Interstellar MegaChef

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)