Department of Lore, the “multidisciplinary storytelling pioneers of neo-mythologies,” has announced a new Kickstarter campaign for MAYA: Seed Takes Root, the first novel launching the vast sci-fi fantasy universe of MAYA.
Created by acclaimed filmmaker Anand Gandhi (Ship of Theseus, Tumbbad) and award-winning game designer Zain Memon (Shasn), the book marks the perfect entrance into a new universe for readers of all tastes and backgrounds.
Read more details below:
In the world of Maya, the ‘haves and the ‘haves not’ labor in a world not under their control. Connected and controlled by a shared dreamscape, one person finds himself free from this control. What he chooses to do with this gift (or curse) will change the fate of the entire world.
Backers of the now-live Kickstarter campaign will be the first to experience MAYA: Seed Takes Root, with the book officially releasing on August 19, 2025. The campaign also offers early access to exclusive art, lore, and updates from the evolving MAYA universe.
In MAYA, immortality is a commodity, and minds are shaped, choices nudged, and futures manufactured – invisibly, systemically. Far beyond traditional science fiction, It’s a sweeping story of chaos and control, agency and prediction, the powerful and the expendable.
Memon shares:
“We talk about ‘world-building’ as if we’re constructing something. But we’re composting. Throw in biology, economics, philosophy, personal epiphanies, half-remembered dreams, and wait to see what strange new tree sprouts, and what fruits it bears – warnings, solutions or just intoxication.“
Gandhi adds:
“I wrote MAYA for my grandmother, who knew every story from the Mahabharata, and my nephew, who lives on Reddit. Turns out they’re asking the same questions, just in different languages.“
The book will mark the first of many stories in an interconnected universe in a variety of media such as films, games, graphic novels, toys, and more.
MAYA: Seed Takes Root is now live on Kickstarter. Check out the trailer below!
English (US) · 