The Planetbreaker's Son

Upending and recombining familiar genres with fearless abandon, Nick Mamatas is known for his wicked satires in which Horror rides shotgun with SF as they power through Fantasy’s rush-hour traffic. Lanes are crossed, speed limits exceeded, and minds often blown.

Our title piece, original to this volume, is something entirely new. Trust me. “The Planetbreaker’s Son” is a starship novella in which interstellar emigrants maintain their stadium-sized vessel with dreams and play. On the fly. Think Pinocchio meets Ender’s Game.

“Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring” is a cautionary tale about the perilous interface between ancient wizardry and modern ringtones. And it’s for you. “The Term Paper Artist” is Nick’s celebrated and hilarious how-to on embellishing the academic establishment with equal parts imitation and duct tape. Based on a true story of lies.

And Featuring: of course, our casually candid Outspoken Interview, in which Greek sailors, Japanese manga mavens, Doc Martens, Lovecraft, Grandma, and Kerouac mingle and mix. Care to dance?

Praise:

“One of the most inventive, fascinating, and dis­tinctive voices in the field.”
—Locus Magazine

“Mamatas is a powerfully acerbic writer, both in fiction and online. His acid wit is infamous.”
—Cory Doctorow

“Mamatas at his best. Makes me laugh. Makes me drop things. Makes me read on. Makes me run for cover.”
—Terry Bisson, author of Bears Discover Fire

“Mamatas is such a great novelist that it’s easy to forget he also writes superb short stories.”
—LitReactor

“Nick Mamatas is the gadfly that makes the horse buck whip-smart and no bullshit and with one hell of a bite.”
—Brian Evenson, author of The Warren and A Collapse of Horses

“How does speculative fiction retain its relevance in an era when daily events feel fictitious and the mere possibility of a future seems speculative? If anyone knows the answer, it’s Nick Mamatas.”
—Jarett Kobek, author of I Hate the Internet

About the Author:

Nick Mamatas is an author, anthologist, editor, and bookseller living in Oakland, California. His early nonfiction about digital culture and politics appeared in magazines such as New Observations, Artbyte, and the Village Voice. Nick’s first novel, Move Under Ground crossed the voice of the Beat movement with the themes of H.P. Lovecraft and became an instant cult classic. His other novels include the radical noir Love Is the Law, the satirical science fiction title Under My Roof, and the PM Press novel Sensation, which both prefigured and predicted the rise and fall of the Occupy movement. Nick’s fiction and editorial work has won the Bram Stoker Award and has been nominated for four other Stokers, two World Fantasy awards, two Hugo awards, two Locus Awards, and a Shirley Jackson award.

See and hear interviews, book reviews, and other news on Nick Mamatas's page HERE.

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