Review by Booklist Review
A celebrated chef, a tech prodigy, and a shady government official converge on a hit cooking show in Lakshminarayan's (The Ten-Percent Thief, 2023) thought-provoking latest. Saraswati "Saras" Kaveri enters Primus, the planetary capital of the United Human Cooperative, on a refugee visa to appear on Interstellar MegaChef, where she intends to win without divulging her real identity. Serenity Ko, fresh off the success of her newest Immersive Reality sim, is placed on mandatory leave after her drunken celebration becomes a riot, but when her grandmother's cooking conjures a comforting childhood memory, she's hit with a revolutionary idea: a sim centered around food. After Saras literally flames out on the show (Primian chefs don't use fire), a chance meeting with Ko gives her a new opportunity. Meanwhile, Primian Secretary Optimism Madh'vi becomes suspicious of Saras' history while plotting to hijack the show for her own purposes. Lakshminarayan's imaginative world building is both playful and serious, with a well-developed history for its far-future setting that nevertheless evokes timely topics: xenophobia, cultural assimilation, the colonization of food, and the ethics of new technologies. Hand to readers of Becky Chambers and Ryka Aoki.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Lakshminarayan (The Ten Percent Thief) sets this delicious, futuristic flight of fancy nearly 2,000 years after humans first settled on the planet Primus, which has since far outstripped Earth in cultural and technological development. Earthling Saraswati "Saras" Kaveri knows that auditioning for Primus's hit cooking competition show, Interstellar MegaChef, is a long shot, so when she gets accepted, she jumps at the chance to leave Earth and her manipulative family in search of fame and fortune. Saras is not prepared for the xenophobia and prejudice she encounters upon her arrival and during her first--and last--day of competition. Meanwhile, Primian tech developer Serenity Ko has released her most successful simulation yet, but instead of the promotion she's expecting, she's sent on a mandatory vacation to force her into a better work/life balance. Ko seizes the time off to begin working on an ambitious new project: adding food into virtual reality. The project brings her into Saras's orbit as the women work together to explore the ways food, experience, memory, and history intertwine. Lakshminarayan's vision of the future feels fresh, the descriptions of food are mouthwatering, and the thematic exploration of culinary culture is rich and nuanced. Readers will be delighted. Agent: Cameron McClure, Donald Maass Literary. (Nov)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Saraswati Kaveri has left her life on Earth behind. Arriving on Primus with a bag of clothes and her little robot Kili, she is determined to take her chance on Interstellar MegaChef, the most watched cooking show of the galaxy. Primus cuisine is exacting and amalgamated, and never has an Earthen chef, with their primitive, messy techniques, participated. Serenity Ko has created the wildly popular sim SoundSpace, but a drunken celebration-turned-angry mob chase has forced the young prodigy to take a mandatory leave to rest. Serenity, of course, instead decides she needs to create the next hit sim, this time one for food. If only she knew how to cook. A chance encounter between her and Saraswati launches a partnership to change the future of food, if their own individual goals don't destroy their chances first. While the food descriptions themselves are few, the emotional impacts of food on the various characters still center culinary pursuits in the novel. VERDICT Lakshminarayan (The Ten Percent Thief) offers an engaging story that dives into themes about the appreciation of food, colonization, and xenophobia and features two morally gray queer women attempting to find their footing with each other.--Kristi Chadwick
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