{"title":"Edward Ashton","description":"EDWARD ASHTON is the author of the novels Three Days in April, The End of Ordinary, Mickey7,  Antimatter Blues, and Mal Goes to War, as well as of short stories which have appeared in venues ranging from the newsletter of an Italian sausage company to Escape Pod, Analog, and Fireside Fiction. He lives in upstate New York in a cabin in the woods (not that cabin in the woods) with his wife, a variable number of daughters, and an adorably mopey dog named Max.","products":[{"product_id":"the-fourth-consort-paperback","title":"The Fourth Consort - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA new standalone sci-fi novel from Edward Ashton, author of \u003ci\u003eMickey7 \u003c\/i\u003e(the inspiration for the major motion picture Mickey 17).\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDalton Greaves is a hero. He's one of humankind's first representatives to Unity, a pan-species confederation working to bring all sentient life into a single benevolent brotherhood. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThat's what they told him, anyway. The only actual members of Unity that he's ever met are Boreau, a giant snail who seems more interested in plunder than spreading love and harmony, and Boreau's human sidekick, Neera, who Dalton strongly suspects roped him into this gig so that she wouldn't become the next one of Boreau's crew to get eaten by locals while prospecting. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFunny thing, though--turns out there actually is a benevolent confederation out there, working for the good of all life. They call themselves the Assembly, and they really don't like Unity. More to the point, they really, really don't like Unity's new human minions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen an encounter between Boreau's scout ship and an Assembly cruiser over a newly discovered world ends badly for both parties, Dalton finds himself marooned, caught between a stickman, one of the Assembly's nightmarish shock troops, the planet's natives, who aren't winning any congeniality prizes themselves, and Neera, who might actually be the most dangerous of the three. To survive, he'll need to navigate palace intrigue, alien morality, and a proposal that he literally cannot refuse, all while making sure Neera doesn't come to the conclusion that he's worth more to her dead than alive. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePart first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle, \u003ci\u003eThe Fourth Consort\u003c\/i\u003e asks an important question: how far would you go to survive? And more importantly, how many drinks would you need to go there?","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50101201993951,"sku":"9781250885777","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/zwzW734YVZ9781250885777.webp?v=1781068459"},{"product_id":"mickey7-paperback","title":"Mickey7 - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A wildly entertaining mix of action and big ideas peppered with humor and a bizarre love story.\" \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNPR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A brisk, spirited sci-fi romp...hugely enjoyable.\"\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eMax Barry, author of\u003ci\u003e Providence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e*Soon to be the major motion picture Mickey17*\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDying isn't any fun...but at least it's a living. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Whenever there's a mission that's too dangerous--even suicidal--the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOn a routine scouting mission, Mickey7 goes missing and is presumed dead. By the time he returns to the colony base, his fate has been sealed. There's a new clone, Mickey8, reporting for Expendable duties. The idea of duplicate Expendables is universally loathed, and if caught, they face being recycled into protein to feed a hungry colony. Meanwhile, life on Niflheim is getting worse, and the native species are growing curious about their new neighbors, which has Commander Marshall very afraid. Ultimately, the survival of both lifeforms will come down to Mickey7. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e That is, if he can just keep from dying for good. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"The fun [in reading \u003ci\u003eMickey7\u003c\/i\u003e] is trying to keep up with Mr. Ashton's twists and turns, and the extra fun is that you never do.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Sci-fi readers will be drawn in by the inventive premise and stick around for the plucky narrator.\" \u003ci\u003e--Publishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50101621620959,"sku":"9781250875280","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/M2RBYm5PYTQrRzhXT2IrdmZRK0lYUT09.webp?v=1781071843"},{"product_id":"after-the-fall-hardcover","title":"After the Fall - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart alien invasion story, part buddy comedy, and part workplace satire, \u003ci\u003eAfter The Fall\u003c\/i\u003e by Edward Ashton, author of \u003ci\u003eMickey7 \u003c\/i\u003e(inspiration for the film \u003ci\u003eMickey 17\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003easks an important question: would humans \u003ci\u003ereally\u003c\/i\u003e make great pets?\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHumans must be silent. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eHumans must be obedient. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eHumans must be good\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAll his life, John has tried to live by those rules. Most days, it's not too difficult. A hundred and twenty years after The Fall, and a hundred years after the grays swept in to pick the last dregs of humanity out of the wreckage of a ruined world, John has found himself bonded to Martok Barden nee Black Hand, one of the \"good\" grays. Sure, Martok is broke, homeless, and borderline manic, but he's always treated John like an actual person, and sometimes like a friend. It's a better deal than most humans get. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut when Martok puts John's bond up as collateral against an abandoned house in the woods that he hopes to turn into a wilderness retreat for wealthy grays, John learns that there are limits to Martok's friendship. Soon he finds himself caught between an underworld boss who thinks Martok is something that he very much is not, a girl who was raised by feral humans and has nothing but contempt for \u003ci\u003epets \u003c\/i\u003elike John, and Martok himself, whose delusions of grandeur seem to be finally catching up with him. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlso, not for nothing, something in the woods has been killing people. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJohn has sixty days before Martok's loan comes due to unravel the mystery of how humans wound up holding the wrong end of the domestication stick and find a way to turn Martok's half-baked plans into profit enough to buy back his life, all while avoiding getting butchered by feral humans or having his head crushed by an angry gray. Easy peasy, right?","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50102289301727,"sku":"9781250375650","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/UeEAuo1Os69781250375650.webp?v=1781079290"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/edward-ashton.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}