Alien: Perfect Organisms

Some years after the events of Aliens and Alien 3— an artist obsessed with the disturbing visceral potential of the xenomorphs is pursued to an abandoned colony. Written by the much-celebrated Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters and The Dissonance. Desperate, depressed and nearly destitute, Cynthia Goodwin goes against her better judgement to keep her ship the Chariot and its crew in work: she agrees to meet with the reclusive billionaire Roman Fade. Fade’s request is unorthodox: go to the abandoned colony of New Providence and bring back his former lover, the renowned artist Corinth Bloch. The job is rife with uncertainty. No one knows what happened on New Providence or why it is under quarantine. And Bloch may be brilliant, but he is also deranged. As Cynthia follows his path to the colony, she learns of a mind obsessed with images of dark and horrifying creatures… Of an almost religious fervour for the ultimate subject for his art… Of the drive to capture the sublime terror of the perfect organism…

About the Author :
Shaun’s debut novel, A Cosmology of Monsters, was released in hardcover by Pantheon books in September of 2019. Vintage/Anchor published the paperback in August of 2020. His fiction has appeared in Carve and Tor Nightfire's Come Join Us By the Fire 2. His nonfiction has appeared at Crimereads and Tor Nightfire. He also co-host two podcasts: Team Hurricane Returns (with Darrel Smith, Jr.) and Fandom University (with Sergio Hernandez), and is an occasional panellist on the Lovecraft Ezine Podcast. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Review :
PRAISE FOR THE DISSONANCE "The prose is crisp and punchy; there's never a word wasted but it's always evocative, whether capturing the oppressive humidity of a Texan summer or the terror of an encounter with the supernatural. A tale of friendship and growing up enhanced with a thrilling frisson of fear." -SFX "Pure magic. A novel that sparks with wonder, heartbreak, and hope. Wildly endearing and compulsively readable, with an immersive, richly drawn world and vibrant characters you'll never forget. The truths within-about friendship, about pain, about growing up and making mistakes- are beautiful and absolute. A masterpiece." -Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep and Such Sharp Teeth "The most impressive magical feat of The Dissonance are the four teen friends and their complicated, cringy, familiar wart-filled relationship, one imbued with enough love to refill your soul. The result is that this wildly imaginative, thrilling, time-hopping, magic and monsters epic feels authentic and lived in. Not sure how Shaun did it. The jerk." -Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts "Shaun Hamill proves there are strange new worlds yet to be explored on the bookshelf. The Dissonance is yet another testament to Hamill's mantel as a master storyteller, blending the terrors and wonders of traumatic magic. You won't read another novel quite like The Dissonance this year, or perhaps ever in this life-or even beyond it." -Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters "A brilliantly rendered tale of friendship, redemption, cosmic horror, and so much heart. The Dissonance cements Hamill as a master world-builder and one of the most exciting voices in fantasy today. I already want to reread this book." --Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Roots and Ruin "The Dissonance packs all the punch of a 'kids on bikes' adventure-that is, if instead of bikes, the kids were riding waves of terror conjured by eldritch horrors. Shaun Hamill will make you nostalgically recall your first kiss-and mere pages later, he'll gift you a demon in a skinsuit puking out its own entrails. And the most messed up part? It works. If you, like me, wish there was an Animorphs for fucked up grown-ups-wish granted." -GennaRose Nethercott, author of Thistlefoot