Acts of God

by Kanan Gill

Channelling the craft of Neil Gaiman, the humour of Douglas Adams and the genius of Terry Pratchett, Kanan Gill weaves a story that will surprise you. It refuses to take itself seriously, yet raises the most serious of questions - what does it mean to be human?In a post-nuclear winter world, now free from borders, war, poverty and overpopulation, the smartest man on the planet is working on the most illegal thing imaginable. Once a celebrated scientist for whom the Authority had to come up with an entirely new 'Genius Category 3', Dr K has resigned as the head of the Scientific Institute and now spends his days in a hungover, crotchety haze, relegated to working on a trifling project. But unknown to everyone else, he is obsessively simulating universes, intervening in these simulations, and when they fail to achieve what he wants, terminating them.But all of his delicate interferences to nudge these simulated realities in the right direction inevitably come up short against the most unlikely spanner in the works - bumbling private detective P. Manjunath.In Kanan Gill's wildly entertaining and unexpectedly moving debut novel, a Danish policeman accidentally becomes a clothing-optional leader of a worldwide group of science haters, a sentient piece of wall struggles with the limits of its artistic expression and a lapel pin's habit of always giving truthful advice causes chaos. Blending vivid inventiveness and uproarious storytelling, with an intriguing interrogation of the very nature of existence, Acts of God marks the evolution of one of our finest comedic voices.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Indian Literature, Humor, Comedy, Fantasy, India

364 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2024

Reviews

[Harshita Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

worst

[Arpan Rathod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi

[Smriti · Rating 4 out of 5]

you know what? this wasn't bad. not bad at all.

i started with being hella confused but ended up kind of liking it. its a really weird book and will not be for everyone, but the ones who get it, will love it.

still have to figure out my thoughts on this one, so i'll be back with more coherent thoughts soon.
------------------------
i did come back with some coherent thoughts and put them in this video: https://youtu.be/0fqYUGFo7nw?si=Ycfhr... (Sant Reads on Youtube)

[Abbas Rsk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worst!

(5 stars and worst would make sense to people who know Kanan gill as a standup comedian)

I finished the book. I don’t know how i feel after finishing it. Let’s see if I can phrase my thoughts into words and explain in terms so that a summariser bot would have mid life crisis and think it serves no purpose.

So I found it hard to binge read, I couldn’t get myself to read more than 30-40 pages in one stretch. But near the end I binge read 100 pages, What was I expecting to be the ending? I have a very clear idea of how I wanted it to end? (Chapter 24 - snippet).

My thoughts? : I don’t regret taking time to read this book. It was really “interesting”, humourous and a particular chapter made me emotional and I had to put aside the book and weep with my thoughts. I found myself falling for Kanan’s witty traps and just genuinely laughed(13). Some parts felt like the filler episodes in a fast paced series, but Kanan used his humour to keep me hooked.

Would I read it again? Mostly no!
Did I like it? Yes!
Would I recommend to a friend? Maybe not for everyone but yes.
Do I have a crisis after reading this? Yes, is everything pre destined? I somehow feel it is. Something lead me to finish reading this book on feb 26th, have an opinion, write a review, contemplate about clicking the Done button on the top right corner of the screen with reading mode on flashing warmish hue on my face, scratch my nose, touch both my thumbs in agreement while the 8 remaining fingers squeeze the phone hard enough to not make it fall on my sleepy face.

Am I writing this at 2 am on a monday night? Yes, yes and Goodnight.
I’m uploading this reciting the words ‘Fuck it’.

[Chinmay Katre · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biggest compliment I can give this book is if I had not known that this was a debut novel by Kanan Gill, I would never have guessed it. Existential philosophy met science fiction and had an eloquent baby who was also hilarious. I wish the baby grows up to be a standup comic.

All in all, a very fun read. It's not perfect of course, but what is ?
:-)

[Kara Babcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., this book is not. I didn’t make this comparison—the book’s promo does, along with comps to Neil Gaiman (booooo, by the way), Douglas Adams, and Terry Pratchett. Indeed, when you see a book compared to so many heavy hitters, you should probably increase your skepticism rather than you hype. Acts of God is an inchoate mess of a novel, though I rather suspect Kanan Gill might welcome such an excoriating statement, and he or his publicists are welcome to blurb me on his next book. I received an eARC from NetGalley and publisher Blackstone in exchange for a review.

