the better ones that I've come across. There was a big part that I got quite bored at but most of the other parts flowed quite smoothly. The bits of humorous conversation here and there was a bonus.
There's no one main character, by the way. Also, I picked up this book without realising that this is the second book in the series and, while it can be read as a standalone book, I encourage you to read the first one as there are some references made here and there to the first book and this second would have likely been a lot better if I had read the first book. The characters themselves are interesting and I would love to find out more about them. This would definitely make a good comic book with many spin-offs.
There's no one main character, by the way. Also, I picked up this book without realising that this is the second book in the series and, while it can be read as a standalone book, I encourage you to read the first one as there are some references made here and there to the first book and this second would have likely been a lot better if I had read the first book. The characters themselves are interesting and I would love to find out more about them. This would definitely make a good comic book with many spin-offs.
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August 29, 2017I raved about the first of these, Turbulence, and this is just as much fun. I don't understand why they aren't massive. They are laugh-out-loud, brimming with gleeful inventiveness, with terrific characters and a great, utterly ridiculous, explosive plot. I don't read superhero comics and am sick to death of superheromovies, but I would watch the hell out of these as movies except they'd never be as good, because books have an unlimited special effects budget.
Really bonkers enjoyable genre fiction, giving the reader a thoroughly good time, with huge body count and some fun twists. I recommend the pair highly (you don't have to read #1 but why would you not?).
Really bonkers enjoyable genre fiction, giving the reader a thoroughly good time, with huge body count and some fun twists. I recommend the pair highly (you don't have to read #1 but why would you not?).
June 21, 2018
Meh. Would make a good comic book, but not a novel.
January 11, 2024
This has the same problems as the previous book, Turbulence. I did enjoy the first third more than any section of the first novel probably because the returning characters now have a history. However, the action sequences are overlong and get boring quickly, the characters never develop or evolve, and there is still no real atmosphere to speak of. The ending was a true letdown, the mystery of where all these superpowers came from in the first place is never explored but the question is asked quite a few times in the text. The villain, Norio, is characterized fairly well. I did like that Aman had created an island lair for himself, but he spends most of the central part of the novel as someone’s prisoner again, and even the villain from the last book, Jai, appears once again only to make a commitment to the “good guys”.
The gonzo Prague episode was pretty good as giant mutant bugs, human-mutant-bug-hybrids, and brain-eaten zombies overran it and heroes had to blast their way through. Still, it sounds cooler than it was. I cannot recommend this one unless you liked the previous novel. I for one, will not be reading any follow-ups or sequels should they appear.
December 10, 2023
“Resistance” was just as entertaining as “Turbulence” or maybe even more crazy! Tons of action, more wild characters with ridiculously creative super powers, and now the supers (good or evil) are being hunted and our protagonists from the first book have to save the day. Just-so-much-fun!! Another fave! I just wish there was a third book in this series!!!!!
“In 2020, eleven years after the passengers of flight BA142 from London to Delhi developed extraordinary abilities corresponding to their innermost desires, the world is overrun with supers. Some use their powers for good, others for evil, and some just want to pulverize iconic monuments and star in their own reality show. But now, from New York to Tokyo, someone is hunting down supers, killing heroes and villains both, and it’s up to the Unit to stop them…”. (From the book blurb).
“In 2020, eleven years after the passengers of flight BA142 from London to Delhi developed extraordinary abilities corresponding to their innermost desires, the world is overrun with supers. Some use their powers for good, others for evil, and some just want to pulverize iconic monuments and star in their own reality show. But now, from New York to Tokyo, someone is hunting down supers, killing heroes and villains both, and it’s up to the Unit to stop them…”. (From the book blurb).
June 27, 2014
Thanks to the publicity department at Titan Books, I had the opportunity to read this book in advance of its publication in July 2014. In fact, they were even kind enough to send me a free copy of Turbulence, to which this is the sequel. In that book, India-born author Samit Basu introduced a new wrinkle on the superhero cape and spandex, with ordinary people on a present-day flight from London to Delhi becoming extraordinary in what would come to be called the First Wave. Each person on that flight, and on several other flights around the world, suddenly developed super powers based on what they wanted most in life. Some became villains, others heroes, and quite a few of them perished in the struggle for world domination that followed.
