A01=Aurko Maitra
Author_Aurko Maitra
Betrayal
Category=DS
Category=FBA
Category=FF
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_crime
eq_fiction
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_modern-contemporary
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Isolation
Loyalty
Manipulation
Redemption
Resilience
Revenge
Survival
Tradition
Transformation
Product details
- ISBN 9781803094779
- Weight: 313g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 06 Feb 2026
- Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
A tale of mercenaries and myths, set amid the political turmoil of Bengal.
In the largely undocumented sphere of political violence in eastern India, Qadir the Spider is a mythological killer and casanova, known for the various assassinations and liaisons he carries out across the region. His oldest son Rahim is the latest entry to the field. A 13-year-old killer, the boy bides his time like his father—killing, farming, and getting high as the battles go on around him. In this world where they only follow orders, mutilation becomes their only expression, the nature of violence their only meaningful form of autonomy in the various power struggles of interior Bengal.
After his first year in the field, as the child is groomed by his father to carry on the ways of their mercenary clan, he begins to confront the various legends surrounding the Spider. However, while roaming the strange, spectral forests surrounding the town, his chance encounter with a pair of wandering musicians leads him to question the killings that pattern his life. As he searches for the answers around him, he is slowly led to confront the man his father truly is, as well as the man he knows he will become.
A gripping tale of inherited violence and identity in politically volatile Bengal, Aurko Maitra’s The Spider contains powerful, disturbing parallels to modern-day conflicts. Boldly interrogating our concepts of autonomy and survival in chaos, this revelatory novel explores the impact of political violence and timeless issues of legacy and intergenerational violence.
In the largely undocumented sphere of political violence in eastern India, Qadir the Spider is a mythological killer and casanova, known for the various assassinations and liaisons he carries out across the region. His oldest son Rahim is the latest entry to the field. A 13-year-old killer, the boy bides his time like his father—killing, farming, and getting high as the battles go on around him. In this world where they only follow orders, mutilation becomes their only expression, the nature of violence their only meaningful form of autonomy in the various power struggles of interior Bengal.
After his first year in the field, as the child is groomed by his father to carry on the ways of their mercenary clan, he begins to confront the various legends surrounding the Spider. However, while roaming the strange, spectral forests surrounding the town, his chance encounter with a pair of wandering musicians leads him to question the killings that pattern his life. As he searches for the answers around him, he is slowly led to confront the man his father truly is, as well as the man he knows he will become.
A gripping tale of inherited violence and identity in politically volatile Bengal, Aurko Maitra’s The Spider contains powerful, disturbing parallels to modern-day conflicts. Boldly interrogating our concepts of autonomy and survival in chaos, this revelatory novel explores the impact of political violence and timeless issues of legacy and intergenerational violence.
Raised in Singapore, Aurko Maitra is a writer who has been interviewing figures involved in organized crime and political violence since 2018. His work has been published in the magazines Provoke, Agni, and Third Lane. He divides his time between London, Kolkata, and Singapore.
