“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
In her new exciting technothriller, acclaimed author Kimberly Unger delivers a badass cyberpunk heroine in a vivid whodunit that careens between our world and the virtual one. Gaming expert Unger creates a vastly entertaining future where the rich still play by different rules, but a skilled hacker is still the wildcard.
ISBN: Trade paperback 978-1-61696-376-7; Digital 978-1-61696-377-4
Published: July 2022
Available Format(s): Trade Paperback and Digital
In her breakout technothriller, virtual reality expert Kimberly Unger has created the iconic, badass, cyberpunk heroine that we need: Eliza McKay. McKay is a disgraced underground hacker who is just trying to take back her career one dangerous job at a time. But when her latest contract throws her into the middle of a corporate power struggle, she finds herself fighting for her life in both the real and digital worlds.
“I can’t wait to read more from Unger.” —Lissa Price, internationally bestselling author of the Starters series
Eliza McKay is an Extractionist: an expert in the virtual reality space where people’s minds are uploaded as digital personas. When rich or important people get stuck in the Swim for reasons that are sleazy, illegal, or merely unlucky—it’s McKay’s job to quietly extract them. And McKay’s job just got a lot more dangerous.
After McKay repels an attack on her Swim persona, hired thugs break into her house to try and hack her cybernetic implants directly. Meanwhile, the corporate executive she was hired to rescue from VR space is surprisingly reluctant to be extracted. Something is lurking in the Swim, and some very powerful people will stop at nothing to keep it secret.
Kimberly 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.
Praise for Nucleation
2020 Washington Post Gift Guide selection 2020 UK Guardian Gift Guide selection 2020 Den of Geek Top Sci-Fi Books
“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
“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
“[Nucleation is a] debut[s] worth checking out . . . show[s] that new voices continue to expand the genre”
—Washington Post
“A superb, smart debut. . . . 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
“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.
—Library Journal
“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
“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.
“Nucleation delivers top-notch suspense, deftly weaving together industrial espionage and first contact in a futuristic world that is all too plausible.”
—Juliette Wade, author of Mazes of Power
“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
“ Unger’s Nucleation delivers a rich world-building experience on top of a narrative that grabs at you and satisfies that urge for something fresh.”
—Kate Edwards, Executive Director of The Global Game Jam
“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.”
—Dayton Ward, author of Star Trek: Kirk Fu Manual
“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
“Taut and snappy, Nucleation is solid science fiction with a whole lot of heart.”
—Cat Rambo, author of Carpe Glitter
“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
“Nucleation is an immersive tale that has blockbuster scale and emotional story-telling you won’t soon forget.”
—Terry Matalas, showrunner, Star Trek: Picard
“I picked up Nucleation expecting a standard space opera. What I got was a thriller that kept me occupied for days.” —Lightspeed Magazine
The Extractionist
Kimberly Unger
“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
In her new exciting technothriller, acclaimed author Kimberly Unger delivers a badass cyberpunk heroine in a vivid whodunit that careens between our world and the virtual one. Gaming expert Unger creates a vastly entertaining future where the rich still play by different rules, but a skilled hacker is still the wildcard.
The Extractionist
by Kimberly Unger
ISBN: Trade paperback 978-1-61696-376-7; Digital 978-1-61696-377-4
Published: July 2022
Available Format(s): Trade Paperback and Digital
In her breakout technothriller, virtual reality expert Kimberly Unger has created the iconic, badass, cyberpunk heroine that we need: Eliza McKay. McKay is a disgraced underground hacker who is just trying to take back her career one dangerous job at a time. But when her latest contract throws her into the middle of a corporate power struggle, she finds herself fighting for her life in both the real and digital worlds.
“I can’t wait to read more from Unger.”
—Lissa Price, internationally bestselling author of the Starters series
Eliza McKay is an Extractionist: an expert in the virtual reality space where people’s minds are uploaded as digital personas. When rich or important people get stuck in the Swim for reasons that are sleazy, illegal, or merely unlucky—it’s McKay’s job to quietly extract them. And McKay’s job just got a lot more dangerous.
After McKay repels an attack on her Swim persona, hired thugs break into her house to try and hack her cybernetic implants directly. Meanwhile, the corporate executive she was hired to rescue from VR space is surprisingly reluctant to be extracted. Something is lurking in the Swim, and some very powerful people will stop at nothing to keep it secret.
Kimberly 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.
Praise for Nucleation
2020 Washington Post Gift Guide selection
2020 UK Guardian Gift Guide selection
2020 Den of Geek Top Sci-Fi Books
“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
“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
“[Nucleation is a] debut[s] worth checking out . . . show[s] that new voices continue to expand the genre”
—Washington Post
“A superb, smart debut. . . . 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
“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.
—Library Journal
“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
“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.
“Nucleation delivers top-notch suspense, deftly weaving together industrial espionage and first contact in a futuristic world that is all too plausible.”
—Juliette Wade, author of Mazes of Power
“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
“ Unger’s Nucleation delivers a rich world-building experience on top of a narrative that grabs at you and satisfies that urge for something fresh.”
—Kate Edwards, Executive Director of The Global Game Jam
“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.”
—Dayton Ward, author of Star Trek: Kirk Fu Manual
“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
“Taut and snappy, Nucleation is solid science fiction with a whole lot of heart.”
—Cat Rambo, author of Carpe Glitter
“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
“Nucleation is an immersive tale that has blockbuster scale and emotional story-telling you won’t soon forget.”
—Terry Matalas, showrunner, Star Trek: Picard
“I picked up Nucleation expecting a standard space opera. What I got was a thriller that kept me occupied for days.”
—Lightspeed Magazine
Visit Kimberly Unger on her website or Twitter
Other books by this author…
Nucleation
Kimberly Unger
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