Science Fiction Sci-Fi Books

Book SynopsisThe acclaimed second novel in the Fall Revolution sequence.

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Book Synopsis'"Cosmonaut Keep" is a portal to a deeply imagined future history that parlays X-Files paranoia about Area 51 and alien Greys into a vast interstellar community watched over by microcosmic gods.' - Paul McAuley, INTERZONE'Science fiction's freshest new writer' - SalonAfter the Ural Caspian Oil War, nobody really trusted the EU government. So why should their extraordinary announcement of first contact with alien intelligence be believed? Matt Cairns thinks he can discover the truth. It is out there, but much, much further away than he could have imagined. Thousands of light-years from Earth, a human colony is struggling for survival. The world on which they have settled, however, has already been inhabited by humans - and other intelligent species from Earth - for millennia. In that ancient division of labour, humans do have a place. But where is it? Twenty-first-century political intrigue becomes space opera on an epic scale in Ken MacLeod's first book in a dazzling new series. His most ambitious novel to date, it will take one of Britain's most exciting new science fiction authors to even greater heights of success and critical acclaim.Books by Ken MacLeod:Fall RevolutionThe Star FractionThe Stone CanalThe Cassini DivisionThe Sky RoadEngines of LightCosmonaut KeepDark LightEngine CityCorporation Wars TrilogyDissidenceInsurgenceEmergenceNovelsThe Human FrontNewton's WakeLearning the WorldThe Execution ChannelThe Restoration GameIntrusionDescentTrade ReviewDistinctive, politically challenging, both tantalizing and satisfying. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLYRarely does a book demand so much of the reader-and then deliver. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLYLike a British--specifically, Scots--counterpart of Bruce Sterling, Ken MacLeod is an SF author who has thought hard about politics and delights in making unlikely alternatives plausible, grippingly readable and often downright funny. * Cosmonaut Keep swaps between two timelines whose characters share the ultimate goal of interstellar travel. In an uncertain future on the far world of Mingulay, human colonists live in the title's ancient, alien-built Keep--coexisting with reptilian "saur *Meanwhile alternate chapters present a mid-21st century Earth whose EU is (to America's horror) Russian-dominated with a big red star in the middle of its flag, rumours of alien contact aboun, and computer whizzkid Matt Cairns finds himself carrying a dat * Clearly the later storyline's Gregor Cairns is Matt's descendant. There are ingenious connections and surprises, with witty resonances between their wild careers, their travels and their bumpy love-lives. The foreground action-adventure points to a bigger *Cosmonaut Keep opens MacLeod's new SF sequence Engines of Light. It is highly entertaining and intelligent, promising more good things to come. * David Langford, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW *This man is going to be a major writer * IAIN M. BANKS *

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Book SynopsisThe Ship has travelled the universe for longer than any of the near-immortal crew can recall, its true purpose and origins unknown. It is larger than many planets, housing thousands of alien races and just as many secrets.Now one of those secrets has been discovered: at the centre of the Ship is ... a planet. Marrow. But when a team of the Ship's best and brightest are sent down to investigate, will they return with the origins of the Ship - or will they bring doom to everyone on board?'MARROW is an extraordinary and extraordinarily intelligent novel stuffed with wonder and wit ... should elevate him to the ranks of the very best writers of the genre' INTERZONEFor more information on this and other Orbit books, visit the website at www.orbitbooks.co.ukTrade ReviewIt's an exhilarating ride, in the hands of an author whose aspiration literally knows no bounds * THE NEW YORK TIMES *MARROW is relentless, taking on vast reaches of space and time with a giant ship like none you've ever seen. A bold work by a visionary writer * DAVID BRIN *Set on an ancient starship as big as Jupiter, Marrow is epic hard science fiction with a millennia spanning plot. A near immortal, genetically re-engineered humanity is the first to reach the derelict ship, approaching from the emptiness of intergalactic space. Taking command, the captains set the ship on a half-million year long galactic cruise, opening the vessel to thousands of races and playing host as in Babylon 5. The ship itself demands parallels with Arthur C Clarke's Rama from Rendezvous with Rama though Reed offers literally bigger surprises... "Just tell us please... what in hell is down there?" "A spherical object," she replied. And with a slow wink she added, "It's the size of Mars, about. But considerably more massive." Washen's heart began to gallop. The audience let out a low, wounded groan. "Show them," the Master said to her AI. "Show them what we found." Disaster strikes and a group of captains become trapped on the world they name "Marrow". Factions develop, leading to civil war and insurrection, coupled with labyrinthine personal intrigues played out across thousands of years. Given the immortal captain s' willingness to decapitate one another, Highlander comes to mind, but while Reed's ideas are interesting he never develops his characters sufficiently to convincingly explain how they cope with the potential tedium of immortality. There are plenty of "big ideas" but it becomes increasingly hard to care about any of Reed's alienated post-humans, while the partially satisfactory ending offers as many possibilities for a sequel as it provides answers. * Gary S Dalkin, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW *Marrow is an extraordinary and extraordinarily intelligent novel stuffed with wonder and wit...it should elevate him to the ranks of the very best writers in the genre. * Interzone *With his command of prose, characterization and ideas, Robert Reed is the new century's most compelling SF voice. Marrow is the highest of concepts, one of the most original visions in a long while. * Stephen Baxter *

