Description

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Dive into Null States, the second entry in Malka Older's bestselling science fiction trilogy, The Centenal Cycle

Null States propels us into a techno-charged near future, where the world has embraced a revolutionary form of democratic governance. Unfold a tale of international intrigue, gripping suspense, and cerebral thrill as the newly instituted Supermajority government battles to establish its legitimacy amidst a world where data reigns supreme.

Experience a unique depiction of a world where microdemocracy has been at the heart of global peace for thirty years, now threatened by shadows plotting to take control from behind the scenes.

In the newly-incorporated DarFur, a governor dies in a fiery explosion. In Geneva, a superpower hatches plans to bring microdemocracy to its knees. In Central Asia, a sprawling war among archaic states threatens to explode into a global crisis. And across the world, a shadowy plot is growing, threatening to strangle Information with the reins of power.

THE CENTENAL CYCLE

Book 1: Infomocracy

Book 2: Null States

Book 3: State Tectonics

About the Author

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Malka Older is a writer, aid worker, and sociologist. Her science-fiction political thriller Infomocracy was named one of the best books of 2016 by Kirkus Reviews, Book Riot, and The Washington Post. She is the creator of the serial Ninth Step Station, currently running on Realm, and her short story collection And Other Disasters came out in November 2019. She is a Faculty Associate at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society and teaches in the genre fiction MFA at Western Colorado University. Her opinions can be found in The New York Times, The Nation, and Foreign Policy, among others.

Praise For…

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“Seriously inspirational for people who are genuinely involved in inventing the future.” — Craig Newmark, founder of CraigsList

"Subtly radical (except where it’s openly radical), this book and series continues to offer a kinetically involving narrative that can also make you think about our actual world today." —RT Book Reviews, Top Pick (4.5 Stars)

"Carefully researched, prescient, thoughtful, and disturbing." —Kirkus Reviews

"In Infomocracy, Malka Older built a realistic world where current trends result in new forms of democracy and peace building, based on Internet-like comms and transparency. She extends that in Null States, depicting the evolution of that world as it faces further real world challenges. Both are intellectually challenging and fun to read, and seriously inspirational for people who are genuinely involved in inventing the future." —Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist

PRAISE FOR INFOMOCRACY

"Kinetic and gripping, the plot hurtles toward an electoral climax that leaps off the page." —NPR

"Futurists and politics geeks will love this unreservedly." —The New York Times Book Review

"This brilliant book is unquestionably one of the greatest literary debuts in recent history." —The Huffington Post

"A futuristic world with eerie parallels to current events... [an] uncanny political thriller." —The Washington Post

"Smart, ambitious, bursting with provocative extrapolations, Infomocracy is the big-data-big-ideas-techno-analytical-microdemoglobal-post-everything political thriller we've been waiting for." —Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings

“A fast-paced, post-cyberpunk political thriller... If you always wanted to put The West Wing in a particle accelerator with Snow Crash to see what would happen, read this book.” —Max Gladstone, author of the Craft Sequence

"A frighteningly relevant exploration of how the flow of information can manipulate public opinion...timely and perhaps timeless." —Kirkus Reviews starred review

"Older’s sparkling debut, the first full-length novel from the novella-focused Tor.com imprint, serves as both a callback to classic futurist adventure tales by the likes of Brunner and Bester and a current examination of the power of information." —Publishers Weekly

"In the mid-21st century, your biggest threat isn’t Artificial Intelligence—it’s other people. Yet the passionate, partisan, political and ultimately fallible men and women fighting for their beliefs are also Infomocracy’s greatest hope. An inspiring book about what we frail humans could still achieve, if we learn to work together." —Karl Schroeder, author of Lockstep and the Virga saga