Planetbreaker’s Son

This collection gathers Nick Mamatas's speculative fiction, where horror, science fiction, and fantasy share the road and the author cuts across their boundaries. Mamatas is known for sharp satire that treats the conventions of each genre as material to bend and remix.

The title story is a starship novella written for this volume. Interstellar emigrants keep their stadium-sized vessel running through dreams and play, improvising as they go. The story has been compared to Pinocchio and Ender's Game.

The book also includes "Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring," a cautionary tale about what happens when ancient wizardry collides with modern ringtones. "The Term Paper Artist" is a comic satirical guide to padding academic writing through imitation and makeshift repairs, based on a true story of deception.

The collection closes with a candid interview that moves between Greek sailors, Japanese manga fans, Doc Martens, Lovecraft, the author's grandmother, and Kerouac.