Now the story moves into the near future, somewhere around the year 2020. The world has been profoundly changed. There has been a Second Wave of powers as people figure out what flight-paths will make them super. The balance is tipping so that normal humans no longer have any achievements to look forward to, except to serve the super-powered ruling class. Some of the heroes from Turbulence are still trying to use their powers to make the world better for everyone, but they have their hands full with constant monster attacks, doomsday prophecies, hero-villain slug-fests, and super-powered rampages of destruction. The Unit, answerable to the United Nations, does its best, but it needs to be twelve places at one time, and mistakes are made that cost the world dearly. An evil corporation has arisen, seeking to control all the world's super-powered leagues and squads. And a young Japanese billionaire with a grudge against supers wants to level the playing field, no matter how many lives it costs.
The upshot is an action-packed book in which heroes and villains swap loyalties in surprising ways, giant creatures wreak huge amounts of property damage, and flying people, invincible people, shape-changing people, people who can teleport, and many other strange characters, pile onto each other in an escalating series of battles around the world. Brace yourself for a plague of insectoid zombies. Duck and cover as tanks, aircraft, and rocket-launchers square off against mad-scientist inventions and ninja robots. Hang on tight while the Justice League and the Power Rangers, or their nearest equivalents, employ their abilities with rare tactical brilliance in the super-power smackdown of the century. And try not to squirm as the action pushes closer to the date on which the end of the world has been reliably predicted.
Precisely what goes on in this story is too complicated to summarize briefly. Let it be enough to say that it's exciting, often suspenseful, and at the same time full of thought-provoking ambiguities. Sometimes even the good guys and the bad guys aren't certain which they are—whether what they are doing is right or wrong, helpful of destructive. Often their actions and their motives are mixed, and the lulls in the action leave plenty of room for emotion-fraught soul-searching. It makes the texture of the adventure that much more interesting. As for who does the good and bad stuff, I suppose there is room in this review for a taster. Among the leading heroes and villains in this story, you will find—
Aman, the ultimate hacker: a bloke from India whose mind can control the internet
Uzma, the siren: a British-Pakistani beauty who can get people to do whatever she tells them to do
Tia, the one-woman army: a woman from India who can split off copies of herself and merge them back in again
Vir, the lone ranger: a solitary Superman who goes around righting wrongs, and wants nothing to do with global politics
Jai, the ultimate soldier: a once and future supervillain who cannot be killed
Sher, the tiger man: enough said
Anima, the anime girl: a warrior princess with cartoon eyes and an endless arsenal of glowing bladed weapons
Jason, the telegenic telekinetic: a teen heartthrob who moves junk with his mind while starring in a TV series about himself
That Guy, the photobomber: a nobody whose superpower is to always be wherever something important or interesting is going down
Kalki, the boy god: an insane, blue-skinned, four-armed, horse-headed child whose wish-granting ability can actually alter reality
—not to mention somebody who can conjure up a different Godzilla to stomp on Tokyo every month, and a girl whose blood can cure diseases, the guy who can pass through solid objects, the detective who doesn't need to rely on deduction to find her man, and many, many, many more. It's a superpocalypse, and you're invited, along with the whole rest of the world. If you have the guts to poke your head out of the comfortable and familiar and try a new, somewhat foreign flavor ("international" would be a better description), you will be richly rewarded. Only look out for falling buildings, animated statues, monsters with poisonous flatulence, and the possibility of at least a third book to come!
Samit Basu's other titles include the Devi novels, also featuring Indian superheroes; the GameWorld Trilogy, which appears to be a mash-up/spoof of world folklore and sci fi-fantasy classics; and Terror on the Titanic, the first in what looks like a series of historical fiction-fantasy-mysteries featuring the Morningstar Agency. He is also the author or co-author of several India-themed graphic novels.
