Today and tomorrow you can still preorder the hardcover of QUANTUM MORTIS A Man Disrupted for $14.99. This is a 35 percent discount from the retail price of $22.99 and it also includes a free copy of the $4.99 ebook, so if you even suspect you may eventually want a print copy, this would be right the time to do it. As you can see, Kirk has already finished the jacket, so it should be apparent that in addition to symbolically serving as the bluest of Blue SF, the hardcovers will arrive in plenty of time for Christmas.
As one of the early reviewers has observed, by modern standards A MAN DISRUPTED is an impossible book. It violates many, if not most, of the fundamental precepts of modern Pink SF. It is a subversion of the subversion.
The story begins with Tower offering his help to Hildreth, the beautiful policewoman in charge of the case. Both Tower and Hildreth are assisted by their respective ever-present AI ‘augments’. His interest in her is clear from the outset, creating a warm atmosphere that sometimes borders on adolescent merry naiveté. He is happy to go out of his way to lend a hand and she is happy to accept. But if you know anything about the authors you know that this cannot be the story of the white knight, the damsel in distress, and the happy ending that was in plain sight from page one. For the same reason it cannot be an ode to the strong empowered independent fighting female that needs no man. It cannot be the story of the loser antihero, or the invincible superhero, for that matter. So, obviously, this book is impossible; at least, inside the hegemonic frame of political correctness.
If you find Pink SF to be tedious and repetitive, if you wonder whatever happened to the exciting futures that were created by authors like William Gibson and Neal Stephenson, or you find it impossible to believe that novels like The Quantum Rose and Redshirts are truly the best and most intriguing that the world of SF has to offer, there is at least a reasonable chance that you’ll find QUANTUM MORTIS to be worth your while.