Acts of God follows two parallel, connected stories. In one universe, P. Manjunath is a private investigator on the trail of a globe-spanning mystery. However, it turns out his universe is just a simulation that exists within the universe of Dr. Krishna, who has been simulating Manjunath’s universe illegally. Krishna lives in an absurdist, almost Kafka-esque dystopia built on a principle of absolute transparency, which of course Krishna has violated. Both stories are narrated by a fourth-wall-breaking sentient wall tile.

Look, on the surface, I should love this. I love Vonnegut and Adams and Pratchett. I enjoy absurdist humour and metafictional commentary. The simulation hypothesis can occasionally be done well.

To Gill’s credit, as a work of science fiction, Acts of God is pretty good! There’s some trenchant commentary about AI, the meaning of life, culture, etc., buried deep within this trainwreck of a plot. The simulation hypothesis physics is explained fairly well. The whole society of nuclear winter refugees is interesting.

However, in his attempt to make this book into a weird kind of romp, Gill has done the literary equivalent of throwing a bunch of paint at a canvas and hoping the result is a masterpiece. Sometimes it is! Sometimes—most of the time—it’s just a mess. Pratchett’s secret lay in his deeply compassionate characterization: even the most minor characters, for him, were people who had these full, reified lives, even if we never saw them. Most of Gill’s characters barely have names—and that is fine, not every character has to be fully realized. But, you know, at least give us more backstory for people like P. Manjunath? Or his assistant?

Vonnegut wrote from a place of trauma—“Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time” is a great opening line, and it also signifies Slaughterhouse-Five’s abiding allegory for PTSD. I can see how Gill might be attempting to follow in these footsteps in Acts of God, where Krishna is grieving and processing the death of a colleague who was, in many ways, the closest thing he had to a friend. Yet the reader has very little to ground themselves in here, for the society Gill describes is so foreign it might as well be alien—and there is nothing, nobody around, not even the wall tile, who can really interpret for us the way, say, Arthur Dent can do in Hitchhiker’s Guide.

I want to bring one more author into the chat: Samuel R. Delany. Because he’s also great at writing weird science fiction and fantasy, and his stories are often set in societies far different from our own. Nevertheless, he grounds his characters in the real—it’s just the real for them—in a way that allows readers to grasp the fundamentals. (Except for Dhalgren, of course, because that’s just … pfft. James Joyce wishes.)

Anyway, if I’ve spent most of this review talking about other authors, it’s just because Acts of God didn’t leave enough of an impression for me to critique it very deeply. I don’t want to be harsh. Maybe my sense of humour has just contracted over the past decade. Maybe this is a hilarious book that have many doubled over with laughter! If so, that’s fantastic. But it absolutely did not work for me. Much respect to Gill for swinging big and writing a story that is very much his own, but in this reader’s humble opinion, he has a long way to go.

Originally posted on Kara.Reviews.

[Prathyusha · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's very little I can say about this glorious piece of fiction (alt, sci-fi for those asking) without giving away vital plot points.

Acts of God, set in the most bizarre, but could-totally-be-real world, is an accurate reflection of the human condition. In a tale of creator-created chase, Kanan has very organically managed to explore people, their lives, feelings, connections, doubts, beliefs, ecstasies, and downers and has the reader laughing through it all but empathetically!? (read to know more) I am fascinated but unperturbed by the possibility of the realities being real.

To me, this story was more about the mammoth, but doable task, that is to be human than to act like god. So OF COURSE, Kanan Gill wrote a book about it!

Haven't enjoyed a book THIS MUCH in a while. What a treat!

[bookswithchaipai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kanan Gil rose to fame through the “Pretentious Movie Reviews” YouTube series (which you shouldn’t miss; they are hilarious), and now he is a renowned stand-up comedian with shows all over the world. And this is why this book first caught my eye, apart from it being a Sci-Fi.

I read it a couple of weeks ago and realized that I had a few thoughts that I needed to pen down.

