About the Book
Say you're a time traveler and you've already toured the entirety of human history. After a while, the outside world might lose a little of its luster. That's why this time traveler celebrates his birthday partying with himself. Every year, he travels to an abandoned hotel in New York City in 2071, the hundredth anniversary of his birth, and drinks twelve-year-old Scotch (lots of it) with all the other versions of who he has been and who he will be. Sure, the party is the same year after year, but at least it's one party where he can really, well, be himself.
The year he turns thirty-nine, though, the party takes a stressful turn for the worse. Before he even makes it into the grand ballroom for a drink he encounters the body of his forty-year-old self, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. As the older versions of himself at the party point out, the onus is on him to figure out what went wrong--he has one year to stop himself from being murdered, or they're all goners. As he follows clues that he may or may not have willingly left for himself, he discovers rampant paranoia and suspicion among his younger selves, and a frightening conspiracy among the elders. Most complicated of all is a haunting woman possibly named Lily who turns up at the party this year, the first person besides himself he's ever seen at the party.
For the first time, he has something to lose. Here's hoping he can save some version of his own life.
About the Author :
Sean Ferrell's fiction has appeared in literary journals such as the Adirondack Review and his short story "Building an Elephant" won the Fulton Prize. His debut novel, Numb, was described as "eye catching," "daring," and "offbeat." He lives and works, in no particular order, in New York City.
Mauro Hantman has been a resident actor at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island, where he has appeared in over fifty productions since 1999. He's the artistic director of the Providence Improv Fest and a founding member of Improv Jones, an improv troupe formed in 1992.
Review :
"Man in the Empty Suit has a clever enough premise that it could be straight out of a Philip K. Dick or Kurt Vonnegut novel."
-- "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"
"Man in the Empty Suit is a rich, complex novel...A slightly sinister, brooding tale of death and lost love."
-- "Verbicide"
"[Man in the Empty Suit has] an ingenious setup...both Looper and Man in the Empty Suit track the trajectory of a pained, lonely man who learns what it means to sacrifice for the sake of another's well-being."
-- "AV Club "
"A cerebral, noirish, and very unusual novel...A challenge for me to put down. This one made me think about it long after I was finished."
-- "My Bookish Ways"
"A genre-bending read that's part noir and part sci-fi...[A] speedy story."
-- "Time Out New York"
"A tour de force. Ferrell's skill in plotting is matched only by his ability to bring fully formed characters to life. A moving and brilliantly executed puzzle of a novel."
-- "Emily St. John Mandel, author of The Lola Quartet"
"An arresting setup--the same character is simultaneously the murder victim, suspect, and investigator--and Ferrell exploits it carefully...[presenting] the reader with some ugly truths about life and owning up to who we really are. Ferrell himself has jokingly called it the time-travel book of 3102, but I wouldn't suggest waiting that long."
-- "Atlantic"
"Engaging and thought-provoking...It will also appeal to readers of Stephen King's 11/22/63."
-- "Library Journal"
"Enter a mysterious woman with parrot tattoos, a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, Vonnegut-sharp humor, and Hemingway-spare prose, and you've got some seriously good sci-fi."
-- "Book Riot"
"Exceptional...for any sci-fi fan who enjoys a challenge."
-- "Maine Edge"
"Ferrell has written a brain-teasing, paradox-defying, time travel mystery in the tradition of such pretzel-bending-logic classics as Fritz Leiber's The Big Time and Robert A. Heinlein's 'By His Bootstraps.'"
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Ferrell's humor and invention will draw you in, and the real emotion in his writing will keep you reading. A clever premise that deepens into a surprising and moving story about fate, identity, and how we shape our own lives and the lives of those around us."
-- "Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe"
"Ferrell's novel satisfies as both a tale of a four-dimensional conspiracy and as a stark meditation on solitude."
-- "Minneapolis Star-Tribune"
"Full of imagination and head-scratching conundrums...It should definitely appeal to those who enjoy offbeat [sci-fi] and mystery fiction."
-- "Booklist"
"Narrator Mauro Hantman recounts this offbeat, paradoxical saga with convincing, amusing, and disturbing portrayals of the nameless protagonist's many selves. It's particularly amusing to hear Hantman's delivery of his younger and elder selves criticizing each other. The verbal contrast he provides for the protagonist and grumpy, alcoholic Phil, who become friends, is striking. An uncommon plot and unconventional writing make audio the perfect vehicle for sample this oddball adventure--a treat for those who like mind-bending fiction."
-- "AudioFile"
"Out of this intriguing premise Sean Ferrell proceeds to spin a dark hybrid of Paul Auster and the film Memento, complete with a mysterious love interest...Best of all, however, is the evocation of mid-twenty-first century New York as a melancholy, dilapidated place high in entropy, cluttered with ruined buildings, and weirdly infested with parrots."
-- "Toronto Star"
"This is trippy book; a great read...Ferrell spins a web of lies, deceit, and self-loathing, sprinkles it with intelligent humor and wit, a dash of love and loss, and presents it to the reader on a silver platter."
-- "Examiner"
"Zips along in a smirking way."
-- "Entertainment Realm"
