JOY: A Novel of the New Frontier: 1 - Softcover

Evett, B.R.M.

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798988340706

Publisher: Sleeping Dog Press, 2023

Synopsis

Shortlisted for the 2024 Rubery Book Award. "This is a propulsive, post-apocalyptic thriller that touches on some fascinating philosophical issues."

A hurricane strikes the Elysium Spa, and a gentle android named Tender can only save one of his guests – a fifteen-year-old girl named Virgo. She has the innocence of an infant – the Spa guests are born, reproduce, and die in scientifically calibrated baths that keep them in a state of perpetual ecstasy, called Joy. She has never walked, or spoken, or had a cogent thought.

Tender’s sole purpose is to return Virgo to the state of bliss that is her birthright. He takes her on a journey across a post-American landscape depopulated by war, famine, and plague. On the road, they meet other travelers on the New Frontier, including a scientist in search of life’s greatest secret, a group of First Nations warriors seeking to reclaim their stolen land, and a young power thief fleeing forced labor, looking for a better life and his lost family.

As Tender and Virgo struggle to survive, they face a choice — embrace this painful, beautiful world, or return her to an existence of mindless, but perfect, Joy.

About this title

About the Author

B.R.M. Evett spent his life as a professional actor working in theaters around the world. His play Albatross, co-written with Matthew Spangler, was nominated for the 2015 Elliot Norton Award. He grew up in beautiful Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He now lives by a quiet pond outside of Boston with his wife and their dog, Zeppo. He studied Classics at Harvard College. Joy is his first novel.

Edition details

• Publisher: Sleeping Dog Press
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798988340706
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 409