Liminal States

The debut novel from Zack Parsons (My Tank is Fight!) is a mind-bending journey through time and genres. Beginning in 1874, with a blood-soaked western story of revenge, Liminal States follows a trio of characters through a 1950s noir detective story and 21st-century sci-fi horror. Their paths are tragically intertwined and their choices have far-reaching consequences for the course of American history.From Publishers Weekly(Starred Review) SomethingAwful.com editor Parsons (My Tank Is Fight!) whips up an awe-inspiring, helter-skelter journey through mind-blowing SF, western dime novel, noir mystery, and near-future dystopian horror that somehow manages to become a cohesive, thought-provoking whole. Gideon Long is a brutal and brutalized man who is in the process of getting himself shot in 1874 when he stumbles onto a pool that will create a copy of him every time he dies. Warren Groves, husband of Long’s lover Annie, becomes Long’s unwilling partner in resurrection, and the two have an uneasy history down the years. In the 1950s, Warren meets a woman who looks just like Annie, and events begin spinning out of control as the mysterious pool turns out to have its own agenda. There’s no way a novel with this many moving parts should hold together, but it does, and even readers initially daunted by the jumble will soon be glad to go wherever Parsons takes them. (Apr.)Review"Parsons's debut is a tour-de-force, a justifiably showy demonstration of the author's chameleon-like ability to write in several genres all at once, and it emerges as one of the scariest and bleakest tales I can remember." - Cory Doctorow, bestselling author of Little Brother"LIMINAL STATES is a beautiful, fascinating, and engrossing novel. The characters are rich, their destinies intertwined over more than one lifespan; the setting is lavish with well-researched and utterly convincing details. This book will capture you." - Kevin J. Anderson, bestselling author of Sisterhood of Dune"Of all the books you read this year, Liminal States may just be the most ambitious and rewarding of all." - Nick Sharps, SF Signal"LIMINAL STATES delivers scenes full of dark meaning and crazy intensity. There's really nothing else quite like it, and adventurous readers are urged to seek it out." - Michael Berry, San Francisco Chronicle"With LIMINAL STATES, Zack Parsons establishes himself as an exciting and compelling new writer. I heartily recommend LIMINAL STATES especially if a mashup of westerns and noir and dystopian horror is something that appeals to you." - Rajan Khanna, Tor.com