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Nucleation
Kimberly Unger
“Recommended for fans of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon and Martha Wells’ Murderbot series.” —Booklist
Helen Vectorovich holds the unique distinction of failing at first contact—and she did it in both virtual reality and outer space. In this exciting debut science fiction technothriller, a top-notch pilot encounters a disaster during the highest profile space-faring project of her career. Was her discovery due to a betrayal, a business rival, or a threat to humanity itself?
“A thriller that kept me occupied for days.” —Lightspeed Magazine
“Recommended for fans of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon and Martha Wells’ Murderbot series.”
—Booklist
In this riveting debut science-fiction technothriller, a top-notch VR pilot encounters a disaster during the highest profile space-faring project of her career. Now she must unearth a critical truth: was her discovery due to a betrayal, a business rival, or a threat to humanity itself?
We are live, we are live, we are live. . .
Helen Vectorvich just botched first contact. And she did it in both virtual reality and outer space.
Only the most elite Far Reaches deep-space pilots get to run waldos: robots controlled from thousands of lightyears away via neural integration and quantum entanglement. Helen and her navigator were heading the construction of a wormhole gate that would connect Earth to the stars . . . until a routine system check turned deadly.
As nasty rumors swarm around her, and overeager junior pilots jockey to take her place, Helen makes a startling discovery: microscopic alien life is devouring their corporate equipment. Is the Scale just mindless, extra-terrestrial bacteria? Or is it working—and killing—with a purpose?
While Helen struggles to get back into the pilot’s chair, and to communicate with the Scale, someone—or something—is trying to sabotage the Far Reaches project once and for all. They’ll have to get through Helen first.
***
Check out Kimberly Unger’s avatars reading from the first chapter of her debut novel. Look for the other five parts on Tachyon Publications YouTube channel.
2020 Washington Post Gift Guide 2020 UK Independent Gift Guide
“A superb, smart debut! Love this woman who has to fight her way back to the top using her intelligence and expertise. The confident, sharp details made me feel I was there, in Helen’s head, at each step of her remarkable journey. I can’t wait to read more from Unger, a welcome new voice in science fiction.”
—Lissa Price, internationally bestselling author of the Starters series
“Helen is a nervy and compelling main character, and it’s enjoyable to experience this story through her perspective. This debut novel is recommended for fans of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon (2003) and Martha Wells’ Murderbot series, as well as for readers who like their cutting-edge technology with a bit of danger on the side.”
—Booklist
“VERDICT: Unger’s video game credits are well matched to this space adventure. Dialog among rivals, teammates, and machine interfaces keeps the story moving quickly. Recommended for fans of technothrillers and those who appreciate a strong lead character navigating readers through the technical bits. —Library Journal
“This smart, gripping debut weaves technology, embodiment, and corporate espionage into a tense vision of the future that readers won’t be able to put down.”
—Jacqueline Koyanagi, author of Ascension
“An inventive, exciting page turner that mixes mystery, bleeding edge technological speculation, and the promise of a potential sequel. If Grisham was a better wordsmith and chose to write hard sf thrillers, it would look a lot like Kimberly Unger’s gripping Nucleation.
—Charles Gannon, author of the Caine Riordan series.
“Unger moves the reader from one vivid scene to the next, skillfully weaving in context and background . . . The verdict: A spectacular debut novel, at once thoughtful and exciting, packed with innovative ideas and plot twists.”
—Deborah J. Ross, author of Collaborators
“Nucleation is a cool twist on the New Space Opera. Full of great ideas and combining elements of cyberpunk and space opera, it’s a fun ride from start to finish.”
—Karl Schroeder, author of Stealing Worlds
“In technology we so often look to science fiction for inspiration. Kimberly Unger is the rare author with a foot in both worlds and it shows as she gives a thrilling glimpse into the future with Nucleation.”
—Andrew Bosworth, Vice President of Augmented and Virtual Reality, Facebook
“Nucleation delivers top-notch suspense, deftly weaving together industrial espionage and first contact in a futuristic world that is all too plausible. Unger brings to her world a special sensibility for human psychology that gives realism to futuristic nanotech and corporate politics alike.”
—Juliette Wade, author of Mazes of Power
“Unger weaves real-world insights about virtual reality, technology, and art into a space opera packed with high adventure and dastardly intrigue.”
—Eliot Peper, author of Veil and Breach
“A near-future, tech-driven thriller marked by grounded characters, wondrous discovery, and a compelling mystery at its core.”
