Jeff Somers

Jeff Somers is a U.S. science fiction author from New Jersey.

Literary career

Since 1995, Somers has published his zine The Inner Swine[1] and has been a prolific contributor to alt.zines. The 21st century has seen Somers's transformation from an observational essayist into a science fiction writer of no small talent, "a gifted craftsman"[2] with a "funky wit."[3] His first novel, Lifers was soon followed by the dystopian Avery Cates series. His novels are published in the US and the UK by Orbit Books.[4] Somers has also been called one of the "promising lesser lights"[5] of mystery writing.

Bibliography

The Avery Cates Series

  1. The Electric Church (2007)[6]
  2. The Digital Plague (2008)[7]
  3. The Eternal Prison (2009)[8]
  4. The Terminal State (2010)
  5. The Final Evolution (2011)

The Ustari Cycle

  1. Trickster (2014)
  2. Fixer (prequel eBook) (2014)
  3. We Are Not Good People (2014)

Other Works

Digital Fiction

Critical Attention

According to one critic, Jeff Somers' first novel Lifers has an "undernourished plot,"[3] although the same critic praises Somers's character observations.

Somers' novel The Electric Church was widely praised on its publication. Booklist wrote, "Somers' stunning debut introduces one of the genre's most promising newcomers." Library Journal called it "a dark future of high tech and low dreams in an action-filled noir thriller reminiscent of Blade Runner."[10] Publishers Weekly praised the characters but was less enthusiastic about the plot, writing, "Somers's [sic] plot sprints along through the nicely detailed (if slightly unoriginal) world, but the characters are the real prize in this entertaining near-future noir."[11]

In 2009 one of Somers' short stories Drum Trial was selected as 1st Runner Up for Best Science Fiction Story 2500 to 6999 words in the "Best Of" contest from Strange, Weird & Wonderful Magazine.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "The Inner Swine's Sinister Web Presence". innerswine.com.
  2. ↑ Rick Klaw. Review of The Electric Church. Austin Chronicle, Oct. 5, 2007. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A546562
  3. 1 2 Bruce Allen. Review of Lifers. New York Times, Books sec. July 1, 2001. http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/07/01/bib/010701.rv105816.html
  4. ↑ "Orbit Books - Science Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy - Orbit Books". Orbit Books - Science Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy.
  5. ↑ Rod Cockshutt."Great tales come in small packages." News & Observer, Jan. 14, 2007. http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/532109.html
  6. 1 2 "the-electric-church.com". the-electric-church.com.
  7. ↑ "the-electric-church.com". the-electric-church.com.
  8. 1 2 "HugeDomains.com - EternalPrison.com is for sale (Eternal Prison)". eternalprison.com.
  9. ↑ "Short Story". twitter.com.
  10. ↑ Jackie Cassada. Review of The Electric Church. Library Journal, Sept. 15, 2007. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6477475.html
  11. ↑ Review of The Electric Church. Publishers Weekly, July 30, 2007. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6463364.html
  12. ↑ http://www.strangeweirdandwonderful.com/

External links

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