Now the story moves into the near future, somewhere around the year 2020. The world has been profoundly changed. There has been a Second Wave of powers as people figure out what flight-paths will make them super. The balance is tipping so that normal humans no longer have any achievements to look forward to, except to serve the super-powered ruling class. Some of the heroes from Turbulence are still trying to use their powers to make the world better for everyone, but they have their hands full with constant monster attacks, doomsday prophecies, hero-villain slug-fests, and super-powered rampages of destruction. The Unit, answerable to the United Nations, does its best, but it needs to be twelve places at one time, and mistakes are made that cost the world dearly. An evil corporation has arisen, seeking to control all the world's super-powered leagues and squads. And a young Japanese billionaire with a grudge against supers wants to level the playing field, no matter how many lives it costs.
The upshot is an action-packed book in which heroes and villains swap loyalties in surprising ways, giant creatures wreak huge amounts of property damage, and flying people, invincible people, shape-changing people, people who can teleport, and many other strange characters, pile onto each other in an escalating series of battles around the world. Brace yourself for a plague of insectoid zombies. Duck and cover as tanks, aircraft, and rocket-launchers square off against mad-scientist inventions and ninja robots. Hang on tight while the Justice League and the Power Rangers, or their nearest equivalents, employ their abilities with rare tactical brilliance in the super-power smackdown of the century. And try not to squirm as the action pushes closer to the date on which the end of the world has been reliably predicted.
Precisely what goes on in this story is too complicated to summarize briefly. Let it be enough to say that it's exciting, often suspenseful, and at the same time full of thought-provoking ambiguities. Sometimes even the good guys and the bad guys aren't certain which they are—whether what they are doing is right or wrong, helpful of destructive. Often their actions and their motives are mixed, and the lulls in the action leave plenty of room for emotion-fraught soul-searching. It makes the texture of the adventure that much more interesting. As for who does the good and bad stuff, I suppose there is room in this review for a taster. Among the leading heroes and villains in this story, you will find—
Aman, the ultimate hacker: a bloke from India whose mind can control the internet
Uzma, the siren: a British-Pakistani beauty who can get people to do whatever she tells them to do
Tia, the one-woman army: a woman from India who can split off copies of herself and merge them back in again
Vir, the lone ranger: a solitary Superman who goes around righting wrongs, and wants nothing to do with global politics
Jai, the ultimate soldier: a once and future supervillain who cannot be killed
Sher, the tiger man: enough said
Anima, the anime girl: a warrior princess with cartoon eyes and an endless arsenal of glowing bladed weapons
Jason, the telegenic telekinetic: a teen heartthrob who moves junk with his mind while starring in a TV series about himself
That Guy, the photobomber: a nobody whose superpower is to always be wherever something important or interesting is going down
Kalki, the boy god: an insane, blue-skinned, four-armed, horse-headed child whose wish-granting ability can actually alter reality
—not to mention somebody who can conjure up a different Godzilla to stomp on Tokyo every month, and a girl whose blood can cure diseases, the guy who can pass through solid objects, the detective who doesn't need to rely on deduction to find her man, and many, many, many more. It's a superpocalypse, and you're invited, along with the whole rest of the world. If you have the guts to poke your head out of the comfortable and familiar and try a new, somewhat foreign flavor ("international" would be a better description), you will be richly rewarded. Only look out for falling buildings, animated statues, monsters with poisonous flatulence, and the possibility of at least a third book to come!
Samit Basu's other titles include the Devi novels, also featuring Indian superheroes; the GameWorld Trilogy, which appears to be a mash-up/spoof of world folklore and sci fi-fantasy classics; and Terror on the Titanic, the first in what looks like a series of historical fiction-fantasy-mysteries featuring the Morningstar Agency. He is also the author or co-author of several India-themed graphic novels.
September 8, 2021
The sequel to Turbulence is a lot like a movie sequel — much bigger and broader, much more focused on action, but not as in-depth on the characters and the world, and exciting without necessarily feeling as innovative or engaging. A whole lot goes on here, and the many, many fights move very quickly. It's another breathless read that feels like it was designed as much for the screen as for the page. I enjoyed the experience, without always feeling like the story cohered together, or like I still had much sense of the characters as they all became props in a long series of high-octane setpieces, arguments, speeches, and sudden plot reversals.