A quick rundown of my observations and thoughts -

The Utopian future with One World, One Government rule where there are no secrets is a bizarre world, but interesting nonetheless. The world building is meticulous, once you get past the aliens, the apocalypse, and the talking wall tablet, it all falls into place beautifully.

The Black Box under the table, the simulation inside it, and Dr. Krishna’s deductions from experiments gave me a minor existential crisis, somewhat similar to when I watched The Matrix.

I expected a humourous, light-hearted fantasy, but Kanan has grappled with some heavy subjects in this book - depression, solitude, disillusionment, heartbreak - and has given it a funny twist, just like his comedic riffs. There were some truth bombs which bowled me over. Scroll right to see the quotes I loved.

Forced humour is the worst kind, but Gill with his trademark conversational jocularity has made light of a lot of issues. I was in splits with the 13th chapter and answers at the end of the book.

He has infused a little bit of current events - The 2021 Suez Canal Obstruction, The Statue of Unity and the Semi-Conductor shortage, which gave a realistic spin to the narrative.

This book is a revelation, imparting some very insightful standpoints, and it was a joy to read.

#qotd Favourite Sci-fi or fantasy novel?

[Ipsita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would say this is a weird book, but definitely the good kind of weird. I really enjoyed the slow unfolding of the story. It felt like solving a jigsaw puzzle or going through a logic puzzle, where initially you have no idea what is happening but slowly you find more pieces and complete the picture. Maybe half way through you realise it is a very exciting picture, even though the more exciting part is just uncovering the picture.

An additional thing I liked about the book is it challenged the stereotypical images I have in my head. Is a character male or female, do they have dark skin, are they short? I found that every once in a while I had made an assumption (especially gender-wise) of a character which was being challenged. I don't know if this was intentional but I very much appreciated this.

[Sanjana Ganesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started out not wanting to dislike the book but I'm sad to report that I found it tedious. Enjoyed between 200 and 300. Book should've been edited to tighten a lot of the rambling. I liked the universe it was set it and the pop science but everything else was exhausting.

[Piyush Goel · Rating 4 out of 5]

God- What does it actually mean? Is he/she/they some entity floating around this prefixed globe? Or is he/she a mere human like us? Or is it a mad scientist who wishes to do absolutely anything with himself and his creations?

I can’t possibly say about you but this question has kept me up at night, it’s like a thought that one keeps thinking about whenever they forget to take their phone to the loo, it’s one of those thoughts that keep coming back (just like the memories of your ex). And Kanan Gill has tried to extinguish that burning question in his book “Acts Of God”. As the author warned “This novel is not for the feeble of spirit or for people with better things to do“, so if you’re not one of these, here’s your sunflower, warm up a nice cup of tea (yeah, not coffee), and swipe your right thumb up (not left).

The story, as printed on the ass of the book, is a cat-and-mouse game between the creator, Dr. Krishna; and the created, P Manjunath. It’s a story about how a mad and utterly intelligent scientist Dr. Krishna plays with realities for fun, that too, consisting of our loving and full-of-stupidity detective Manjunath and his sincere assistant Heng. But our detective always tries to stop this destruction, this act of God, that unusual feeling where you know you have to do it but don’t exactly know why.

My review (if it matters?):
I know you’re waiting for my rating out of 5 stars, but I’ll make you read the whole review (mwahaha). So, I’ve divided this book into 2 major segments, the fictional segment that encompasses the story unfolding within the pages, the story of Manjunath, Heng, Dr Krishna, and our beloved Wall. Another segment is the philosophical one, which uses the fictional segment as the mirror to portray the doings of characters in a much more sophisticated/idiotic/philosophical way. Let’s cover these segments separately (Yes, I’ll make it as long as I want, also that’s what I said to her):

1. Fictional segment:
Extremely intelligent, passionate, drunk, and lonely Dr Krishna is working on something, something very illegal, which cannot be shared with the futuristic world, something which won’t only sabotage his remaining career but ultimately end his life and his only “hope”. As someone once said, “On the top is pain, at the bottom is shame and the whole climb is suffering“. P Manjunath, a detective, who picks degrees out of the trash always gets an intuition and gets to solving the mystery of our crazy scientist cause according to him, “Everyone has a mystery of is a mystery to solve“. But what is it that he’s trying to solve? And why does he suddenly feel that way? Also, who’s narrating this story? And why am I blabbering so much?

