Chuck Wendig
All Books By Chuck Wendig
Aftermath: Star Wars
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Marc Thompson
- Length: 12 hours 15 minutes
- Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
- Publish date: January 01, 2015
- Language: English
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens
“Star Wars: Aftermath [reveals] what happened after the events of 1983’s Return of the Jedi. It turns out, there’s more than just the Empire for the good guys to worry about.”—The Hollywood Reporter
As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance—now a fledgling New Republic—presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy’s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy’s strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but he’s taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders.
Meanwhile, on the planet’s surface, former rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native world—war weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles’s urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn’t know is just how close the enemy is—or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be.
Determined to preserve the Empire’s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit—to consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven’t reckoned on Norra and her newfound allies—her technical-genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate Imperial defector—who are prepared to do whatever they must to end the Empire’s oppressive reign once and for all.
Praise for Aftermath
“The Force is strong with Star Wars: Aftermath.”—Alternative Nation
“The Star Wars universe is fresh and new again, and just as rich and mysterious as it always was.”—Den of Geek
“[Chuck] Wendig neatly captures the current states of the Empire and Rebel Alliance and does so through flawed, real, and nuanced characters. His writing gets you up close and personal. . . . Wendig does wonders with dialogue and voice and carving out space for everyone to breathe. Aftermath is a strong foot forward into unexplored territory and puts down just enough foundation that you can start picturing the Resistance and First Order of The Force Awakens taking shape.”—Nerdist
“If the opening chapter of the Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy is any indication, the ‘Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ will be every bit as exciting as the movie.”—New York Daily News
“A wonderful Star Wars adventure by a gifted author.”—SF Book Reviews
Beware of Owner
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Ramon de Ocampo
- Length: 8 minutes
- Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
- Publish date: February 11, 2020
- Language: English
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3.29(51 ratings)
Trespassers have to learn their lesson in “Beware of Owner” a short horror story by New York Times bestselling author Chuck Wendig, one of 35 entries in the audio horror anthology Come Join Us by the Fire.
Come Join Us by the Fire, edited by Theresa DeLucci, is an audio-only horror anthology of 35 short stories from Nightfire Books, a horror imprint of Tor Books. The collection showcases the breadth of talent writing in the horror genre today, with contributions from a wide range of bestselling genre luminaries including China Mieville, Chuck Wendig, Richard Kadrey, and Victor LaValle; Shirley Jackson Award winners Paul Tremblay, Priya Sharma, and Sam J. Miller; Nebula Award winners Brooke Bolander, Alyssa Wong, Kij Johnson; and many, many more.
... Read moreDamn Fine Story
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Length: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
- Publish date: July 18, 2018
- Language: English
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4.39(1170 ratings)
Hook Your Audience with Unforgettable Storytelling!
What do Luke Skywalker, John McClane, and a lonely dog on Ho’okipa Beach have in common?
Simply put, we care about them.
Great storytelling is making readers care about your characters, the choices they make, and what happens to them. It’s making your audience feel the tension and emotion of a situation right alongside your protagonist. And to tell a damn fine story, you need to understand why and how that caring happens.
Using a mix of personal stories, pop fiction examples, and traditional storytelling terms, New York Times bestselling author Chuck Wendig will help you internalize the feel of powerful storytelling. In Damn Fine Story, you’ll explore: Fretytag’s Pyramid for visualizing story structure-and when to break away from traditional storytelling forms; character relationships and interactions as the basis of every strong plot-no matter the form or genre; rising and falling tension that pulls the audience through to the climax and conclusion of the story; and developing themes as a way to craft characters with depth.
Whether you’re writing a novel, screenplay, video game, comic, or even if you just like to tell stories to your friends and family over dinner, this funny and informative guide is chock-full of examples about the art and craft of storytelling-and how to write a damn fine story of your own.
Dust & Grim
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Rachel Jacobs
- Length: 8 hours 35 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: October 19, 2021
- Language: English
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3.75(496 ratings)
Thirteen-year-old Molly doesn’t know how she got the short end of the stick–being raised by her neglectful father–while Dustin, the older brother she’s never met, got their mother and the keys to the family estate. But now the siblings are both orphaned, she’s come home for her inheritance, and if Dustin won’t welcome her into the family business, then she’ll happily take her half in cash.
