Join

“A searing, ballistic plunge into the mysteries of identity and mortality” from the author of the time travel sci-fi thriller Side Life (Katherine Dunn, author of Geek Love). What does it mean to be human, and what happens when humanity takes the next step in its evolution? When Join arrived, it was hailed as a miracle: a technology that allowed humans to join consciousnesses. To experience perfect, constant companionship through multiple bodies. To never die. But Chance and Leap—two joins of five and four respectively—discover a terrifying malfunction in the technology. Chance and Leap must journey into the climate change–ruined heart of North America and the communities of never-joined “ferals” in search of the only ones who can dismantle the technology: the ones who created it. “[Toutonghi] combines smart, imaginative extrapolation about technology and a deep curiosity about civilization and the human condition.” —NPR.org “Join is a conceptual powerhouse, tapping into the core of our contemporary debates about technology.” —Tor.com “A heady sci-fi thriller about a world-altering technology—and its hidden costs.” —Kirkus Reviews “Challenging, surprising, shocking, and enlightening. Steve Toutonghi’s Join stands alongside Ancillary Justice as a novel that forces us to ask impossible questions about identity and immortality. An exciting addition to 21st century science fiction.” —Robert Repino, author of D’Arc and Mort(e)