The story kept me hooked for a while but it didn’t matter to me as the book was closing in on the end, all I cared about was when the story would end so that I could understand what to take away from it. It does explore Dr. Krishna’s past and present but sheds almost no light on Manjunath’s story, so his side of the story felt like a waste in the end, although if you look at the broader aspect, you might not want to know more about the blabbering detective but be concerned about Dr. Krishna and his obsession which ultimately results in him being the protagonist and the antagonist of the said story. The motivation to give this story a sci-fi turn is pretty hard to digest, some elements would have been great but dumping almost every science fiction element such as the HT pin, the Blackbox, the AI wall, the human-machine war, the nuclear war was a little too much.

2. Philosophical segment:
I encountered this quote in the beginning, “Painful memories have strong legs from walking repeatedly into the spotlight“, and that made me realize that it sure should be something Gill must have heard or read somewhere, cause whenever we, Indians, say anything like this, we don’t get compliments or anything, all we get is “mummy ki chappal”, and it sure was something unique coming from an Indian author which wasn’t laced with either love or thrill. Overall, I was in denial that something philosophical could come from an Indian author, but as I went deep into the labyrinth, I came to realize and respect the author, his writing style, his way of thinking, his balancing the humor and the heavy topics. Dr. Krishna and his redemption, his anger, his grief, and his obsessiveness were boldly presented in the philosophical angle of the story. On the surface, Krishna might look like a gone case but if you look deep into the layers, as I did, he’s not, in any way, different from any of us, just surrounded by fear since “the shape of fear was also the shape of everything. It was a circle“.

As I mentioned in the fictional segment, there were so many sci-fi elements being dumped in the story, but looking back at them, every element represented something meaningful and was a nice joke on humanity and their mundane things by the infamous comedian. Let’s take the Harsh Truth pin (HT pin) for example, as written by the author “Human problems essentially have simple solutions. It just upsets us that they’re simple“, hence it came to be known as the Harsh Truth pin. So, if you look on the brighter side (not at the sun you vampire) there’s always something to be happy for, cause nothing matters, and we’re all going to die so let’s just partyyyyyyyy!!! (His words, not mine!)

So, if you don’t understand anything from the review, it’s all right, just be happy that you got to read it and be happy that you have an electronic device to read it from (which might be killing you with its radiation, but who cares), be happy that you got to wake up today, be happy that you get to sleep today, be happy that nothing matters in the end. So just let those iterations run wild and show me your best “Jhingat” dance step and let’s bitch about the Ambani wedding (pre-wedding).

And yes, if you want to read this book, read it. If you don’t, then don’t. The author is happy, I’m happy. And you should be too. Take this sunflower (insert sunflower) and just remember that “FOREVER WILL ALWAYS ARRIVE“.

Closing iteration in 3… 2…. 1…..BOOM!!!!! (BTW Happy Reading!)

[Megha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first started reading this in June '24, and while I was chuckling at the introduction, it initially felt like it was trying too hard. I dropped it, only to pick it up again four months later. Surprisingly, the things that felt overdone at the beginning didn’t go away, but this time, I found myself getting into it instead.

The book has a very Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker vibe—though, of course, the brilliance isn’t quite comparable—but it’s like a rudimentary desi version of it. It tries to do a lot, maybe too much, but by the end, I was thoroughly invested. The humanizing of objects had a bit of a Sanderson feel to it as well, perhaps? (Disclaimer: I've only read Skyward)

Even though it’s not a perfect five stars, I’d definitely want to read more books like this! Your self-awareness won me over, Kanan!

[Sneha Narayan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you can’t trust reality, when whatever happens for no reason whenever, what’s the point of doing anything?

I am convinced after reading Acts of God that Kanan Gill has a really high IQ. Coming up with a story like this and writing it with this much emotion and intellectual strength must take a sensitive soul and a hyper-conscious mind.