October 19, 2018
I picked this book up at Dollar Tree, not realizing it was book 2 of a series. Some series have books that you can read as a standalone, but this series is not one of those series. You have to read book 1 for book 2 to make sense.
Resistance picks up some years after the end of Turbulence. I'm still not quite sure what happened at this point, but it was not a happy ending.
Recommended for those who enjoyed Turbulence. Otherwise, it's not essential reading.
Resistance picks up some years after the end of Turbulence. I'm still not quite sure what happened at this point, but it was not a happy ending.
Recommended for those who enjoyed Turbulence. Otherwise, it's not essential reading.
April 22, 2022
Parts of this were fun, and it's interesting to think about what the world might look like after supers have been with us for a decade. But ultimately it's a series of action scenes held together by a messy and generic plot, and without the spark that made the first book so unique, I wasn't invested in any of it.
June 8, 2024
This book takes us back to the world of Turbulence eleven years later, and we get to see how the presence of supers has changed things. A good sequel to Turbulence, with all the same strengths and weaknesses. Well worth the read if you enjoyed the first book.
September 25, 2025
It the second book of the series our heroes has to prevent the literal end of the world (obviously). As I`ve said before it`s basically a standard superhero story but the unusual background and the well written characters make it enjoyable.
August 19, 2017
Ready the first 50 pages or so - can't finsh it. It's too much magic for my taste. Writing style with the special type of humor in every second sentense annouys me as well, but hey, that's just me.
August 25, 2019
I loved Turbulence. This one had the same delightful jokes and quirks, but also too many characters and too much action crammed into too few pages.
September 17, 2021
A fantasy - very simple plot. Definitely not SF, not even remotely. Very predictable and boring storyline
November 15, 2021
People have gotten superpowers and various complications ensue. What the "Wild Card" colaborative universe could have been if better writers were involved.
September 14, 2024
I find superheroes boring, hence this book was a bore for me.
I also didn’t realise this was the second book of a series DNF
I also didn’t realise this was the second book of a series DNF
June 27, 2014
When I read Samit Basu’s Turbulence, all I could think of was that the novel was actually a comic book, but in a novel format. I feel exactly the same way about the sequel, Resistance. After receiving a copy of Resistance from Titan Books, I delved into the story. I’ll admit that at first I was a little lost. There are so many characters to keep track with and I couldn’t remember which characters had which superpowers. I’m bringing this up first because I feel that Basu might have needed a bit more writing at the beginning about reminding us of just who is who. It’s either that, or I’m getting old and losing my memory.
Instead, though, the first chapter lunges us into a scene that can only be described as something you might see from Transformers. Seriously, it has everything we geeks love: giant mecha that combine to form even more giant mecha and Godzilla-type creatures invading… you guessed it… Tokyo. I could forgive the lack of explanation at the beginning because that first scene was mind-blowingly awesome. It’s described in a way that makes you envision it and also makes you hope that someone someday turns these books into a feature film.
After that, the action doesn’t stop, and at times, it almost feels like too much. In the first novel, the characters had a little breathing time here and there. They don’t get that in this book. I will admit that although I’m complaining about it, I didn’t really mind, because these scenes were so high voltage that I kept turning the pages of the book well past my bedtime.
I also liked the fact that you’re really not sure who exactly are the good and bad guys in this book. Those roles were defined in the previous title (sort of), but now, it’s hard to tell who really wants to help out humanity? The ending is equally as gray, and although you think you know who the good guys, are, you have to ask, are they?
Basu does a good job of answering the question: What would it be like if normal humans were suddenly given superpowers? I feel both books deal with this issue in a way that isn’t just humorous, but also realistic. And that’s what makes both books a good read.
