"Our Verdict: Get It” — KIRKUS REVIEWS: Misra's tale is as historically authentic as it is dramatically engrossing...complex, moving, and edifying…
“4 out of 4 Stars” — ONLINEBOOKCLUB.ORG: A novel you do not want to miss…
“4.5 out of 5 Stars” – SAN FRANCISCO BOOK REVIEW: “Misra writes elegantly and captures the audience's attention on the first page... Labyrinth of the Wind is an exhilarating read ...”
"Love, greed, fear, and intimidation; the Shah’s imperial dreams and fledgling nuclear ambitions; a young man's aspirations and his lover’s risky left-wing politics; Tehran, Delhi, London, West Berlin, and Geneva; uranium yellowcake, revolution, blackmail and torture; breathtaking landscapes and romantic interludes. They’re all here in this tense, finely wrought and superbly written story that guides us through the labyrinth and ultimately reveals the way out."
-Tom Parker, O. Henry Prize winner & Pulitzer Prize nominee
“At heart, this is a compelling story of love and international intrigue set in the context of the Iranian and German revolutions of the 1970’s. Even fifty years later, the same themes of nuclear weapons and profound cultural conflict are still very much alive today. Misra’s exquisite cross cultural sensitivity is matched with a deep feel for the intellectual, literary, and musical currents that set the tone for the global upheaval and youthful initiation of that soulful time.”
-Thomas Singer, MD & author of Cultural Complexes and the Soul of America
“On the copyright page of this extraordinary first novel is the standard disclaimer that it is a work of fiction. Don’t fall for that. It is a work of fiction that tells a thousand truths, ones that only an insider like Misra could write. Revealing, beautifully told, historically fascinating.”
-Gary Burke, former publisher at McGraw-Hill Higher Education
As the chief financial officer of Iran Power, Indian expat Ayan Pathak enjoys the finer things in life: high-end clubs, skiing in the sacred and dramatic Alborz mountains, and languid weekends on the Caspian Sea with his beautiful girlfriend Gaby. She is an airline pilot who covertly sympathizes with radical leftists in her native Germany. The year is 1977 and the Iranian Revolution is about to overthrow the Shah’s pro-Western monarchy in favor of an Islamic theocracy led by Ayatollah Khomeini.
One evening, Ayan is approached by the CEO of his company who pressures him to help smuggle uranium for a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program.
From there, Ayan faces difficult decisions. Should he cooperate with his boss in exchange for riches beyond imagination, or should he refuse and risk everything including his life? Despite his better intentions, Ayan is sucked into the quicksand of love, lies, political intrigue, and deadly consequences. Can he be saved before it’s too late?
As Ayan is struggling with his dilemma, the country is roiling under the pressure of impending change. Hamid, Ayan’s driver and friend, is a fervent supporter of the Ayatollah Khomeini, who would remake Iran in his own image. Gaby, against the politics of privilege, pressures Ayan to also challenge the status quo.
And always lurking is Colonel Heydar Hosseini, the poetry-loving SAVAK secret police officer assigned to monitor the goings-on at Iran Power.
Labyrinth of the Wind: A Novel of Love and Nuclear Secrets is a suspenseful work of historical fiction, set in Tehran, Delhi, and several European hotspots. The novel focuses on choices and consequences at a time of political upheaval, when the author lived and worked in Iran. Declassified documents confirm the Iranian government’s efforts at this time to procure uranium and the United States’ concerns about these programs. The author evacuated from Tehran on Christmas Day 1978, shortly before the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty.