Sequel to METAtropolis Coming This Fall!

Cover Artist: Paint/WordArt

One of the key attributes of a well-developed world is the sense that there is a lot more to the story than what fits on the page. The world has a history and a future, regardless of what substory the author actually writes. Or authors, in the case of shared world anthologies, which occassionally spring into existence when you put too many authors in a room together. But when you create a world that begs for further exploration, that further exploration is more often than not an inevitable conclusion.

So when I saw that the authors behind METAtropolis were reuniting for more stories, part of me wasn't exactly overwhelmed with surprise. But the other part of me was excited, mostly because the original anthology a spectacular example of dystopian SF from a crack force of talented newcomers. The anthology focused several new cities in a future America that was different than our own while retaining the roots that grounded it to today's reality.



Tobias Buckell, contributor to both METAtropolis and it's sequel, broke the news on his blog today.

I’m here to announce that a novella of mine, called Byways, will be in the sequel to METAtropolis, called METAtropolis: Cascadia.

METAtropolis was an audio project by Audible.com that you could purchase from Audible or iTunes featuring a shared world glimpse at the future of cities from an awesome cast of authors, each with their own take.

METAtropolis: Cascadia moves the geographical focus to the Pacific Northwest. Jay Lake took on editing and leading the concept for this sequel, and the launch date for it is November 16th.

Buckell goes on to provide the table of contents:

• THE BULL DANCERS by Jay Lake
• WATER TO WINE by Mary Robinette Kowal
• BYWAYS by Tobias S. Buckell
• CONFESSOR by Elizabeth Bear
• DEODAND by Karl Schroeder
• A SYMMETRY OF SERPENTS AND DOVES by Ken Scholes

As well as the blurb for Byways, his personal contribution.

The Pacific Northwest has been transformed — politically, economically, and ecologically — into the new reality of Cascadia. Conspiracies and secrets threaten the tenuous threads of society. The End of Days seems nearer than ever. And the legend of the mysterious Tygre Tygre looms large.

I'll see what I can do to get blurbs from some of the other authors. Now I'm disappointed that John Scalzi (one of my favorite authors) dropped out of the book after contributing to and editing the original. At the same time it's hard to be disappointed with the addition of Ken Scholes and Mary Robinette Kowal. Kowal and Scholes are both Authors Worth Watching in my opinion and they're proven time and time again they know their short fiction.

I have to wonder if the sales figures for dystopian SF are inversely proportional to the state of the economy (which is increasingly dystopian itself). But if you are going to invest some of your hard earned money in a book this fall, METAtropolis: Cascadia is a pretty safe investment.

As Buckell, mentions the Audible.com project launch is right around the corner on Novermber 16th with print editions likely to follow.