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Book SynopsisSome 10 million years in the future, in a galaxy heavily populated by humans and other advanced species, a thousand trustworthy humans and their cloned offspring have been granted an incredible power that they may preserve a peace that has endured for eons. They can build worlds wherever they wish and can terraform any wasteland. But the arrival of a woman as old as the great peace itself brings uncertainty and fear. For she brings with her a warning: the tale of an ancient crime that threatens to destroy the peace that has been so carefully crafted.A far-future epic of god-like humans and their colossal blunders, SISTER ALICE is a novel of incredible imagination from the author of the acclaimed MARROW.Find out more about this title and others at www.orbitbooks.co.ukTrade ReviewThe pace is almost flawlessly judged ... SISTER ALICE has more than enough unique qualities ..to render any comparisons an inadequate measure of its worth * STARBURST *Robert Reed is the new century's most compelling SF voice * STEPHEN Baxter *Compelling, exhilarating, ambitious * SFX 'A brilliantly, elegantly crafted tale’ *Dreamwatch * ‘An exhilarating ride, in the hands of an author whose aspiration literally knows no bounds’ *

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Book SynopsisThe acclaimed Engines of Light series that began with COSMONAUT KEEP and DARK LIGHT reaches its staggering conclusion in ENGINE CITY.For ten thousand years the varied races of the Second Sphere lived in peaceful co-existence, building their civilisations under the gaze of the ever-vigilant cometary minds. But then the cosmonauts of the Bright Star came. And with them they have brought a revolution ... For one of the Bright Star's crew has warned that an invasion of the Second Sphere is imminent and has armed the ancient city of Nova Babylonia against it. Another cosmonaut thinks he's the very man to lead the invasion. The new regime of Nova Babylonia is certain it can withstand the alien onslaught. Whether it can defend itself against Matt Cairns is a question only the gods can answer ...Find out more about this and other titles at www.orbitbooks.co.ukTrade ReviewDistinctive, politically challenging, both tantalizing and satisfying -- KIRKUS REVIEWSFor my money, Ken MacLeod is the current champion of the very smartest kind of New Space Opera... every variation on his themes produces something worth re-reading. -- LOCUSRarely does a book demand so much of the reader-and then deliver. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLYMacLeod's inventiveness, verbal playfulness, and bloody-minded irony never flag for a moment. -- LOCUSKen's books are always a delight to read ...I heartily recommend the entire series to anyone who has not yet begun them. As anyone who has read Ken's earlier work, such as the STAR FRACTION or the CASSINI DIVISION will know he creates excellent novels full of SF for the more demanding reader, venturing into the effects of new technologies and ideological and political ways of thinking, elevating the novels way above the normal 'space opera * level (fun as they are). Absorbing and fascinating, I couldn't stop reading this.’ *THEALIENONLINE * 'The modern-day George Orwell’ *SFX * 'A hectic ride, through slaloms of audacious complexity, irreverent ingenuity and paradox as purposeful as it is playful’ *GUARDIAN * ‘Magnificent … a series you’d be wise to follow from the start’ *

