Jani and the Greater Game Books in Order

Jani and the Greater Game is an alternate-history adventure series set in a very different 1925. The British Empire still rules India with brutal confidence, but it has access to strange technology powered by Annapurnite, a mysterious substance discovered near the Himalayas.

That power has made imperial politics even more dangerous. Britain, Russia, China, and local forces all want control of the technology, and the struggle is known as the Greater Game. Into this mess walks Janisha, or Jani, Chatterjee, an eighteen-year-old who is clever, stubborn, and very much not interested in letting powerful men decide her future.

She finds a device that changes everything.

In Jani and the Greater Game, Jani is pursued by spies and enemies after discovering a path toward the Himalayas and the truth behind Annapurnite. Her allies include Lieutenant Alfie Littlebody and Anand Doshi, who help her navigate a world full of imperial agents, priests, secret machinery, and threats that reach beyond ordinary political rivalry.

Jani and the Great Pursuit widens the story. Jani and her companions are chased from India to London and toward Tibet, while the object in Jani's possession proves connected to other worlds. The stakes become openly cosmic, but the series keeps its focus on Jani's nerve, resourcefulness, and refusal to accept the roles society has assigned her.

Brown uses the energy of classic adventure fiction, then gives it a fresh center. There are airships, lost cities, conspiracies, magical-looking science, and narrow escapes, but Jani is never just a passenger. She drives the story, challenges authority, and has to decide what she owes to friends, family, and a world that expects her to stay quiet.

The tone is lively and pulpy, with steampunk gadgets alongside science-fiction ideas. It also takes the colonial setting seriously enough to make power and resistance part of the action rather than wallpaper. The result is an adventure that moves quickly while asking who gets to control knowledge, technology, and the future.

Start with Jani and the Greater Game. The sequel follows directly from its discoveries and dangers, so the best experience is to read the two books in order.