Instead, though, the first chapter lunges us into a scene that can only be described as something you might see from Transformers. Seriously, it has everything we geeks love: giant mecha that combine to form even more giant mecha and Godzilla-type creatures invading… you guessed it… Tokyo. I could forgive the lack of explanation at the beginning because that first scene was mind-blowingly awesome. It’s described in a way that makes you envision it and also makes you hope that someone someday turns these books into a feature film.
After that, the action doesn’t stop, and at times, it almost feels like too much. In the first novel, the characters had a little breathing time here and there. They don’t get that in this book. I will admit that although I’m complaining about it, I didn’t really mind, because these scenes were so high voltage that I kept turning the pages of the book well past my bedtime.
I also liked the fact that you’re really not sure who exactly are the good and bad guys in this book. Those roles were defined in the previous title (sort of), but now, it’s hard to tell who really wants to help out humanity? The ending is equally as gray, and although you think you know who the good guys, are, you have to ask, are they?
Basu does a good job of answering the question: What would it be like if normal humans were suddenly given superpowers? I feel both books deal with this issue in a way that isn’t just humorous, but also realistic. And that’s what makes both books a good read.
October 29, 2014
This is a standalone novel set in a universe the author had created in a previous book (which I have not read); in this world, 11 years have passed since a planeload of passengers from London to Delhi were given superpowers by some phenomenon. Since then, new super powered have arisen ... there are signs that they may not be as strong as the "First Wave", but they're fundamentally changing everything. This world is basically ours up until the diversion point, and the superpowers are tied in some fashion to people's internal consciousness, so there are classic superheroes and supervillains. Moreover, as the numbers have grown, there are "super-architects" and "super-detectives," and super-powered prospering throughout.
But of course, if there are superheroes and supervillains, there are super-fights, and these are often hugely destructive, balancing out the tremendous advances in technology and ability that have been made. What is bound to happen with the unpowered, then? What is their place in all of this? And just because individuals have superpowers, can they fight the forces of corporatization, nationalism, and their own pride?
This book is a book in love with classics of superhero genres (it opens with a sentai team fighting kaiju sent to terrorize Tokyo, before shifting its attention to a UN superhero team stationed beneath the Statue of Liberty ... of course, a new Statue of Liberty, given supervillains' penchant for destruction, but still). There is an in-universe explanation for why these arise, but that changes little.
The underlying question about how to handle life in a world where unpowered humanity is seen as little more than breeding stock for the superpowered to have their way with is not completely answered, but the book is a fun adventure that at least shows people grappling with the problem. (One thing which helps distinguish this from many other comic book novels, although it doesn't play any notable role, is that most of the "First Wave" superpowered are southeast Asian, to the point that the UN team has an obligatory "token American" to balance things out).
Fun and quick.
But of course, if there are superheroes and supervillains, there are super-fights, and these are often hugely destructive, balancing out the tremendous advances in technology and ability that have been made. What is bound to happen with the unpowered, then? What is their place in all of this? And just because individuals have superpowers, can they fight the forces of corporatization, nationalism, and their own pride?
This book is a book in love with classics of superhero genres (it opens with a sentai team fighting kaiju sent to terrorize Tokyo, before shifting its attention to a UN superhero team stationed beneath the Statue of Liberty ... of course, a new Statue of Liberty, given supervillains' penchant for destruction, but still). There is an in-universe explanation for why these arise, but that changes little.
The underlying question about how to handle life in a world where unpowered humanity is seen as little more than breeding stock for the superpowered to have their way with is not completely answered, but the book is a fun adventure that at least shows people grappling with the problem. (One thing which helps distinguish this from many other comic book novels, although it doesn't play any notable role, is that most of the "First Wave" superpowered are southeast Asian, to the point that the UN team has an obligatory "token American" to balance things out).
Fun and quick.
