A MONSTER WITHOUT A NAME IS A TERRIBLE THING
The guardians of an ancient game make sure the truth about the game remains hidden. Consequently, when a superspecies emerges onto the world stage, humans do what they do best: declare war and make a reality TV show.
Eight months of televised war later, and a reality show is the only truth anyone cares about.
But what will happen if the game is exposed? And what lengths will the guardians go to to protect the terrible secrets of a TV series created for war, and designed for public entertainment.
Mac Eden’s role as a side character in an ancient game is to make sure the non-player characters don’t find out about the game. Subsequently, when an extraordinary superspecies known only as the Mandolin emerges in Afghanistan, the non-player characters do what they do best: declare war and make a reality TV show. Eight months of televised war later, and a reality show is the only truth anyone cares about. Frustrated by civilian life, university student Hollow Quinn volunteers to join the British army. Her only friend Ezra Blake justifies the decision not to enlist, taking solace in a gothic anomaly full of magical innovation, mystical intrigue and self-aware furniture. But when Hollow grabs a starring role in the reality show, Ezra makes an impulsive decision. A decision that forces Mac Eden to override her standing orders and instigate a gameplay that will overshadow even the horrors of a paraspecies war in Afghanistan. And as the game levels up, the non-player characters unlock the terrible secrets of WØLF. A reality show created for war, and designed for public entertainment.
available now at
MANDOLIN
The Mandolin series is a soft science fiction adventure set in the near future, depicting the ongoing survival challenges of Homo sapiens in a world dominated by the gaming culture of another indigenous species.
If this was war, the Mandolin would have won a thousand times over.
But this isn't war, this is a game.
And a game doesn't need us to lose,
it needs us to play the game.
The 2020s have seen a rise in feelings of anxiety and isolation among young people. The Mandolin series exposes the symptoms of disconnection while offering a hint of optimism for what lies ahead. The narrative includes gender fluidity and an absence of pronouns, encouraging readers to reflect on their own identities and challenge societal conventions.
BOOK TWO
of the
MANDOLIN
The Mandolin game developers took advantage of time. Not in its concept, but in its mistake. The universe existed in an infinite singularity of standalone moments. Some moments were so similar they were often mistaken for each other and subsequently lined up in a linear progression that was called time.
For most Homo sapiens, time was much easier to understand than an infinite singularity of standalone moments because it made sense of birthdays and investment portfolios. But at the end of the day, time didn’t exist. And the Mandolin spliced themselves into its non-existence so seamlessly, it was almost as if they’d always been there.
coming
in 2025
THE THIRTEEN SIGNS OF FLIGHTLESS THINGS
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