What if the future could be predicted, edited and quietly rewritten before anyone noticed? That question sits at the heart of Maya: Seed Takes Root, the ambitious science-fantasy debut from filmmaker Anand Gandhi and game designer Zain Memon, which is set for a global release on 25 August.
Conceived in India and published by New York-based Authors Equity ahead of worldwide distribution by Simon & Schuster, the novel arrives with the sort of momentum most debut authors only dream about. Before reaching bookstores, Maya became the highest-funded debut novel in Kickstarter history, rallying an early-reader community of 5,378 supporters and raising US $547,896.
For Gandhi, known for Ship of Theseus and Tumbbad, and Memon, creator of Shasn and Azadi, the project marks a leap from screen and tabletop storytelling into literary worldbuilding on a grand scale. More notably, the book is entering the international trade market through a direct global publication rather than the traditional route of territory-by-territory foreign rights sales.
At the centre of the story lies a provocative idea: Whoever controls the stories controls our dreams and nightmares, our very desires and fears. Their whispers become our will.
Set on the planet Neh, the novel imagines a civilisation connected through vast Maya trees that enable shared dreamscapes, collective knowledge and near-perfect prediction. The all-seeing Divyas govern not through force but through influence, shaping desires rather than enforcing obedience. When a competition promising ascension to godhood is announced, the certainty of the future begins to unravel.
The novel opens with an ominous premise: an insect faces extinction, an event that will eventually trigger a civil war claiming millions of lives. The Divyas know this and intervene before history can unfold. But as competing visions of destiny emerge, so do questions about freedom, power and resistance.
“We’re living through the greatest experiment in narrative control in human history,” shared Gandhi. “Every platform is a Maya tree, every algorithm owned by a Divya. We wanted to make that visible, and imagine what better it might look like.”
Memon added, “This isn’t another chosen one story. It is about the systemic nature of control and the unexpected places where resistance takes root. Every character believes they are doing the right thing, even those orchestrating mass suffering.”
The scale of the project extends beyond its pages. Developed over five years, the Maya universe was built with contributions from more than 200 writers, filmmakers, game designers, biologists, architects, linguists and artists. Rather than adapting an existing mythology, the creators constructed an entirely new one, complete with original species, ecosystems, political systems, technologies and languages.
Adding further weight to the launch is an audiobook edition from Simon & Schuster Audio, narrated by Hugo Weaving, best known for The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings. The book also features a foreword by neuroscientist and author Anil Seth, who describes it as – a book of extraordinary riches… provocative philosophical nuggets wrapped in a narrative both sweeping and immersive.
Ahead of release, Maya has already attracted attention from publications including Variety, Esquire India, The Hollywood Reporter India, io9 and Nautilus. The early buzz positions the novel as more than a standalone story, it is the opening chapter in a much larger transmedia universe spanning books, games, films, graphic novels, toys and immersive experiences.
With artificial intelligence, data ownership and narrative influence becoming increasingly central to modern life, Maya: Seed Takes Root arrives at a moment when science fiction feels less like speculation and more like a warning label. On 25 August, Gandhi and Memon invite readers to step into a world where stories shape reality and where the future may already be watching.