To be honest, I have always suspected that he has a high IQ; his stand-up sets have always struck me as extremely intelligent. From the writing point of view, I have time and again been surprised by how simple he makes the most convoluted of human experiences, somehow without ever losing its complexity. This book, and I mean it seriously, is no different.

Dr. Krishna – genius and self-disgraced scientist – plays god as he interferes with the lives and loves of the people in a simulation he created along with the only person in the world he calls his own, Dr. Perenna. For reasons attached to his own fatigue with life and love, Dr. Krishna is now out to – well, I won’t spoil it. Just know that, as a writer, I was dumbstruck at the skill with which Gill has intertwined the many lives – the ones in the simulation, the ones outside, ours and his.

The book deals with many things, the most obvious one being the existence of god (one of my favourite topics of discussion to bring up at the family dinner table). There are conversations about love, mental health, suicide, control, democracy, friendship – basically, anything even slightly attached to the human condition. A lot for one book, I know. If you are the niche for whom this book was written though, it wouldn’t feel like a lot.

Gill makes sure to keep you on your toes, never letting you guess which side he is on and never letting you settle on one side of these debates. Instead, he scrutinizes every human (and AI) act of love and hate he introduces into the story, making it clear that he doesn’t want you to take sides. He doesn’t even know whether there are sides, and by the end, neither do you.

The tendency to think of one’s life as a story was a neurological fallacy. To put yourself as the protagonist of a tale introduces an audience to play to, staples hope into the scheme of things and comes with notions of how you should be treated….But this isn’t a story, and you certainly aren’t the hero.

My favourite thing about Acts of God is Gill’s ability to make it seem like he knows nothing. Not even why he is writing this book.

You know those books that are so well-crafted that it feels like the writer never had a second thought about how the plot should go? Yeah, well, this is not that book. Gill seems to infuse into the tale a I am a first-time novel writer and it’s pretentious to ask but please be kind to my writing kind of vibe.

This is, of course, not to say he doesn’t know why he’s writing this book. This is also perhaps the most well-executed book about life I have ever read. It’s just the vibe of uncertainty, like he is humble but doesn’t exactly know how to be that in this era where true emotions are difficult to express, believing in anything is seen as naïve or pretentious, everything is cancellable. In this, Kanan Gill is the first of his kind of writer that I have read, and I doubt I’d ever come across any writing like this again.

Shifting shadows leaked beneath closed doors, the delicate hum of private lives, rich with secret yearning and soft shame, never to be shared.

You only really understand why you should Acts of God after you have read it. It encompasses a certain grey area, a certain void between belief and disbelief, courage and cowardice, optimism and pessimism, that we in today’s world are dangling between.

Having said that, I recognise that this book is not for everyone. Some people might find this book dense with information and what they might mistake for philosophy. But if you are the right type of fatigued, you’ll see that there is no philosophy in this book at all, no information that is really all that important. There is love, there is pain, there is god, and then there isn’t.

[Shine Mathew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhere in there between tiresome attempts at quirkiness and inconsistent themes, lies passages written by a gifted writer. Every once in a while I would come across a paragraph about the world and its peculiarity that was beautifully written. The only problem was that I had to wade through at some times dull pages to occasionally irritating authorial self insert pages that tested my patience.

I would be lying if I didn't admit that the book made me chuckle a couple of times, however when it attempts to present a more emotional tale it lost me.

Kanan still does have a future in writing, if he just lets the book talk for itself without the constant "quirky" interjections.

[Abhiram's Book Olavu · Rating 3 out of 5]

~:Log -d

DRAMATICALLY;

There's always that lingering 'WHAT IF?' thought somewhere deep within our minds, isn't there? If not, maybe you're truly dead inside!

