NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

The publication date for my newest novel Augment Nation is now set for Saturday October 1, 2022. I’m thrilled to be able to bring this book to you, and very happy to be able to say that you can pre-order your own copy of Augment Nation today! The book’s Universal Book Link is https://books2read.com/Augment-Nation which means that when you click on that link it’ll take you to a page with links to find Augment Nation at any of the major online platforms where books are sold. If you have a preferred retailer, just click on that retailer’s logo, or even customize your choice so a UBL will always take you to that retailer.

The novel is available just about everywhere as an ebook, and a print-on-demand edition can be ordered from a number of sellers (like Amazon and Barnes & Noble). POD means the book isn’t stocked in bookstores, but when you order a copy, it’s printed and shipped to you. Some of us still love printed physical books best! And if you’re one of those, you might be excited to know that, for the first time, I’ve produced a hardcover edition of one of my books! It’s something I’ve been itching to try, and when my cover artist, Juan, created two very different covers that I loved, I decided to use one for the hardcover version. The hardcover isn’t available for pre-order just yet, but should be by the launch date of October 1st. Fingers crossed!

Augment Nation is an important book to me. A New York literary agent who represented many of the top science fiction writers in the world during her career, called Augment Nation a “powerful novel” and offered her agency’s services in submitting it to the publishing industry. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t with us, and that relationship didn’t end up producing a book deal for me (science fiction publishing is in a very strange state these days), but I appreciated the effort, and the vote of confidence. If this lady doesn’t know what good SF is, no one does!

I could say the same for my friend Robert J. Sawyer, the dean of Canadian science fiction and winner of every major SF award (and most of the others too). Of Augment Nation, Rob says,

"Scott Overton is a terrific writer and his vision of tomorrow is both realistic and frightening. Read this book!"

So what is Augment Nation about?

Since the age of fourteen Damon Leiter has had a brain-computer interface implanted beneath his skull to correct a neurological disorder. As a teenager, it branded him as an outcast—as an adult it endows him with extraordinary abilities: he may represent the next step in human evolution. When computerized brain augments replace smartphones as the must-have status item, mega-corporations and governments conspire together and marketing becomes mind control. Damon is the only one equipped to lead a global resistance movement. Caught between the fervour of his followers and the tide of rampant consumerism, he can’t be sure he isn’t playing into the hands of the rich and powerful. They may even be in the right. Maybe the real enemy of humankind is Damon Leiter.

That’s the plot, but the essence of the book is about consumerism, marketing, and especially the privacy and personal access we’re willing to trade for sparkly tech “baubles” and convenience these days. It’s a slippery slope, and truly frightening. That doesn’t mean that Augment Nation is a diatribe—far from it. It’s a story of a flawed, very human being, who learns that his exceptional abilities have come at the price of a heavy responsibility and great personal danger. Take a look at a sample chapter here.

Augment Nation takes place only a few years from now. It’s one of our many potential futures. It’s also an exciting and absorbing thriller. I’m proud of it. So I hope your next stop on the internet is to pre-order Augment Nation and get excited about the launch day October 1st when I’ll be presenting a virtual launch via Facebook and YouTube (with my buddy Mark Leslie Lefevbre) plus an in-person event.

It’s almost here!