Vivek D. Menon

One Destroyer's Dharma

Ancient duty. Future war.

A subtle futuristic backdrop with stars and a faint mandala-like pattern, blending tech and ancient art – conveying “techno-vedic” atmosphere without clutter.

Upcoming: Book 1 of the Trimurti Horizon

The Mahabharata

Three thousand years before the Worldrivers of our future, the Mahabharata chronicled a war between dynasties that broke an age. It was a telling ten times the length of the Iliad and Odyssey put together. In this work of Indian mythology, everyone—be they hero or villain—walks toward glory or ruin under the same bright light of dharma.

What Vivek Writes

GENRE: MYTHIC SCIENCE FICTION

The gods and wars of Indian myth
brought into the cold vacuum
and the great spinning lands
that will garland our future sun.

CHARACTERS IN CONFLICT

Stories about warring bloodlines,
inter-generational trauma,
found family, and
the burden of dharma (duty).

WHAT DOES THE WORLD FEEL LIKE?

When power and wealth unchecked
engineers new caste systems,
new gods emerge, and
humanity's survival demands its soul.

FOR READERS WHO ENJOY:

The sharp-tongued voice of Some Desperate Glory (Tesh),
the unforgiving, lived-in void of The Expanse (Corey),
the algorithmic immortality in A Memory Called Empire (Martine).

Stay in Touch

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About the Author

The son of Indian ambassadors, Vivek was raised on four continents, eavesdropping on power chatting with power at dinner parties. He spent two decades helping people heal their bodies and minds, co-founding a successful wearable-health company. A million people have read his science writing.
He writes science fiction because the future rushes towards a forking path we did not choose.

He lives in New England with his family.

Agents and Editors

The novel is complete and available for representation and publication inquiries.

Welcome to The Flow

Ancient myths, future tech:
To Flow is to travel the Worldrivers,
Letting the current carry you.

FAQ

What is the plot of the novel One Destroyer's Dharma?

What books are similar to One Destroyer's Dharma?

The novel combines the gritty, near-future realism of James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse with the sharp-tongued protagonist of Emily Tesh’s Some Desperate Glory and the intricacy of Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire.

Is One Destroyer's Dharma a retelling of the Mahabharata?

What are the Worldrivers and the Kalpa of the novel's setting?

The Worldrivers are how humanity would in reality begin a "Dyson swarm." They are millions of space habitats orbiting the Sun, connected by "Filaments." They represent a technological utopia controlled by the Kalpa, a circle of oligarchs whose mandate is to usher humanity into the boundless future, no matter the cost.

Is One Destroyer's Dharma part of a series?

While the novel stands alone, it is also the first in the Trimurti Horizon trilogy. The series arc moves from the solar system to the wider galaxy, mirroring the Hindu concept of the Trimurti.

What works influenced the novel?

As the son of an English Lit MFA father and an SFF-loving mother, Vivek was exposed to words from an early age. Major influences include Herbert (Dune), Banks (Culture series), Leguin, Asimov, Gibson and others.

Vivek's debut novel is set in a near-future Solar System. It follows sharp-tongued Ishara Kiriti, the secret daughter of a powerful oligarch and "Great Man", who discovers she was engineered for a destiny far from her backwater Earth ranch. Hunted across the Worldrivers (chains of space habitats garlanding the orbits of Venus, Earth and Mars), she must choose to fight in her father’s war, or against the society that created her.

No. The novel is a techno-Vedic fusion of the characters, themes and philosophies into a modern, sci-fi setting full of neural augments, artificial intelligence, orbitals, and starships in place of chariots. It explores themes of dynastic power, transhumanism, and the cost of duty.