Rajat Chaudhuri

At the centre of a near-future, post-apocalyptic Darkland is the chaotic city of Calcutta. Here Captain Old, a retired policeman who is also a hired assassin receives news that could help unravel the roots of a scourge that has devastated the continent. But problems begin to pile up for him till his own life is at stake. In another narrative we find a group of Indian tourists disappearing in Korea and a detective arriving in Seoul to investigate. But soon the private eye is overwhelmed by incidents that is far beyond his ken as a crime investigator.

Meanwhile in England there is a hotshot geneticist working away on a secret project which he believes could change the world. Each of these distinct but interconnected narratives, arranged in a Russian doll[15] structure, mingle with each other as we near the resolution of this work of speculative fiction which balances science, spirituality and a gentle way of life. This novel has been compared to Philip K. Dick's Blade Runner (based on Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) for its dystopian settings.[16][17] This book has been listed by Book Riot community as one of "50 must-read novels about eco-disaster".[18]

Translated work of narrative nonfiction originally written in Bengali (titled Raater Kolkata) by author Hemendra Kumar Roy in the year 1923. Translated into English by Rajat Chaudhuri, Calcutta Nights is the real-life account of the night-time wanderings of author Hemendra Kumar Roy in the forbidden, dangerous and exciting places of the city of Calcutta.[19][20][21] The chapters in the book cover the brothels of Calcutta's red-light district, the dens of hoodlums, the crematoriums, night-time theatres, beggars hovels, festive streets, the `white town' area of Esplanade, hotels among others. The book according to reports `reveals Calcutta's best kept secrets' and acts like a `guidebook to the dark dens of eeriness' of the city of Calcutta.[22][23] The South China Morning Post in its review, described this book as `a 1920s tour through the seedy nightlife of Calcutta in this tale of beauty and decadence'.[24]

An old Calcutta hotel is under the threat of demolition from land sharks who want to replace it with a shopping mall. At this time a monk appears and prophesies that the hotel can be saved if people tell stories within its four walls every day. Thus begins a chain of storytelling by guests and hotel staff which brings together realistic and speculative storytelling traditions. The frame story of the hotel's possible demolition flows parallelly till in the final pages there is an unexpected resolution. This book has been mentioned by critics for its evocative descriptions and the magic of storytelling.[25]

Amber Dusk is a cross-cultural novel set in Calcutta and Paris amidst the rapid economic changes of a newly liberalised India. The young Rishi, in love with the French photographer Valence, travels west for work. Meanwhile, his friend, the hard nosed Pedro Braganza, looking for the good life, is taking too many chances in Calcutta.

While in Paris, Rishi gets drawn into a vortex of racism and sporadic violence unleashed on the city by a little known neo-Nazi white supremacist outfit. Pedro has been putting in place his get-rich-quick plans and the initial success goes to his head. Then something happens which puts the two friends on a collision course against each other. It will be difficult for both of them to come out of it unscathed.

The novel was welcomed by critics for exploring surrealistic themes and for its handling of cross-cultural themes.[26]

An edited anthology of speculative stories from all over Asia selected, edited and introduced by Rajat Chaudhuri, the book covers science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird and other sub-genres of speculative fiction from authors in more than a dozen Asian countries.

The book has been described as "one of the most comprehensive speculative fiction collection from the continent."[27] The critic for The Telegraph describes this book of stories as being at "the brink of a strange new world" and as a "necessary and successful conglomerate."[28] The literary commentator Agnes S. K. Yeow writing in Southeast Asian Review of English (SARE)[29] has described the book as `An important contribution to an ever-expanding and dynamic literary form'.

Calculus is a collection of short fiction written in Bengali. Set in the city of Calcutta and its outskirts these stories bring together characters like autorickshaw drivers who speak a dead language, tantric practitioners with secret agendas, occult detectives and more which finally portray hidden facets of the city and its people.

Critics have described the stories as postmodernist and magical, with one critic saying the book "transports us to a symbolic plane of existence, perched between the possible and the impossible."[30]