Vandana Singh’s first book, Younguncle Comes to Town, was an instant classic of children’s literature. Now, in this highly anticipated follow-up, Younguncle finds himself on an adventure in the mountains of India.
In Younguncle in the Himalayas, our protagonist arrives with his family at the gloomy, mysterious Hotel Pine-Away and soon discovers that their mountain holiday is going to be anything but peaceful. As Younguncle chats with monkeys and debates the true nature of reality with an offbeat sect of the Quantum Banana spiritualists, the fate of the picturesque little valley hangs in the balance. Who is the strange Rat-girl who charms rodents out of the hotel? Can the children and their eccentric uncle thwart the schemes of the dangerous city-slicker Pradeep Daalmakhini? Can Younguncle help Daalmakhini’s intended bride escape a fate worse than death? Has our favorite adventurer finally met his match?
 
“Enchanting . . . Singh is a most promising and original young writer.”—Ursula K. LeGuin, author ofThe Earthsea Trilogy
“One of the best children’s books this year. . . . It has none of the self-consciousness you often find in adults who write for children, very plausible dilemmas and a delightful style.” —Business Standard

Well known and well regarded in the world of science fiction and fantasy writing, Vandana Singh brings her unique imagination to a wider audience in this collection of stories, newly reissued by Zubaan Books. In the title story, a woman tells her husband of her curious discovery: that she is inhabited by small alien creatures. In another, a young girl making her way to college through the streets of Delhi comes across a mysterious tetrahedron. Is it a spaceship? Or a secret weapon?

The first Indian female speculative fiction writer, Singh has said that her genre is a “chance to find ourselves part of a larger whole; to step out of the claustrophobia of the exclusively human and discover joy, terror, wonder, and meaning in the greater universe.” A revolutionary voice in fantasy writing, Singh brings her passion for discovery to these stories, and the result is like nothing of this world.