Why My Next Novel Is Important

Although I’ve mostly stopped writing regular blog posts, it’s still the best way to describe the next novel of mine to reach publication. And I truly believe this novel will be important.

Why?

Well, because Augment Nation takes place in the near future—probably during your lifetime—when projects like Elon Musk’s Neuralink will expand from addressing the needs of those with neurological impairments to the consumer population at large. I think implanted (or closely connected) brain-computer interfaces will become the next smartphones: devices that will provide such extensive augmentation of our information gathering and processing abilities that we’ll wonder what we ever did without them.

But a future like that is not without serious risks. Here’s the novel’s back cover blurb:

This is your brain on silicon.

The mid-21st Century:

Computerized brain augments are the newest “must-have” consumer product. They make smartphones look like a rock and a chisel.

But there is a dark side.

Governments dream of compliant sheep.

Corporations see a marketing El Dorado.

When consumerism rages unchecked, the human race needs a leader to save us from ourselves.

Damon Leiter has had a brain-computer interface since he was 14. It gives him extraordinary abilities; he may be the next step in human evolution.

But Damon can’t be sure he isn’t playing into the hands of the rich and powerful.

They might even be right:

Maybe the real threat to humanity is Damon himself.

Sound scary? It could be, at least if we allow free markets to make all the important decisions and continue to let laws and regulations fall woefully far behind advances in technology. Don’t get me wrong—I think technology is great. I’m a science fiction writer! But I also recognize that it has its pitfalls, and the sooner we see them, the better we can correct them.

Augment Nation is about a young man who comes to realize that, not only is a groundbreaking technology going awry, but he may be the only person uniquely equipped to raise awareness of the problem before it’s too late. It’s a cautionary story (think Fahrenheit 451, or even 1984) but also a deeply human one, and an exciting thriller as well.

There are a number of reasons that a date for the publication hasn’t been finalized, but look for Augment Nation everywhere you buy books this Fall of 2022. I invite you to read the opening of the novel here.

It’s important.