Blurb
“Adam Dreece continues to surprise, enthrall, and sweep us, his avid readers, along - with his elegant prose and insightful story telling. If you, like I, enjoy the sci/fi fantasy genre, you can’t do better than THE MAN OF CLOUD 9.”
- Rene Auberjonois, Avid Reader, Actor/Director
Niko Rafaelo is a brilliant and driven inventor, determined to flip the late 21st century on its head with a new take on a banned technology, nanobots.
In a world that has been battered and bruised for decades by endless natural disasters, Niko’s ambitions are seen as reckless and wasteful.
Following in the footsteps of his Silicon Valley heroes, Niko’s startup takes the planet by storm. But what happens when the corporate beast and Niko’s conscience conflict? And what is his ultimate goal?
“a truly unique voice and story”
Science
Fiction from the Steampunk meets Fairytale, and Post-Apocalyptic
Fantasy guy?
After
writing 4 novels and a novelette in the universe of The
Yellow Hoods, I
needed a break from my steampunk meets fairytale universe. I decided
that this year would be about showing two completely different sides
of me. I started with The
Wizard Killer,
which has been called "Harry
Potter meets Die Hard"
and "Mad Max
meets Lord of the Rings." Whereas
that post-apocalyptic fantasy world was an exercise in showing my
adrenaline junkie side, The
Man of Cloud 9 is
a much more cerebral science fiction side of me.
Rather
than hard science fiction, I've been told it's more in the vein
of The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell. It was wonderful to get
such a positive review from Readers'
Favorite
right out of the gate.
So
what's The Man of Cloud 9 about?
It's
set 70 years in the future. Civilization has been scared by the
effects of climate change, but worse than the toll in human lives,
has been the loss of appetite for real innovation. Brilliant inventor
Niko Rafaelo finds himself fighting every inch of the way to get
people to listen to his vision for resurrecting the banned
technology of nanobots, connecting it with the bacteria cloud around
people, and taking features like video calling out of the history
books and bringing them back.
This
is an intimate story, dealing with a handle of characters, and the
choices and consequences of Niko's relentless need to see his vision
realized. It's genius versus conscience versus company.
Your
other works are YA, is The Man of Cloud 9?
Yes. While
it doesn't have any non-adult characters, I tried to make sure that a
teen reader would be able to relate to the story, even when reading a
boardroom scene. A lot of classic science fiction could be
categorized the same way, and so I see The
Man of Cloud 9
really for those ages 12 and up.
What
was your greatest challenge writing the book?
This
book was definitely the one that terrified me the most to write. Part
of that was because I really reached into myself for core elements of
the man character, his issues, and his relationships. There were many
times in my life where I went left, and I made Niko go right. Another
part was because in some ways, it felt like I was saying goodbye to
my technology career. I spent 20 years in software, from Silicon
Valley to Toronto, from startups to Microsoft to my own business.
Lastly, there was the difference in style between The
Wizard Killer
and The Man of
Cloud 9 that
scared me, would I lose readers? It was a risk, a risk I was willing
to take.
Where
can we get it?
Reviewed by Tracy A. Fischer for Readers' Favorite
***
Whoa! That's exactly what I thought when I finished the new book by author Adam Dreece, The Man of Cloud 9. This excellent offering of science fiction will keep readers obsessively turning the pages from the very beginning all the way through to the very end. Taking place seventy years in the future, the story follows brilliant inventor, Niko Rafaelo, as he delves into controversial work in the world of nanobots. This story is full of adventure and thrills, as well as all of the highly inventive and creative details one expects in a great work of sci-fi. Nico's work is considered wasteful at a time when the world is dealing with the aftermath of dozens of devastating natural disasters and, in fact, work with nanobots is banned. But he's determined that what he can do with this technology is worth more than any before him have ever imagined. Will working with microbial cloud-powered bots become the salvation that everyone is looking for, or the end of Nico's career, and more? You'll need to read the book to find out!
I loved The Man of Cloud 9. Loved. It. How's that for a review? Well, it's definitely how I felt about this fantastic book. As an ardent reader in the genre of science fiction, I feel that it's getting more and more difficult to find a truly unique voice and story. I definitely found both in this book, and I simply cannot wait to read more from author Adam Dreece as soon as I possibly can. I highly recommend this book to any reader who enjoys science fiction, or any reader looking for a creative and unique new read in general.
