“An uneasy read that manages to feel both timely and urgent…” Liz Jensen, The Guardian.
The United States a century in the future. As a result of climate change, powerful hurricanes hit the east coast every year, each time a little further north. And large areas of the southern half of the US have insufficient water, meaning that many towns and cities, and whole swathes of farmland, are no longer viable. Each year a steady stream of refugees from southern states heads north, but they meet an increasingly frosty welcome, and some northern states are threatening frontier controls to keep them out.
Holly Peacock, a bright young British PR professional who has settled in the US, begins to work for a charismatic US Senator called Stephen Slaymaker, who rose from poverty via army service in Africa, to build up one of America’s largest trucking businesses. Slaymaker is campaigning for a huge government-funded programme to shift the American population northwards, and so prevent the north-south divide from tearing America apart. When Slaymaker stands for President, this Reconfigure America programme is at the core of his platform and Holly’s job is to win support for it.
But how to sell the idea to northern voters that they should welcome in millions of refugees from the south, and pay for it too in their taxes? Working closely with Slaymaker, Holly finds a way, but it involves fighting dirty and has catastrophic consequences which she didn’t anticipate at all.
You mention a connection between this and the Eden trilogy. Will we see the theft of the Defiant, perhaps?
Afraid not, but that’s in the short story ‘Dark Eden’ which is in my collection, The Turing Test.
Hi Chris,
I came to check your blog to see if you have anything new coming out and am pleasantly surprised. Looking forward to it. You must write fast!
Do you think you will release another book of short stories?
Okay, I just saw Spring Tide! Answered my own question…
Yes, two books up and ready to go. Unusual for me!
This sounds so interesting and I’m very excited for it.
Even though I absolutely loved Dark Eden and Mother and am still looking forward to reading Daughter, I’m really glad you’re not staying in Eden.
Obviously if you decide to return to Eden sometime in the future that would be good too, but for now I think you’re too good an author to get ‘stuck’ in one set of stories.
‘Don’t get stuck in one set of stories!’, as Mother Gela always said. 😀
Good luck with the upcoming release!
Thanks Marty. That’s a really encouraging message, and much appreciated. And the new saying from Gela made me laugh!
Quit Eden while you’re still ahead, I thought. There must be a reason why everyone knows the word trilogy and no one knows the word tetralogy!
Oh, i do hope you return to Eden someday!! I’d like to know about little Fox and the man ge becomes, and of course Starlight’s child with Greenstone! And True Heart and her adventures on Earth!!
Well, I’m very pleased you like Eden so much Karen. It means a lot to me. There are of course endless tales that could be told. No plans for another novel, I’m afraid. As I’ve mentioned before, I sometimes think it would be fun to do a collection of short stories set on Eden.
I had to visit your pages because when reading “America City” I came across the word “aluminum” and thought then that you must be from America your self. Any reason ?
I’m English. I decided to use American spelling for this book because of its subject. it seemed like a good idea at the time!