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Book Synopsis'Stylish, witty, and engaging!' - San Diego Union Tribune'Exciting...Accessible to the average reader as well as the hardcore SF fan. This is a work sure to keep the reader on the edge of her seat.' - Romantic Times BookclubThe Hard Rapture took Earth's best minds away. Now the rest are about to find out where they went ... Centuries ago, space settlers and soldiers fled to the stars from the sentient AI war machines that engulfed Earth. They colonised Eurydice, a planet whose rocks contain traces of its own war machines - some of which still guard a vast, enigmatic artifact on a remote tundra.When an expedition raids this strange artifact, the Eurydiceans discover that they weren't the last survivors of humanity after all. Their leisured lifestyle is about to be disrupted by new arrivals for whom Eurydice is a prize worth fighting over. And the long-dormant war machines are awakening ...Newton's Wake is a stunning stand-alone space opera, charting the struggle for human survival in a universe dominated by post-human intelligence.Books by Ken MacLeod:Fall RevolutionThe Star FractionThe Stone CanalThe Cassini DivisionThe Sky RoadEngines of LightCosmonaut KeepDark LightEngine CityCorporation Wars TrilogyDissidenceInsurgenceEmergenceNovelsThe Human FrontNewton's WakeLearning the WorldThe Execution ChannelThe Restoration GameIntrusionDescentTrade ReviewFar more fun than deep space drama has any right to be...Just read the book. Then read it again. It's even better the second time. -- SFXFor my money, Ken MacLeod is the current champion of the very smartest kind of New Space Opera: a relentlessly engaged thinker about nitty-gritty political-economic-social matters who also operates on the Romantic end of the genre by imagining worlds that offer vast (and even godlike) possibilities for humankind...MacLeod returns to his story elements and concerns with a persistence that signals a stubbornly committed intelligence as well as a fertile and mischievous imagination, and every variation on his themes produces something worth re-reading. -- LOCUSIf you haven't yet read MacLeod's work, this is an excellent place to start. -- SCIFI.COMThe kind of book that we wish would come to us more often in science fiction...Above everything, this book is fun. -- VECTORRead the book. Then read it again. It's even better the second time * SFX on NEWTON'S WAKE *Stunningly assured, inventive and intelligent * Iain M Banks on Ken Macleod *A hectic ride, through slaloms of audacious complexity, irreverent ingenuity and paradox as purposeful as it is playful * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisThe Great Ship is home to a multitude of alien races and a near-immortal crew. They have toured the Milky Way for millennia, the best and the brightest from a thousand worlds, but the true purpose of the Ship has remained hidden. Now, time is running out. The huge spacecraft is heading for the dark, immense, region of space known as the Ink Well, and the only entity in the universe more vast and mysterious than the Great Ship is lying in wait ...'THE WELL OF STARS is wonderful far-future SF of the best kind: imaginative, epic, mind-blowing, but anchored by a strong sense of character and a glorious cast of heroes and rogues. The Great Ship is surely one of the most audacious creations in recent SF.' ALASTAIR REYNOLDSTrade ReviewPraise for MARROW: 'It's an exhilarating ride, in the hands of an author whose aspiration literally knows no bounds' THE NEW YORK TIMES 'MARROW is relentless, taking on vast reaches of space and time with a giant ship like none you've ever seen. A bold work by a visionary writer' DAVID BRIN

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Book SynopsisTHE POLISH BOY: Following the first two 'Bugger' wars, the Hegemony is desperate to counter the alien threat, as the earth hasn't the resources to repel many more attacks. Their search for brilliant military talent reveals a potential genius in the form of young John Paul Wiggin - Ender Wiggin's father to be.TEACHER'S PEST: John Paul Wiggin is indeed brilliant but is also an unbearably arrogant young man, now a university student. Graduate Theresa Brown, however, may prove his match as they clash socially and intellectually.THE INVESTMENT COUNSELOR: Ender must wander incognito from world to world after banishment from earth as a mass murderer. His reputation as saviour of the human race has been twisted and corrupted since the long-ago Bugger wars and he must shield his identity at all costs. However, he is recognised and blackmailed by a small-time tax collector, who threatens to expose him as Ender, the world killer. ENDER'S GAME: The story of Orson Scott Card's most memorable character in its powerful original novella form.