Anyway, about the book; at first, I threw it aside because of its illogical and tedious chapters. But I picked it up again since I paid for it, right?
(I bought this book without even knowing what it's about, how foolish of me, right? Or maybe it’s because of Kannnan Gill that I ended up purchasing it. Who can say?👀)

Later, I couldn’t help but admire this book for its wit and humor, but at the same time, it still brainfucks you.
(Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

Also Beware: this book messes with your mind with a simulation. Don’t come crying later! (Unless there's a department for that, lol)

And I was wondering, what if the world we live in is actually a simulation? Could it be that our entire universe is just a school project or thesis of someone from a different dimension? If it’s an experiment or a simulation, then who’s the creator? An intelligent being as flawed as us? Could that be considered a GOD? Similarly, is it possible for us to create a miniature universe out of nothing within a science lab? And do you truly believe this creation has a purpose? Maybe the researcher is trying to uncover something. Is our daily life just a pointless distraction? The more we ponder these questions, the more complex everything seems to become, doesn’t it?

With increasing chaos in the world and a continuous stream of unfortunate events unfolding around us, I can't help but wonder if GOD is just playing dice with the creation.

Regardless, who really knows what’s truly happening? Are we just mere creatures in GOD's grand plan? To understand His will, we’d need a sharp and resourceful team like Detective Manjunath and Hang!

Process terminated. Logger on chai break. Save data? (Y/N)

[Sahitya · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a 3.5 I think.

The author is Ofcourse a well known figure in India with his standup comedy and I’ve always been a fan of his pretentious movie reviews series. So when I saw that he had written a sci-fi series, it almost felt unbelievable. It’s already so so rare to find a desi sci-fi being written, that too from India (and not the diaspora) and on top of that, it’s someone we know - it felt too good to be true. And I definitely had the expectation that this would be absolutely hilarious, in line with his humor.

The humor is there. The weird and the absurd, the various tangents and ramblings the story goes into, the incessant philosophical themes throughout - it all felt very signature Kanan Gill but there just was something missing. The beginning was pretty confusing and it took me a while to get used to the verbose writing style and while I didn’t feel like giving up, it also wasn’t something I couldn’t put down. It almost came into its own towards the final 100 pages, where plot points converged and we got to understand the characters better and got a peek through their hearts and minds. The world created here is interesting, futuristic but still gives you a very real lived in feel, something familiar and possible in our reality. The characters are quirky and vulnerable but also have a mystery about them which takes a while to unravel, but I think I ended up liking the sentient wall the most.

Overall, this was both fun and exhausting but I’m still glad that it exists and I got to read it. I only hope it encourages more Indian writers to delve into the SFF genre and crave many more wonderful worlds for us to explore. Recommend this one to readers who love satire and philosophy and wackiness in their sci-fi books.

[Adhira Menon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most fun I've had in a while! Brilliant story telling. The book is a perfect balance of existential philosophy, wild imaginative science fiction, and satire.

[Saakshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very indulgent but surprisingly entertaining. The guy had fun writing it and it showed.

[Shannon Miz · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

Phew, where to even start with Acts of God?! There is just so much to this story, but also, I don't want to give a single thing away, but I guess I have to tell you some stuff? Well- I'll start with this: I am not familiar with the author's comedy, but I plan to rectify that! I immensely enjoyed his sense of humor throughout the book, so I absolutely need to familiarize myself with his other ventures.

Here's the thing about Acts of God: If you don't read the synopsis fully before jumping in, you might be lost. I was a little lost, I admit. I think this was partly because I didn't recall what the synopsis is about, and partly because the eARC format didn't have any dividers. I guess I will have to buy a finished copy to see if it does (look at me, making excuses to justify buying books I have already read). But once I realized what was going on, I was all-in.

The premise is obviously incredibly thought provoking, as I certainly have wondered a time or twenty if I was in a really crappy simulation. The author also does an excellent job of increasing the thought provoking nature of the story by dropping a ton of very well-written lines that absolutely made me think even more than I already was. I'll even say some of these lines felt quite profound, and the mix of humor with some really serious life stuff worked well for me, as it made the story feel balanced. I feel a little confused by the ending, so if you have read it, let me know so we can talk! I have thought about this book since I finished it, which to me feels like the mark of a really solid story!

Bottom Line: Incredibly thought provoking but also really witty and engaging.