There’s just one problem: the family business is a mortuary for monsters, and Molly’s not sure she’s ready to deal with mysterious doors, talking wolves, a rogue devourer of magic, and a secret cemetery. It’s going to take all of Dustin’s stuffy supernatural knowledge and Molly’s most heroic cosplay (plus a little help from non-human friends) for the siblings to figure it out and save the day… if only they can get along for five minutes.
Bestselling author Chuck Wendig’s middle grade debut is equal parts spooky, funny, and heartfelt–perfect for Halloween and year-round reading!
Empire’s End: Aftermath (Star Wars)
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Marc Thompson
- Length: 3 hours 40 minutes
- Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
- Publish date: January 01, 2017
- Language: English
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Following Star Wars: Aftermath and Star Wars: Life Debt, Chuck Wendig delivers the exhilarating conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy set in the years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
EVERY END IS A NEW BEGINNING.
As the final showdown between the New Republic and the Empire draws near, all eyes turn to a once-isolated planet: Jakku.
The Battle of Endor shattered the Empire, scattering its remaining forces across the galaxy. But the months following the Rebellion’s victory have not been easy. The fledgling New Republic has suffered a devastating attack from the Imperial remnant, forcing the new democracy to escalate its hunt for the hidden enemy.
For her role in the deadly ambush, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane is the most wanted Imperial war criminal—and one-time rebel pilot Norra Wexley, back in service at Leia’s urgent request, is leading the hunt. But more than just loyalty to the New Republic drives Norra forward: Her husband was turned into a murderous pawn in Sloane’s assassination plot, and now she wants vengeance as much as justice.
Sloane, too, is on a furious quest: pursuing the treacherous Gallius Rax to the barren planet Jakku. As the true mastermind behind the Empire’s devastating attack, Rax has led the Empire to its defining moment. The cunning strategist has gathered the powerful remnants of the Empire’s war machine, preparing to execute the late Emperor Palpatine’s final plan. As the Imperial fleet orbits Jakku, an armada of Republic fighters closes in to finish what began at Endor. Norra and her crew soar into the heart of an apocalyptic clash that will leave land and sky alike scorched. And the future of the galaxy will finally be decided.
Praise for Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath
“Star Wars: Aftermath [reveals] what happened after the events of 1983’s Return of the Jedi. It turns out, there’s more than just the Empire for the good guys to worry about.”—The Hollywood Reporter
“The Force is strong with Star Wars: Aftermath.”—Alternative Nation
“The Star Wars universe is fresh and new again, and just as rich and mysterious as it always was.”—Den of Geek!
Aftermath: Life Debt
“Compulsively readable, the kind of caramel-corn book you just keep stuffing in your face until it’s gone.”—Tordotcom
“Man oh man, this is good stuff. [Life Debt] reveals what Han and Chewie were up to after Return of the Jedi.”—io9
“Gripping reading . . . [This novel] hits the ground running.”—New York Daily News
... Read moreGentle Writing Advice
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Adam Verner
- Length: 6 hours 51 minutes
- Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
- Publish date: January 01, 2023
- Language: English
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4.3(64 ratings)
Finally–a book of writing advice that accounts for all of the messy, perverse, practical, and inexplicable parts of being a human who writes
The truth is that all of the “writing rules” you’ve learned are bullshit. Sure, they work for some people, but the likelihood that they’ll work for you–unique butterfly of a person that you are–is slim.
That doesn’t mean you’re out of luck! There is meaningful advice to be had in the writing world, and Chuck Wendig is here to deliver it. In this hilarious guide, Wendig will help you discover more about yourself as a writer, parse through your quirks and foibles, and help you figure out the best way for you to get words on the page–without destroying yourself along the way.
With behind-the-scenes stories of Wendig’s own writing struggles, sections on debunking popular advice, self-care tips, and more footnotes than are strictly necessary (or legally recommended by scientists), Gentle Writing Advice will give the unvarnished truth about the writing process and remind you of what’s actually important–taking care of the writer. (That’s you, by the way.)