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Book SynopsisVan C. Albert is a commander in the Republic Space Force of Taran. His bravery led to the defeat of a larger enemy ship but caused the inadvertent destruction of a civilian liner. Although his name was cleared, he now seems doomed to a life of backwater postings. He can only watch as a simmering cold war erupts into a fierce interstellar war, fuelled by the pull of religious fanaticism, economic and political rivalry. Van is seriously wounded on assignment, and wakes from a coma to find that he has been decorated and summarily retired from military service. Desperate to escape boredom, he jumps at the chance to fly a starship for the Integrated Information Systems foundation. Seemingly harmless, the IIS's influence is far reaching and Van soon finds himself at the centre of the action, a key player in a war which will shake all human worlds.Trade ReviewPraise for THE PARAFAITH WAR: 'The cosmic concepts are fascinating and the action fast' SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW

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Book SynopsisWhen the planet of New Moscow was brutally destroyed, its few survivors launched a counter-attack against the most likely culprit: the neighbouring system of trade rival New Dresden. But New Dresden wasn't responsible, and as the deadly missiles approach their target, Rachel Mansour, agent for the interests of Old Earth, is assigned to find out who was. The one person who does know is a disaffected teenager who calls herself Wednesday Shadowmist. But Wednesday has no idea where she might be hiding this significant information. Time is limited and if Rachel can't resolve this mystery it will mean annihilation of an entire world.

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Book Synopsis'Thought-provoking and entertaining, this highly original first-contact story should please any science fiction reader.' - School Library Journal'Mind-expanding science fiction at its best; it is no surprise that it has been shortlisted for all the main science fiction awards.' - THE TIMESThe great sunliner 'But the Sky, My Lady! The Sky!' is nearing the end of a four-hundred-year journey. A ship-born generation is tense with expectation for the new system that is to be their home. Expecting to find nothing more complex than bacteria and algae, the detection of electronic signals from one of the planets comes as a shock. In millennia of slow expansion, humanity has never encountered aliens, and yet these new signals cannot be ignored. They suspect a fast robot probe has overtaken them, and send probes of their own to investigate.On a world called Ground, whose inhabitants are struggling into the age of radio, petroleum and powered flight, a young astronomer searching for distant planets detects an anomaly that he presumes must be a comet. His friend, a brilliant foreign physicist, calculates the orbit, only to discover an anomaly of his own. The comet is slowing down ...Reminding us that the universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we CAN imagine, LEARNING THE WORLD is a stunning novel of exploration, discovery and Mankind's destiny amongst the stars.Books by Ken MacLeod:Fall RevolutionThe Star FractionThe Stone CanalThe Cassini DivisionThe Sky RoadEngines of LightCosmonaut KeepDark LightEngine CityCorporation Wars TrilogyDissidenceInsurgenceEmergenceNovelsThe Human FrontNewton's WakeLearning the WorldThe Execution ChannelThe Restoration GameIntrusionDescentTrade ReviewAs always with this deeply political writer, the book is chock-full of well-done extrapolation concerning the political and economic workings of his various societies. This is contemporary SF at its best. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)Thought-provoking and entertaining, this highly original first-contact story should please any science fiction reader. -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNALMacLeod continues to dazzle readers with vividly rendered landscapes of technological splendor and fascinating yet plausible visions of humanity's future. -- BOOKLISTMind-expanding science fiction at its best; it is no surprise that it has been shortlisted for all the main science fiction awards. * THE TIMES *A charismatic, inventive story of space travel and discovery * SFX *A beautiful piece of stylish writing. . . Gripping and convincing * STARBURST *Ken MacLeod outdoes himself with Learning the World. . . don't miss this one * ANALOG *

