In an effort to get some reviews of Kismet right off the bat, I’d like to offer some advance reading copies (ARCs) to people who think they might be able to read it within the next month and, ideally, get a review posted roughly in the week after January 17th. (That’s when I anticipate the book going live on Amazon; if that changes, I’ll update this thread.) Amazon reviews in the first week really influence sales. Goodreads reviews also help. Nothing prevents you from publishing a review in both places, of course, as well as on your own blog or whatever you’d like.
Here’s the blurb and more information:
The River: a hodgepodge of arcologies and platforms in a band around Ceres full of dreamers, utopians, corporatists—and transformed humans, from those with simple biomods to the exotic alien xenos and the totemics, remade with animal aspects. Gail Simmons, an itinerant salvor living aboard her ship Kismet, has docked everywhere totemics like her are welcome…and a few places they’re not.
But when she’s accused of stealing a databox from a mysterious wreck, Gail lands in the crosshairs of corporations, governments and anti-totemic terrorists. Finding the real thieves is the easy part. To get her life back, Gail will have to face her past—and what’s at stake may be more than just her future.
Kismet takes place about ten years after the short story “Tow” (from The Furry Future) and shares the same protagonist. While I aimed for a hard science fiction feel, it’s a character-driven story about identity, transhumanism and what defines home. The novel came out of the CSSF Novel Writers Workshop, a residential workshop at the University of Kansas led by Kij Johnson.
It’s easy for me to provide ebook versions for whatever ebook reader you have. I’m going to tryto provide print ARCs for people who really need that, but that’s going to be up to the publisher (hi Fuzz!).
And last but not least, ARCs will be sent out free, although if you want to buy the book afterward I won’t stop you. The print release will be at Further Confusion 2017.