Invasive
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Xe Sands
- Length: 9 hours 28 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: August 16, 2016
- Language: English
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3.69(2214 ratings)
“Think Thomas Harris’ Will Graham and Clarice Starling rolled into one and pitched on the knife’s edge of a scenario that makes Jurassic Park look like a carnival ride. Another rip-roaring, deeply paranoid thriller about the reasons to fear the future.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Hannah Stander is a consultant for the FBI–a futurist who helps the Agency with cases that feature demonstrations of bleeding-edge technology. It’s her job to help them identify unforeseen threats: hackers, AIs, genetic modification, anything that in the wrong hands could harm the homeland.
Hannah is in an airport, waiting to board a flight home to see her family, when she receives a call from Agent Hollis Copper. “I’ve got a cabin full of over a thousand dead bodies,” he tells her. Whether those bodies are all human, he doesn’t say.
What Hannah finds is a horrifying murder that points to the impossible–someone weaponizing the natural world in a most unnatural way. Discovering who–and why–will take her on a terrifying chase from the Arizona deserts to the secret island laboratory of a billionaire inventor/philanthropist. Hannah knows there are a million ways the world can end, but she just might be facing one she could never have predicted–a new threat both ancient and cutting-edge that could wipe humanity off the earth.
... Read moreLife Debt: Aftermath (Star Wars)
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Marc Thompson
- Length: 15 hours 30 minutes
- Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
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3.73(14706 ratings)
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Set between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, the never-before-told story that began with Star Wars: Aftermath continues in this thrilling novel, the second book of Chuck Wendig’s bestselling trilogy.
It is a dark time for the Empire. . . .
The Emperor is dead, and the remnants of his former Empire are in retreat. As the New Republic fights to restore a lasting peace to the galaxy, some dare to imagine new beginnings and new destinies. For Han Solo, that means settling his last outstanding debt, by helping Chewbacca liberate the Wookiee’s homeworld of Kashyyyk.
Meanwhile, Norra Wexley and her band of Imperial hunters pursue Grand Admiral Rae Sloane and the Empire’s remaining leadership across the galaxy. Even as more and more officers are brought to justice, Sloane continues to elude the New Republic, and Norra fears Sloane may be searching for a means to save the crumbling Empire from oblivion. But the hunt for Sloane is cut short when Norra receives an urgent request from Princess Leia Organa. The attempt to liberate Kashyyyk has carried Han Solo, Chewbacca, and a band of smugglers into an ambush—resulting in Chewie’s capture and Han’s disappearance.
Breaking away from their official mission and racing toward the Millennium Falcon’s last known location, Norra and her crew prepare for any challenge that stands between them and their missing comrades. But they can’t anticipate the true depth of the danger that awaits them—or the ruthlessness of the enemy drawing them into his crosshairs.
Praise for Aftermath: Life Debt
“Star Wars: Aftermath: Life Debt has found its place at the top of all the new canon works. Simply, outstandingly great Star Wars.”—Star Wars Post
“[Chuck] Wendig once again strikes gold, offering a sweeping narrative with plenty of insight into both the state of the galaxy at large and beloved characters both new and old.”—Alternative Nation
“With an intense plot, political intrigue and great characterization, Wendig’s Aftermath: Life Debt is an excellent read.”—Flickering Myth
Praise for Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath
“Star Wars: Aftermath [reveals] what happened after the events of 1983’s Return of the Jedi. It turns out, there’s more than just the Empire for the good guys to worry about.”—The Hollywood Reporter
“The Force is strong with Star Wars: Aftermath.”—Alternative Nation
“The Star Wars universe is fresh and new again, and just as rich and mysterious as it always was.”—Den of Geek
Putting the Science in Fiction
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Length: 11 hours 7 minutes
- Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
- Publish date: February 12, 2019
- Language: English
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4.21(252 ratings)
Science and technology have starring roles in a wide range of genres-science fiction, fantasy, thriller, mystery, and more. Unfortunately, many depictions of technical subjects in literature, film, and television are pure fiction. A basic understanding of biology, physics, engineering, and medicine will help you create more realistic stories that satisfy discerning readers.
