Deadstock

John W. Campbell Award nominee (2008).

Punktown, crime-ridden metropolis on the colony world, Oasis, is home to the scum of countless alien races. Stalking its mean streets is Jeremy Stake, the private detective with chameleon-like abilities he does not want and cannot control. There's his wealthy client, Fukuda, whose company makes synthetic life forms as playthings for the rich. Then there's Fukuda's beautiful teenage daughter, whose priceless one-of-a-kind living doll has been stolen. And there is the doll itself, growing in size, intelligence, and resentment.

The destinies of all these individuals will converge, and collide, in Punktown.

This massively acclaimed star of the SF small presses makes his mass market debut with a high-velocity collision of Richard Morgan and China Mieville in the ultimate future noir setting.

"Punktown is searing and alien and anxious and rich, and it is humane, and it is moving. Jeffrey Thomas has done something wonderful." – China Mieville

"Thomas is a very good wordsmith with a fecund and detailed imagination." – Publisher's Weekly

"This is that rare animal, a thriller that keeps the reader guessing. Thomas's control of pacing and plot is expert..." – The Guardian

"Punktown is one of the best examples of SF horror currently out there." – Ellen Datlow

"For a wild ride, readers will be hard-pressed to find a better vehicle than Thomas's bizarre multiverse; fans of cyberpunk noir and Lovecraftian horror will find much to enjoy in this messy, bravura hybrid." – Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)