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

[Sriti Jha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s brilliant
It’s hilarious
It’s well written
It’s thought provoking
And it’s interesting
The pace of the book is just perfect
I have enjoyed reading this one a little too much. I just want everyone to read it. I strongly recommend!!!
I think I’ll read it a few times till he decides to publish another one

[Anup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this book. A well designed multiverse conundrum, some very clever writing, very enjoyable and funny (you could hear his stand-up comedy voice through the pages) . The ending was both troublesome and ethereal at the same time. In this book he explores enlightenment in both deep thought provoking tones as well as light humourous ones. And am a fan of any book that breaks the traditional writing formats .Kudos..looking forward to the next books

[Aradhita · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tried and tried and tried to work my way through it. Gave up around 60% into the book. It's trying to hard to be funny, and consequently is not funny at all, and the fantasy plot line is absolutely insipid.

[Prithvi Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars, solid debut.

For like the first third, I was getting used to his writing style. I could hear the words in his stand-up style voice, which made it entertaining.

The characters were honestly really fun to read. Manjunath and Heng were a compelling duo, and diving into Dr K's history was interesting

The plot itself was also enjoyable, the scifi concept used here was pretty cool to me. I was hoping for a tighter conclusion but the one we got was still really solid.

Overall, I'd recommend if you enjoy Kanan's style of humour. The scifi is very simple so it wouldn't be a deterrent to non scifi fans.

Haiku #72
Wall was the best one
Book is just tomfoolery
Pls gib one euro

[Ujala · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's 4.5 stars, mind you. I was annoyed at several points with the writer interrupting the writing. It seemed to me an ambitious but arrogant sci-fi.
Yet, after finishing the book, the flaws are the last thing I want to talk or think about. The process of reading was like the sweet virtual effort to get this large and yet effortlessly light feeling of enlightenment. Kanan Gill is all around, his previous works show up and please you like they always do.
It's not a casual read. It's not a serious/deep/philosophical read. The sweet spot is the USP. Someone rightly said, 'an evolution of standup comedy', you don't hear many jokes, you are not drugged to escape reality, it leaves you more comfortable with yourself, you get something far valuable than the ticket price!

One must write answers if they find some at the back. I didn't do it though. (Only people who have read would understand this reference).

[Akanksha Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philosophy presented without it getting preachy - it is as though the philosophy simply emerges from the storyline. The book truly takes off in the middle once the scene is roughly set and the characters are in place, and once it takes off, there isn't a single dull moment. Embracing the themes of existentialism, destiny, anxiety, grief - the book provides quite some food for thought.

[Arun Philips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by renowned Indian comedian Kanan Gill, Acts of God is an entertaining sci-fi book that involves multiverses, Gods and a lot of humorous characters well developed throughout the story.

[Sn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was all in to give this one 5 stars even before i started it, I am THAT biased towards the author, BUT..

it's very very good in parts, just that it takes very very long to get to those parts 😭

[Riyam Bhattacharyya · Rating 5 out of 5]

PThis book is painful, but then it also puts your pain to ease. I keep thinking about Dr. Krishna and I keep thinking about his pain.
Maybe through fiction we try to heal or undo all the things we regret, only to tumble into this book that doesn't undo all it's flaws, only accepts it at the end.
The dead remains dead, the party began when you were alive. If only someone had told us this is the only one you get, maybe you'd have done it better.
I loved this book, a cat and mouse chase between creator and created, as promised by our dear author. A hilarious read at times, considering how serious the book is.
Kanan Gill, explores through his curious mind, an almost accurate reality. Maybe God is real, and maybe there's too much pain that he couldn't bear, and maybe he's not cut out to be a human. And he's sorry too.

[Nabha Kulkarni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is written by a person who is originally a comedian, so I didn't have high expectations to begin with. The book starts with a very exciting preface and then goes almost straight downhill till mid-way. It was a tedious journey and I admit I felt like leaving the book to be finished later.

Then why the 4 stars? The concept of the book is imaginative. It is a very fresh way to tackle the existial question: Do we live in a simulation?

The second half of the book was so interesting, I binge-read it on consecutive week-nights. Now I wish someone around me also reads it so that we can have deep, late night conversations about it.

[Manas Makani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent attempt by a first time author. Most of the attempted humour didn't land and was super cringe at times. The stand up touch was there to see.