October 8, 2014
First off, let me say that this was a Goodreads win. Have you ever sat down with your friends and played the "Who would win this fight?" game? Or the "How cool would it be if..." game? I'd like to think that part of the genesis of this book was a bunch of people in a bar sitting around talking about comic books and what they would put in and how they would do things. Now, lets run down the Fanboy Checklist and discuss what is in this book. We have:
1) Superheroes
2) Giant Mechs fighting
3) Kaiju
4) An Indestructible Super Villain (reformed)
5) Volcano Lair complete with
6) Dinosaurs
7) Billionaire Playboy turned Vigilante
8) Shadowy Corporation bent on World Domination
9) Ultra Cool Superhero Team with Hangout
10) At Least One Character With a Faked Death
11) Slightly Insane Demigod
12) Gadgets and Gizmos
13) Shapeshifters
Yes, this book has all that. Thing is though, it kinda works. The pace if fast, you bounce from one corner of the world to the other. The characters are as varied as the super powers (personal favorite: Uzma's Voice), you don't have several cookie cutter heroes. While you don't have to read the previous book Turbulence , I think it would help. In this book, no one explains HOW people got superpowers. I assume that this was covered in the first book. The most you get is a brief mention about the flight. Also, there was a character in this book, Jason, I had no idea what his superpower was until two-thirds of the way through the book and someone actually said what it was. I kept thinking that if I would have read the other book I would not have had that problem.
All in all, if you enjoy comic books, superheroes, giant monster movies, manga or anime, this is a book for you. Four out of five stars.
1) Superheroes
2) Giant Mechs fighting
3) Kaiju
4) An Indestructible Super Villain (reformed)
5) Volcano Lair complete with
6) Dinosaurs
7) Billionaire Playboy turned Vigilante
8) Shadowy Corporation bent on World Domination
9) Ultra Cool Superhero Team with Hangout
10) At Least One Character With a Faked Death
11) Slightly Insane Demigod
12) Gadgets and Gizmos
13) Shapeshifters
Yes, this book has all that. Thing is though, it kinda works. The pace if fast, you bounce from one corner of the world to the other. The characters are as varied as the super powers (personal favorite: Uzma's Voice), you don't have several cookie cutter heroes. While you don't have to read the previous book Turbulence , I think it would help. In this book, no one explains HOW people got superpowers. I assume that this was covered in the first book. The most you get is a brief mention about the flight. Also, there was a character in this book, Jason, I had no idea what his superpower was until two-thirds of the way through the book and someone actually said what it was. I kept thinking that if I would have read the other book I would not have had that problem.
All in all, if you enjoy comic books, superheroes, giant monster movies, manga or anime, this is a book for you. Four out of five stars.
October 16, 2014
3.5 Personal Rating
Review written for and published by Portland Book Review on October 8th:
The sequel to Turbulence, Samit Basu’s Resistance continues the narrative of a world where superheroes are an everyday occurrence. Eleven years ago the passengers of flight BA142 developed fantastic abilities and heralded a new wave of superheroes, as well as the inevitable villains. The Unit works to maintain a balance, but they are stretched increasingly thin. Meanwhile, super humans are going missing and tensions between the humans and the supers are about to boil over.
Resistance is a fascinating and complicated novel delving into the potential ramifications of a world overrun with super humans. While it is possible to read Resistance without having read the previous book, the sheer number of characters and their relationships with each other might be a bit overwhelming for readers who jump in with book two. The characters in the novel take a backseat to their super human abilities, which combined with the plot, political alliances and betrayals is what drives the narrative forward. Readers looking for a deep emotional connection with the protagonists or antagonists should look elsewhere. This is a book that really shines with its action scenes, but tends to get bogged down by its own complexity. Resistance is a good read for fans of the superhero genre in all its many mediums, but the average reader might be in a bit over their head.
Review written for and published by Portland Book Review on October 8th:
The sequel to Turbulence, Samit Basu’s Resistance continues the narrative of a world where superheroes are an everyday occurrence. Eleven years ago the passengers of flight BA142 developed fantastic abilities and heralded a new wave of superheroes, as well as the inevitable villains. The Unit works to maintain a balance, but they are stretched increasingly thin. Meanwhile, super humans are going missing and tensions between the humans and the supers are about to boil over.