This book brings together scientists, physicians, engineers, and other experts to help you:
– Understand the basic principles of science, technology, and medicine that are frequently featured in fiction.
– Avoid common pitfalls and misconceptions to ensure technical accuracy.
– Write realistic and compelling scientific elements that will captivate readers.
– Brainstorm and develop new science- and technology-based story ideas.
Whether writing about mutant monsters, rogue viruses, giant spaceships, or even murders and espionage, Putting the Science in Fiction will have something to help every writer craft better fiction.
The Book of Accidents
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Xe Sands
- Length: 16 hours 48 minutes
- Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
- Publish date: January 01, 2021
- Language: English
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers
LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • “The dread, the scope, the pacing, the turns—I haven’t felt all this so intensely since The Shining.”—Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Public Library, Library Journal
Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.
Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.
Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.
Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.
And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.
This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.
... Read moreThe Complete Double Dead
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Chuck Wendig
- Length: 13 hours 19 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: May 24, 2018
- Language: English
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3.88(199 ratings)
A Vampire in Zombieland. You wouldn’t like Coburn. People don’t, as a rule; he’s not a nice man. And that’s okay, because he doesn’t like people much either. People are food. You see, Coburn’s a vampire, and has been for close on a century. Five years ago, Coburn went to sleep – wasn’t exactly planned – and he’s just woken up to find most everybody in the world dead. And not cool, interesting dead like him; oh, no. Coburn looks basically human, and these guys… really don’t. He likes blood, and they like flesh. He’s smart; them, not so much. But they outnumber him by about a million to one, and their clotted blood cannot sustain him. Now he’s starving, and on the run, and more pissed-off than a beestung rattlesnake. The vampire has to find blood, soon, and – like it or not – he’s gonna have to keep an eye on the frail flesh-bags he finds it in. Time for the wolf to turn shepherd. No, Coburn doesn’t like people. But he’s gonna have to learn to. The Complete Double Dead collects Chuck Wendig’s first novel and the follow-up novella, Bad Blood. Follow Coburn as he runs a gauntlet of supermarket cannibals, juggalos, super-zombies, and a ketamine-trip cult of zombie-worshipping New Age weirdos. It’s a road that’ll take him right back to himself, and onto the trail of his own vampiric sire. And on the way, he’ll become something entirely new.
... Read moreThis Guy
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Ramon de Ocampo
- Length: 9 minutes
- Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
- Publish date: February 11, 2020
- Language: English
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3.33(66 ratings)
“This Guy” is a short horror story by New York Times bestselling author Chuck Wendig, one of 35 entries in the audio horror anthology Come Join Us by the Fire.
A man begins losing time, but the one thing he always remembers is that guy he kills every single day.
Come Join Us by the Fire, edited by Theresa DeLucci, is an audio-only horror anthology of 35 short stories from Nightfire Books, a horror imprint of Tor Books. The collection showcases the breadth of talent writing in the horror genre today, with contributions from a wide range of bestselling genre luminaries including China Mieville, Chuck Wendig, Richard Kadrey, and Victor LaValle; Shirley Jackson Award winners Paul Tremblay, Priya Sharma, and Sam J. Miller; Nebula Award winners Brooke Bolander, Alyssa Wong, Kij Johnson; and many, many more.
... Read moreUnclean Spirits
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Chuck Wendig
- Length: 8 hours 47 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: October 20, 2017
- Language: English
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3.64(539 ratings)
Life begins when your boss is killed. For five years, Cason Cole has been a chew toy for a god. He walked away from his wife and son and devoted his life to a predator who holds nothing and no-one dear. Now, as the man he loves and hates lies dying at his feet, the explosion still ringing in his ears, Cason is finally free. For centuries, the swarming gods of the Earth were content to lounge in Heaven, forgetting the mortals they left behind; but thirty years ago, the all-powerful “Usurper” ejected them all, to a man and woman. Now it’s back to the bad old days: cults and sycophants, and the terrible retribution the gods visit on those who defy them. None of which is going to stop Cason from getting back what’s his…
... Read moreWanderers
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 32 hours 21 minutes
- Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
- Publish date: January 01, 2019
- Language: English
A decadent rock star. A deeply religious radio host. A disgraced scientist. And a teenage girl who may be the world’s last hope. From the mind of Chuck Wendig comes “a magnum opus . . . a story about survival that’s not just about you and me, but all of us, together” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
NOMINATED FOR THE BRAM STOKER AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, The Guardian, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Polygon
Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other “shepherds” who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.
