by Algis Budrys
First published 2019
Jack Mullica and his fellow passengers crash land in a New Jersey swamp when their starship fails. The survivors scatter across an unfamiliar world, each forced to blend in among the human population. Mullica must navigate this alien society while hiding his true origins. The electrocuted body found on the Burrow Street station tracks in Shoreview, Illinois connects to these displaced beings trying to survive among humans. Mullica faces a series of challenges as he attempts to build a new life while concealing his identity. The story explores what it means to belong when you must constantly pretend to be someone else. Mullica struggles with the fundamental question of who he really is when everything familiar has been stripped away.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, mystery, thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, identity-crisis
Setting: New Jersey, Illinois, Shoreview
Period: 20th-century
1 pages · Audio CD · Blackstone Publishing