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Book SynopsisWhen Robin wakes up in a clinic with most of his memories missing, it doesn't take him long to discover that someone is trying to kill him.It's the twenty-seventh century, when interstellar travel is by teleport gate and conflicts are fought by network worms that censor refugees' personalities and target historians. The civil war is over and Robin has been demobilized, but someone wants him out of the picture because of something his earlier self knew. On the run from a ruthless pursuer and searching for a place to hide, he volunteers to participate in a unique experimental polity, the Glasshouse. Constructed to simulate a pre-accelerated culture, participants are assigned anonymized identities: it looks like the ideal hiding place for a posthuman on the run. But in this escape-proof environment Robin will undergo an even more radical change, placing him at the mercy of the experimenters, and of his own unbalanced psyche . . .Trade ReviewThe sheer brio of invention and intellectual energy propel the reader towards a satisfying climax * GUARDIAN *Stross's best book yet. Pick it up and discover it for yourself' * SFX (5 stars) *A genuinely unmissable page-turner . . . A genuine triumph of a tale that you can never quite tie down * (Five stars) STARBURST *Stross's enthralling blend of action, extrapolation and analysis delivers surprise after surprise'' KIRKUS REVIEWS 'Stross is an author who anyone interested in SF should read and relish' SFX 'Darkly funny and crackling with high-bandwidth ideas' PAUL Mc

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Book SynopsisDI Liz Kavanaugh: You realise policing internet porn is your life and your career went down the pan five years ago. But when a fetishist dies on your watch, the Rule 34 Squad moves from low priority to worryingly high profile. Anwar: As an ex-con, you'd like to think your identity fraud days are over. Especially as you've landed a legit job (through a shady mate). Although now that you're Consul for a shiny new Eastern European Republic, you've no idea what comes next. The Toymaker: Your meds are wearing off and people are stalking you through Edinburgh's undergrowth. But that's OK, because as a distraction, you're project manager of a sophisticated criminal operation. But who's killing off potential recruits?So how do bizarre domestic fatalities, dodgy downloads and a European spamming network fit together? The more DI Kavanaugh learns, the less she wants to find out.Trade ReviewCharles Stross writes hard SF, paranormal espionage and near-future techno-thrillers with equal facility and intelligence . . . Stross skilfully and accessibly demonstrates how reality is affected by virtual technology, and how life in Europe could soon change as a result. * Guardian *A diamond-sharp piece of SF... a seriously entertaining and twisted crime thriller * SFX *Weird and wonderful... a dizzying whirl of insights, beautiful and addictive * The Sun *

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Book SynopsisAvery Cates is in better shape than ever with the top-class augments the army's fitted him with. Pity he's no more than a puppet then, because they've also got a remote that can fry his brain at any second. And now a corrupt colonel is selling his controls to the highest bidder. Avery has visions of escape and bloody revenge - until he realises just who's bought him. Because the highest bidder is Canny Orel himself, Avery's oldest enemy. And as the System slides into chaos, Canny wants Cates to do one last job. Avery just needs one chance to get back at the old gunner - but this time, it's Canny who's holding all the cards.

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Book SynopsisIn the System of Federated Nations, a new religion is growing fast. The Electric Church offers eternal life - the only catch is, you've got to be killed first. Millions have had their brains placed in advanced cybernetic bodies, making them immortal. But rumour has it that the new converts aren't quite as willing as the Monks make out.Avery Cates is a low-life contract killer, prepared to slit anyone's throat for a few measly Yen. But even he gets the heebie-jeebies from the plasticised, eternally-serene stare of the Monks. He'll have to come face to face with them soon enough though, because Cates is on the run from the System Cops and can only redeem himself by taking out the head of the Electric Church. That's if the gun-toting, super-augmented cybernetic Monks don't get to his own head first . . .

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Book SynopsisTHIS IS AN ASSASSINATION. NOT YOURS. BUT AN ASSASSINATION NONE THE LESS.' Avery Cates, criminal 'king' of New York, has climbed his way to the top of a heap of trouble. On his knees in the snow, with a gun to his head, Avery thinks this must finally be it. Instead, he is injected with nanotech and left confused but alive. Then everyone around him starts dying. With every moment bringing humanity closer to extinction, Cates finds he will be either executioner or saviour of an entire world.

