The Lost Children of Paradise

A self-driving cargo container crashes in rural Pakistan. Inside are forty-six kidnapped street children...


As a grizzled, semi-retired policewala living in rural twenty-second century Pakistan, Officer Nawaz had long ago substituted any notions of heroism with a pretty impressive drinking habit. But when he comes across a crashed cargo container near his hometown, carrying kidnapped street children, curiosity drives him to investigate. Fate pairs him up with Adil Khan, a young, idealistic, and rather annoying space cadet from the global Confederation. Their investigation uncovers a treacherous conspiracy, and now they must challenge everything they thought they knew about the country, and themselves, if they want to solve the case - and make it out alive.

This science-fiction detective mystery unfolds against the unique backdrop of a futuristic Pakistan. While most of the developed world looks to the stars, Pakistan finds itself embroiled in age-old problems, and the two officers, along with a string of supporting characters, must face challenges at once unique and timeless in order to untangle the mystery of the kidnapped container children.




About the Author

Omar Gilani is a creative director currently working in animation and games. Originally from the historic city of Peshawar, Pakistan, he went to the U.S. to pursue a PhD in Robotics, but dropped out of the program to tailor a career more aligned with his interest in art, writing, and content creation.

Since then, he has gone on to work for clients like Disney, Dreamworks, Sony Imageworks, the British Council, and Save the Children. In 2018, he created the visual series Pakistan+, which used interactive media to explore a futuristic Pakistan. That series won many accolades, and has been exhibited around the world. The setting of this novel thematically parallels those works.

He currently lives in beautiful Vancouver with his wife and daughter. This is his debut novel.