In the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens, forty years after the world nearly ended, a worn-out robot is attacked, and realizes old evils are stirring
Wrestling with themes of loneliness, connection, and purpose, this hope-punk sci-fi is for fans of Becky Chambers’s Monk & Robot duology—featuring a cyborg dog!
Thirty years ago the world nearly ended.
Be was there, but the old robot has since settled into a life of isolation in the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens, determined to forget their role in that cataclysmic conflict.
But then they wake up in a bathtub. And their leg is missing. And the only one to ask for help is a very chatty cyborg dog. Be may want to forget the world, but it seems the world hasn’t forgotten them.
Forced out of solitude, Be embarks on a quest to reclaim their leg, accompanied by that talkative (read: smart-ass) dog and a human mechanic with nightmares of her own. Their motley crew soon discovers that recovery from the war is uneven and faltering, and Be begins to suspect a malicious hand trying to rekindle old conflicts. In order to stop them, Be needs to come to terms with both their own past and who they have become. Being left alone is no longer an option, and peace may be impossible.
A tale of resilience and hope, this is an ode to those struggling to become whole in a world half-broken.
Suzanne Palmer is an award-winning and acclaimed writer of science fiction. In 2018, she won a Hugo Award for Best Novelette for “The Secret Life of Bots”. Her short fiction has won readers’ awards for Asimov’s, Analog, and Interzone magazines, and has been included in the Locus Recommended Reading List. Her work has also been features in numerous anthologies, and she has twice been a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award and once for the Eugie M. Foster Memorial Award. Palmer has a Fine Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where as a student she was president and head librarian of the UMass Science Fiction Society. She currently lives in western Massachusetts and is a Linux and database system administrator at Smith College. You can find her online at zanzjan.net and on Twitter at @zanzjan.
View titles by Suzanne Palmer
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"Moody and thoughtful but ultimately hopeful; perfect for fans of Murderbot and Monk and Robot." —Caitlin Rozakis, New York Times-bestselling author of Dreadful
"A moving journey from grief and guilt and isolation to reconnection and healing, with plenty of post-apocalyptic action thrown into the mix.”—Jim C. Hines, Author of Slayers of Old
"Full of wit, charm, and electrifying post-apocalyptic adventures. If you're a fan of Murderbot or Fallout (or if you've ever really wanted to know what your four-legged best pal was thinking), hop on the bus with Be and their ragtag band of bots, 'borgs, and biologicals—its a heck of a ride!"— L.M. Sagas, author of Cascade Failure and Gravity Lost
"A symphony to all life and all thought sharing a future, sorely wounded Earth.... From toaster to train, from squishy biolife to that of steel, this story brings us together and demands we be our better selves, or else. A magnificent, transformative accomplishment in every sense." – Julie E. Czerneda, author of To Each This World
In the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens, forty years after the world nearly ended, a worn-out robot is attacked, and realizes old evils are stirring
Wrestling with themes of loneliness, connection, and purpose, this hope-punk sci-fi is for fans of Becky Chambers’s Monk & Robot duology—featuring a cyborg dog!
Thirty years ago the world nearly ended.
Be was there, but the old robot has since settled into a life of isolation in the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens, determined to forget their role in that cataclysmic conflict.
But then they wake up in a bathtub. And their leg is missing. And the only one to ask for help is a very chatty cyborg dog. Be may want to forget the world, but it seems the world hasn’t forgotten them.
Forced out of solitude, Be embarks on a quest to reclaim their leg, accompanied by that talkative (read: smart-ass) dog and a human mechanic with nightmares of her own. Their motley crew soon discovers that recovery from the war is uneven and faltering, and Be begins to suspect a malicious hand trying to rekindle old conflicts. In order to stop them, Be needs to come to terms with both their own past and who they have become. Being left alone is no longer an option, and peace may be impossible.
A tale of resilience and hope, this is an ode to those struggling to become whole in a world half-broken.
Suzanne Palmer is an award-winning and acclaimed writer of science fiction. In 2018, she won a Hugo Award for Best Novelette for “The Secret Life of Bots”. Her short fiction has won readers’ awards for Asimov’s, Analog, and Interzone magazines, and has been included in the Locus Recommended Reading List. Her work has also been features in numerous anthologies, and she has twice been a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award and once for the Eugie M. Foster Memorial Award. Palmer has a Fine Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where as a student she was president and head librarian of the UMass Science Fiction Society. She currently lives in western Massachusetts and is a Linux and database system administrator at Smith College. You can find her online at zanzjan.net and on Twitter at @zanzjan.
View titles by Suzanne Palmer
Rights
Available for sale exclusive:
• Canada
• Guam
• Minor Outl.Ins.
• North Mariana
• Philippines
• Puerto Rico
• Samoa,American
• US Virgin Is.
• USA
Available for sale non-exclusive:
• Afghanistan
• Aland Islands
• Albania
• Algeria
• Andorra
• Angola
• Anguilla
• Antarctica
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Aruba
• Austria
• Azerbaijan
• Bahrain
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Benin
• Bhutan
• Bolivia
• Bonaire, Saba
• Bosnia Herzeg.
• Bouvet Island
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cameroon
• Cape Verde
• Centr.Afr.Rep.
• Chad
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• China
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• Congo
• Cook Islands
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• Croatia
• Cuba
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• Spain
• St Barthelemy
• St.Pier,Miquel.
• Sth Terr. Franc
• Sudan
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• Svalbard
• Sweden
• Switzerland
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• Tadschikistan
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Timor-Leste
• Togo
• Tokelau Islands
• Tunisia
• Turkey
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• Ukraine
• Unit.Arab Emir.
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan
• Vatican City
• Venezuela
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• West Saharan
• Western Samoa
• Yemen
Not available for sale:
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• Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
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• Guyana
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• Jamaica
• Jersey
• Kenya
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• Malaysia
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• Montserrat
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Nauru
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
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• PapuaNewGuinea
• Pitcairn Islnds
• S. Sandwich Ins
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Sri Lanka
• St. Helena
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent
• St.Chr.,Nevis
• Swaziland
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Trinidad,Tobago
• Turks&Caicos Is
• Tuvalu
• Uganda
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Praise
"Moody and thoughtful but ultimately hopeful; perfect for fans of Murderbot and Monk and Robot." —Caitlin Rozakis, New York Times-bestselling author of Dreadful
"A moving journey from grief and guilt and isolation to reconnection and healing, with plenty of post-apocalyptic action thrown into the mix.”—Jim C. Hines, Author of Slayers of Old
"Full of wit, charm, and electrifying post-apocalyptic adventures. If you're a fan of Murderbot or Fallout (or if you've ever really wanted to know what your four-legged best pal was thinking), hop on the bus with Be and their ragtag band of bots, 'borgs, and biologicals—its a heck of a ride!"— L.M. Sagas, author of Cascade Failure and Gravity Lost
"A symphony to all life and all thought sharing a future, sorely wounded Earth.... From toaster to train, from squishy biolife to that of steel, this story brings us together and demands we be our better selves, or else. A magnificent, transformative accomplishment in every sense." – Julie E. Czerneda, author of To Each This World