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Book SynopsisMoisture Man, the hero of “Third Class Superhero”, is tired of watching his former classmates kick ass and claim their secret hideouts while he struggles to maintain his good-guy accreditation. Someday soon he’ll have to decide whose side he’s really on, and how far he’s willing to push the panels of his storyline. Meanwhile, in "401(k)", a young, upwardly-mobile couple attempt to navigate their way through a world of pure advertising, with hopes of attaining the Pretty Good Life. And in "The Man Who Became Himself", a successful executive is terrified to find himself becoming trapped inside his own body. Through these eleven stories, Charles Yu explores issues of identity, time and being in an age of dislocation. Heartbreaking, hilarious, smart, surprising, Third Class Superhero marks the arrival of an impressive new talent.Trade ReviewA playful experimentalist probes the limits of fiction in this debut collection.The post-collegiate braininess of many of Yu’s stories is like the music of the Talking Heads, making the familiar seem off-kilter. Among his mathematically audacious fictional strategies, “Problems for Self-Study” casts itself as a series of algebraic equations that attempt to account for the inevitable arc of a marriage, and “32.05864991%” introduces the field of “emotional statistics” and the precision of probability indicated by the word “maybe.” There’s a reversal of Kafka’s Metamorphosis in “Realism,” a story suggesting that what’s commonly accepted as literary realism is unrealistic convention. “The Man Who Became Himself” also takes a Kafkaesque turn in its comic examination of the essence of identity, when a man starts thinking of himself as “he” rather than “I,” as if he is somehow inhabiting the body of another. The closing “Autobiographical Raw Material Unsuitable for the Mining of Fiction” may or may not be autobiographical, may or may not be fiction, and its narrator, “I,” who reads and writes stories, may or may not be the author. In one of the most metaphorically compelling stories here, “Florence” takes the form of science fiction, set a million years from now, when centuries pass in the blink of an eye, and each human exists isolated on his own planet, communicating across the void. The title story might well be the weakest, though the cover it inspires could appeal to the expanding readership for graphic novels, as Yu details the plight of “Moisture Man,” whose powers fail to make the superhero cut. Within these 11 stories, Yu uses language to suggest what language cannot express, as he deals with themes such as the nature of distance, the essence of time and the illusion of self for readers whose attention span has been conditioned more by video games than classic novels.Smart, engaging and often deadpan funny. * Kirkus Review *Issues of identity and insecurity simmer throughout Yu’s debut collection, an imaginative excursion into the burrow Kafka built. In “My Last Days as Me,” the unnamed star of the hit TV show Me and My Mother chafes at the recasting of his onscreen mother and eradicates the line between actor and character. The unnamed man in “Man of Quiet Desperation Goes on Short Vacation” evaluates his existential condition as frequently as a time-obsessed man checks his watch. And in the title story, “Moisture Man” strives to improve his position in the superhero hierarchy, which means constant self-appraisal and comparison to his more successful counterparts (“fireball shooters. A few are ice makers. Half a dozen telepath/empaths”). Yu flirts with formal experimentation--”Problems for Self-Study” unfolds as a complicated multiple choice test, for example--but tempers his fantastical constructions with level prose. (The first two paragraphs of “The Man Who Became Himself” are “He was turning into something unspeakable” and “At the office, people avoided the issue.”) There is abundant humor, though, and Yu allows the reader to feel pathos without patronization; a neat trick, in a compulsively readable collection. * Publishers Weekly *Superhero suggests a cheeky-geeky riff on our comic-book-mad culture, but Yu’s book is actually a piercing survey of ambition, rich with humor, invention, and humanity. In the title story, a minor-league do-gooder he can manipulate atmospheric moisture sells out for a shot at the majors. The ingenious “401(k),” about a married couple nagged by inadequacy, makes subversive use of corporate jargon to skewer commercialized notions of personal fulfillment. In searching for the reasons why “good enough” people feel “not good enough,” Yu emerges as a first-class talent. (the book receives an “A” grade!) * Entertainment Weekly *This unusual debut collection of 11 stories uses an inventive style to probe fundamental questions about modern life from a variety of different perspectives ... These stories read like entries in a private journal, with clever metaphors and philosophical introspections related through absurd situations that capture the vagueness in our lives. Recommended for all collections. * Library Journal *A playful experimentalist probes the limits of fiction in this debut collection.The post-collegiate braininess of many of Yu’s stories is like the music of the Talking Heads, making the familiar seem off-kilter. Among his mathematically audacious fictional strategies, “Problems for Self-Study” casts itself as a series of algebraic equations that attempt to account for the inevitable arc of a marriage, and “32.05864991%” introduces the field of “emotional statistics” and the precision of probability indicated by the word “maybe.” There’s a reversal of Kafka’s Metamorphosis in “Realism,” a story suggesting that what’s commonly accepted as literary realism is unrealistic convention. “The Man Who Became Himself” also takes a Kafkaesque turn in its comic examination of the essence of identity, when a man starts thinking of himself as “he” rather than “I,” as if he is somehow inhabiting the body of another. The closing “Autobiographical Raw Material Unsuitable for the Mining of Fiction” may or may not be autobiographical, may or may not be fiction, and its narrator, “I,” who reads and writes stories, may or may not be the author. In one of the most metaphorically compelling stories here, “Florence” takes the form of science fiction, set a million years from now, when centuries pass in the blink of an eye, and each human exists isolated on his own planet, communicating across the void. The title story might well be the weakest, though the cover it inspires could appeal to the expanding readership for graphic novels, as Yu details the plight of “Moisture Man,” whose powers fail to make the superhero cut. Within these 11 stories, Yu uses language to suggest what language cannot express, as he deals with themes such as the nature of distance, the essence of time and the illusion of self for readers whose attention span has been conditioned more by video games than classic novels.Smart, engaging and often deadpan funny. * Kirkus Review *Issues of identity and insecurity simmer throughout Yu’s debut collection, an imaginative excursion into the burrow Kafka built. In “My Last Days as Me,” the unnamed star of the hit TV show Me and My Mother chafes at the recasting of his onscreen mother and eradicates the line between actor and character. The unnamed man in “Man of Quiet Desperation Goes on Short Vacation” evaluates his existential condition as frequently as a time-obsessed man checks his watch. And in the title story, “Moisture Man” strives to improve his position in the superhero hierarchy, which means constant self-appraisal and comparison to his more successful counterparts (“fireball shooters. A few are ice makers. Half a dozen telepath/empaths”). Yu flirts with formal experimentation – ”Problems for Self-Study” unfolds as a complicated multiple choice test, for example – but tempers his fantastical constructions with level prose. (The first two paragraphs of “The Man Who Became Himself” are “He was turning into something unspeakable” and “At the office, people avoided the issue.”) There is abundant humor, though, and Yu allows the reader to feel pathos without patronization; a neat trick, in a compulsively readable collection. * Publishers Weekly *Superhero suggests a cheeky-geeky riff on our comic-book-mad culture, but Yu’s book is actually a piercing survey of ambition, rich with humor, invention, and humanity. In the title story, a minor-league do-gooder he can manipulate atmospheric moisture sells out for a shot at the majors. The ingenious “401(k),” about a married couple nagged by inadequacy, makes subversive use of corporate jargon to skewer commercialized notions of personal fulfillment. In searching for the reasons why “good enough” people feel “not good enough,” Yu emerges as a first-class talent. (the book receives an “A” grade!) * Entertainment Weekly *This unusual debut collection of 11 stories uses an inventive style to probe fundamental questions about modern life from a variety of different perspectives ... These stories read like entries in a private journal, with clever metaphors and philosophical introspections related through absurd situations that capture the vagueness in our lives. Recommended for all collections. * Library Journal *Table of Contents Acknolwedgements Third Class Superhero 401(k) The Man Who Became Himself Problems for Self-Study My Last Days As Me Two-Player Infinitely Iterated Simultaneous Semi-Cooperative game with Spite and Reputation Realism Florence Man of Quiet desperation Goes on Short Vacation 32.05864991% Autobiographical Raw Material Unsuitable for the Mining of Fiction

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