Resistance is a fascinating and complicated novel delving into the potential ramifications of a world overrun with super humans. While it is possible to read Resistance without having read the previous book, the sheer number of characters and their relationships with each other might be a bit overwhelming for readers who jump in with book two. The characters in the novel take a backseat to their super human abilities, which combined with the plot, political alliances and betrayals is what drives the narrative forward. Readers looking for a deep emotional connection with the protagonists or antagonists should look elsewhere. This is a book that really shines with its action scenes, but tends to get bogged down by its own complexity. Resistance is a good read for fans of the superhero genre in all its many mediums, but the average reader might be in a bit over their head.
July 26, 2014
The first book in this series, Turbulence, was a revelation in a lot of ways. Upended a few superhero tropes, used a non-Western setting without falling into a common trap of doing so for the sake of doing so, balanced out the culture of the setting with the reality of the plot, and ended up being an exceptionally fun ride.
Resistance is not the same book as Turbulence, and, in fact, shares little in common with its predecessor outside of some characters and the basic universe. Instead, we get a really solid superhero novel (or, really, a post-supers society) where a lot of it starts as what feels like shorter pieces about supers and slowly evolves into a more political discussion about a world with supers and how the planet handles it, as well as how supers can govern each other.
The biggest flaw in Resistance is that it's not Turbulence, which is pretty unfair on a whole. There are some surprises, a good amount of fun, and it's a great read on a whole, don't get me wrong. The action sequences are great, the political machinations fun. I just enjoyed what was established in Turbulence so much that I was hoping for more specifically from that world. It's not a reason to avoid the book, just evidence that it's different.
Overall, definitely recommended.
Resistance is not the same book as Turbulence, and, in fact, shares little in common with its predecessor outside of some characters and the basic universe. Instead, we get a really solid superhero novel (or, really, a post-supers society) where a lot of it starts as what feels like shorter pieces about supers and slowly evolves into a more political discussion about a world with supers and how the planet handles it, as well as how supers can govern each other.
The biggest flaw in Resistance is that it's not Turbulence, which is pretty unfair on a whole. There are some surprises, a good amount of fun, and it's a great read on a whole, don't get me wrong. The action sequences are great, the political machinations fun. I just enjoyed what was established in Turbulence so much that I was hoping for more specifically from that world. It's not a reason to avoid the book, just evidence that it's different.
Overall, definitely recommended.
July 29, 2014
This is a sequel to Turbulence. I never read that book and I feel it did little to hinder my understanding or enjoyment of this novel.
This is book where superheroes are real. The book opens with a non-super powered group of humans in Japan fighting a giant sea creature like the classic Voltron cartoon. The leader of this group is captured by a person who can replicate herself (Tia, who is one of the best characters in the novel) and asked to join her evil group. He declines because he has a big secret. The scene then moves to a group of characters who function like the Justice League, though their strongest member, Jai, was once a supervillain, but is being mind controlled by one of the "good guys."
This book was tough to endure for the first half. I really had to trudge my way through inside jokes, that fell flat, and characters and plotlines I just didn't care for. Then something happens in Chapter 11 that changed the make up of the book and things got interesting. A supporting character in India is also introduced that is completely fascinating.
If you can get through the first half of the book, the payoff is phenomenal. It's slogging through those pages that makes things rough. I'd have given this book two and half stars instead of three if I could have.
This is book where superheroes are real. The book opens with a non-super powered group of humans in Japan fighting a giant sea creature like the classic Voltron cartoon. The leader of this group is captured by a person who can replicate herself (Tia, who is one of the best characters in the novel) and asked to join her evil group. He declines because he has a big secret. The scene then moves to a group of characters who function like the Justice League, though their strongest member, Jai, was once a supervillain, but is being mind controlled by one of the "good guys."
This book was tough to endure for the first half. I really had to trudge my way through inside jokes, that fell flat, and characters and plotlines I just didn't care for. Then something happens in Chapter 11 that changed the make up of the book and things got interesting. A supporting character in India is also introduced that is completely fascinating.
If you can get through the first half of the book, the payoff is phenomenal. It's slogging through those pages that makes things rough. I'd have given this book two and half stars instead of three if I could have.
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