—Joseph Mallozzi, Executive Producer, Dark Matter, Stargate’s SG-1, Atlantis, Universe
“Science fiction fans will be captivated by Unger’s smart, plausible vision of the future of space travel, especially the elegant solution of utilizing quantum entanglement to communicate across light years.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Author Kimberly Unger has created an absolutely inspiring main character who demonstrates on how believing in one’s conviction and own intuition will always lead to truth. Nucleation is an immersive tale that has blockbuster scale and emotional story-telling you won’t soon forget.”
—Terry Matalas, showrunner, Star Trek: Picard
“[Nucleation is a] debut[s] worth checking out . . . showing that new voices continue to expand the genre”
—Washington Post
“Contact’s Ellie Arroway. “Story of Your Life’s” Louise Banks. The Last Astronaut’s Sally Jansen. Add Helen Vectorovich to the ranks of great science fiction featuring remarkable, driven women serving as humanity’s first contact with an alien race. With Nucleation, Kimberly Unger offers a richly detailed, thought-provoking peek into our not-so distant future and a mind-blowing means of taking us to the stars, but are we prepared for what awaits us out there?”
—Dayton Ward, author of Star Trek: Kirk Fu Manual
“I picked up Nucleation expecting a standard space opera. What I got was a thriller that kept me occupied for days.”
—Lightspeed Magazine
“Seamlessly blending elements of science fiction and mystery, Unger’s latest revolves around a virtual-reality pilot who, after her navigator dies while they’re working on a high-profile project, sets out to avenge his death and understand the bizarre circumstances surrounding the failed mission.”
—Kirkus
“An intriguing blend of hard SF, corporate espionage and conspiracy theory.”
—SF Crowsnest
Kimberly Unger is the Philip K. Dick Award-winning author Nucleation and The Extractionist. Unger made her first videogame back when the 80-column card was the new hot thing and followed that up with degrees in English/Writing from UC Davis and Illustration from the Art Center College of Design. Nowadays she produces narrative-games for VR, lectures on the intersection of art and code for UCSC’s master’s program and writes science fiction about how all these app-driven superpowers are going to change the human race.
(TL;dr: Unger writes about fast robots, big explosions, and space things.)
Kimberly Unger lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she works in the future of VR on the Oculus gaming platform.
Nucleation
Kimberly Unger
“Recommended for fans of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon and Martha Wells’ Murderbot series.”
—Booklist
Helen Vectorovich holds the unique distinction of failing at first contact—and she did it in both virtual reality and outer space. In this exciting debut science fiction technothriller, a top-notch pilot encounters a disaster during the highest profile space-faring project of her career. Was her discovery due to a betrayal, a business rival, or a threat to humanity itself?
Nucleation
by Kimberly Unger
ISBN: Print: 9781616963385; Digital: 9781616963392
Published: November 2020
Available Format(s): Trade Paperback and Digital
“A thriller that kept me occupied for days.”
—Lightspeed Magazine
“Recommended for fans of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon and Martha Wells’ Murderbot series.”
—Booklist
In this riveting debut science-fiction technothriller, a top-notch VR pilot encounters a disaster during the highest profile space-faring project of her career. Now she must unearth a critical truth: was her discovery due to a betrayal, a business rival, or a threat to humanity itself?
We are live, we are live, we are live. . .
Helen Vectorvich just botched first contact. And she did it in both virtual reality and outer space.
Only the most elite Far Reaches deep-space pilots get to run waldos: robots controlled from thousands of lightyears away via neural integration and quantum entanglement. Helen and her navigator were heading the construction of a wormhole gate that would connect Earth to the stars . . . until a routine system check turned deadly.
As nasty rumors swarm around her, and overeager junior pilots jockey to take her place, Helen makes a startling discovery: microscopic alien life is devouring their corporate equipment. Is the Scale just mindless, extra-terrestrial bacteria? Or is it working—and killing—with a purpose?
While Helen struggles to get back into the pilot’s chair, and to communicate with the Scale, someone—or something—is trying to sabotage the Far Reaches project once and for all. They’ll have to get through Helen first.
***
Check out Kimberly Unger’s avatars reading from the first chapter of her debut novel. Look for the other five parts on Tachyon Publications YouTube channel.
2020 Washington Post Gift Guide
2020 UK Independent Gift Guide
“A superb, smart debut! Love this woman who has to fight her way back to the top using her intelligence and expertise. The confident, sharp details made me feel I was there, in Helen’s head, at each step of her remarkable journey. I can’t wait to read more from Unger, a welcome new voice in science fiction.”
—Lissa Price, internationally bestselling author of the Starters series
“Helen is a nervy and compelling main character, and it’s enjoyable to experience this story through her perspective. This debut novel is recommended for fans of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon (2003) and Martha Wells’ Murderbot series, as well as for readers who like their cutting-edge technology with a bit of danger on the side.”
—Booklist
“VERDICT: Unger’s video game credits are well matched to this space adventure. Dialog among rivals, teammates, and machine interfaces keeps the story moving quickly. Recommended for fans of technothrillers and those who appreciate a strong lead character navigating readers through the technical bits.
—Library Journal
“This smart, gripping debut weaves technology, embodiment, and corporate espionage into a tense vision of the future that readers won’t be able to put down.”
—Jacqueline Koyanagi, author of Ascension
“An inventive, exciting page turner that mixes mystery, bleeding edge technological speculation, and the promise of a potential sequel. If Grisham was a better wordsmith and chose to write hard sf thrillers, it would look a lot like Kimberly Unger’s gripping Nucleation.
—Charles Gannon, author of the Caine Riordan series.
“Unger moves the reader from one vivid scene to the next, skillfully weaving in context and background . . . The verdict: A spectacular debut novel, at once thoughtful and exciting, packed with innovative ideas and plot twists.”
—Deborah J. Ross, author of Collaborators
“Nucleation is a cool twist on the New Space Opera. Full of great ideas and combining elements of cyberpunk and space opera, it’s a fun ride from start to finish.”
—Karl Schroeder, author of Stealing Worlds
“In technology we so often look to science fiction for inspiration. Kimberly Unger is the rare author with a foot in both worlds and it shows as she gives a thrilling glimpse into the future with Nucleation.”
—Andrew Bosworth, Vice President of Augmented and Virtual Reality, Facebook
“Nucleation delivers top-notch suspense, deftly weaving together industrial espionage and first contact in a futuristic world that is all too plausible. Unger brings to her world a special sensibility for human psychology that gives realism to futuristic nanotech and corporate politics alike.”
—Juliette Wade, author of Mazes of Power
“Unger weaves real-world insights about virtual reality, technology, and art into a space opera packed with high adventure and dastardly intrigue.”
—Eliot Peper, author of Veil and Breach
“A near-future, tech-driven thriller marked by grounded characters, wondrous discovery, and a compelling mystery at its core.”
—Joseph Mallozzi, Executive Producer, Dark Matter, Stargate’s SG-1, Atlantis, Universe
“Science fiction fans will be captivated by Unger’s smart, plausible vision of the future of space travel, especially the elegant solution of utilizing quantum entanglement to communicate across light years.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Author Kimberly Unger has created an absolutely inspiring main character who demonstrates on how believing in one’s conviction and own intuition will always lead to truth. Nucleation is an immersive tale that has blockbuster scale and emotional story-telling you won’t soon forget.”
—Terry Matalas, showrunner, Star Trek: Picard
“[Nucleation is a] debut[s] worth checking out . . . showing that new voices continue to expand the genre”
—Washington Post
“Contact’s Ellie Arroway. “Story of Your Life’s” Louise Banks. The Last Astronaut’s Sally Jansen. Add Helen Vectorovich to the ranks of great science fiction featuring remarkable, driven women serving as humanity’s first contact with an alien race. With Nucleation, Kimberly Unger offers a richly detailed, thought-provoking peek into our not-so distant future and a mind-blowing means of taking us to the stars, but are we prepared for what awaits us out there?”
—Dayton Ward, author of Star Trek: Kirk Fu Manual
“I picked up Nucleation expecting a standard space opera. What I got was a thriller that kept me occupied for days.”
—Lightspeed Magazine
“Seamlessly blending elements of science fiction and mystery, Unger’s latest revolves around a virtual-reality pilot who, after her navigator dies while they’re working on a high-profile project, sets out to avenge his death and understand the bizarre circumstances surrounding the failed mission.”
—Kirkus
“An intriguing blend of hard SF, corporate espionage and conspiracy theory.”
—SF Crowsnest
Kimberly Unger is the Philip K. Dick Award-winning author Nucleation and The Extractionist. Unger made her first videogame back when the 80-column card was the new hot thing and followed that up with degrees in English/Writing from UC Davis and Illustration from the Art Center College of Design. Nowadays she produces narrative-games for VR, lectures on the intersection of art and code for UCSC’s master’s program and writes science fiction about how all these app-driven superpowers are going to change the human race.
(TL;dr: Unger writes about fast robots, big explosions, and space things.)
Kimberly Unger lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she works in the future of VR on the Oculus gaming platform.
Visit Kimberly Unger on her website or Twitter.