For as the sleepwalking phenomenon awakens terror and violence in America, the real danger may not be the epidemic but the fear of it. With society collapsing all around them—and an ultraviolent militia threatening to exterminate them—the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart—or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.
In development for TV by Glen Mazzara, executive producer of The Walking Dead • Look for the sequel, Wayward, now available!
“This career-defining epic deserves its inevitable comparisons to Stephen King’s The Stand.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A suspenseful, twisty, satisfying, surprising, thought-provoking epic.”—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Run Away
“A true tour de force.”—Erin Morgenstern, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus
“A masterpiece with prose as sharp and heartbreaking as Station Eleven.”—Peng Shepherd, author of The Book of M
“A magnum opus . . . It reminded me of Stephen King’s The Stand—but dare I say, this story is even better.”—James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crucible
“An inventive, fierce, uncompromising, stay-up-way-past-bedtime masterwork.”—Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World
“An American epic for these times.”—Charles Soule, author of The Oracle Year
... Read moreWayward
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Xe Sands
- Length: 34 hours 12 minutes
- Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
- Publish date: January 01, 2022
- Language: English
“If King had written a sequel to The Stand, it might look something like this monumental epic of a story.”—James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Kingdom of Bones
“As great as Wanderers was, Wayward is better.”—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones
Five years ago, ordinary Americans fell under the grip of a strange new malady that caused them to sleepwalk across the country to a destination only they knew. They were followed on their quest by the shepherds: friends and family who gave up everything to protect them.
Their secret destination: Ouray, a small town in Colorado that would become one of the last outposts of civilization. Because the sleepwalking epidemic was only the first in a chain of events that led to the end of the world—and the birth of a new one.
The survivors, sleepwalkers and shepherds alike, have a dream of rebuilding human society. Among them are Benji, the scientist struggling through grief to lead the town; Marcy, the former police officer who wants only to look after the people she loves; and Shana, the teenage girl who became the first shepherd—and an unlikely hero whose courage will be needed again.
Because the people of Ouray are not the only survivors, and the world they are building is fragile. The forces of cruelty and brutality are amassing under the leadership of self-proclaimed president Ed Creel. And in the very heart of Ouray, the most powerful survivor of all is plotting its own vision for the new world: Black Swan, the A.I. who imagined the apocalypse.
Against these threats, Benji, Marcy, Shana, and the rest have only one hope: one another. Because the only way to survive the end of the world is together.
... Read moreZeroes
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrator: Ray Chase
- Length: 12 hours 24 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: January 26, 2016
- Language: English
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3.63(3253 ratings)
An exhilarating thrill-ride through the underbelly of cyber espionage in the vein of David Ignatius’s The Director and the television series Leverage, CSI: Cyber, and Person of Interest, which follows five iconoclastic hackers who are coerced into serving the U.S. government.
An Anonymous-style rabble rouser, an Arab spring hactivist, a black-hat hacker, an old-school cipherpunk, and an online troll are each offered a choice: go to prison or help protect the United States, putting their brains and skills to work for the government for one year.
But being a white-hat doesn’t always mean you work for the good guys. The would-be cyberspies discover that behind the scenes lurks a sinister NSA program, an artificial intelligence code-named Typhon, that has origins and an evolution both dangerous and disturbing. And if it’s not brought down, will soon be uncontrollable.
Can the hackers escape their federal watchers and confront Typhon and its mysterious creator? And what does the government really want them to do? If they decide to turn the tables, will their own secrets be exposed–and their lives erased like lines of bad code?
Combining the scientific-based, propulsive narrative style of Michael Crichton with the eerie atmosphere and conspiracy themes of The X-Files and the imaginative, speculative edge of Neal Stephenson and William Gibson, Zer0es explores our deep-seated fears about government surveillance and hacking in an inventive fast-paced novel sure to earn Chuck Wendig the widespread acclaim he deserves.
... Read more