New Sun Rising: Ten Stories

New Sun Rising  tells the story of Kedzie Greer, a girl who looks beyond the walls of her perfect community in search for more. The year is 2199; the place, the Reunited States.

When Kedzie comes up against the harshness and cruelty of the outside world, she speaks out about what she sees. Followers begin to flock to her as if she were Joan of Ark. But she finds that Joan of Arc is a dangerous role to play.

In the stories, technology coexists with a haunted world. There are witches and robots, ghosts and e-beasts. Networld, too, is haunted. Tribes of e-beasts look down on the human race and interfere when it suits them. The book is magical realism for the Internet age.

New Sun Rising started out as a novel written from a single point of view: Kedzie's. However, because actual people live in a crowd of relatives, friends, coworkers, bosses, neighbors, and fellow citizens, I decided to tell Kedzie’s story not only through her eyes, but through the eyes of others.

There is a single plot arc, and in that sense the stories work like chapters. However, they also work independently. Story 3, “Julia and Adele,” and story 8, “Is Four Enough? Is Six Too Many?” can actually be skipped (though I don't recommend it) if Kedzie’s adventures are the main attraction.

The plot gets in gear in story 2, “Leaving Home.” The first story, “The Town With Four Names,” gives the history of Kedzie’s perfect community, which is 300+ years old in 2199.