Come see me talk to author Stephen Markley about his new novel, The Deluge

A live book event coming up in Seattle.

On Thursday January 12th at 7pm Pacific, I will be holding a live event at Third Place Books in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle. RSVP here.

I'll be having a conversation with author Stephen Markley. His debut novel Ohio , about four former classmates who converge one night in their old rust-belt Ohio town, came out in 2018 and was met with overwhelming critical praise. NPR called it “a wild, angry and devastating masterpiece of a book.”

I will be talking with him two days after the release of his second novel, The Deluge. It is of interest to Volts subscribers, not only because Markley is a major talent, but because the story wrestles squarely and directly with climate change.

Dr. Volts talks with Stephen Markley. RSVP here.

It begins in the year 2016 and marches forward, year by year, to 2040, charting the fortunes of a collection of activists, scientists, politicians, and ordinary people caught up in the chaos. There is conflict over the proper role of activism, struggle over the details of policy, a resurgence of reactionary nationalism, an increasingly grueling series of weather-related disasters, and amidst it all, relationships forming and exploding apart. It felt like it had been written just for me, in ways both thrilling and terrifying.

The Deluge arrives on a wave of advance praise. Stephen King said it was his favorite novel of 2022.

Stephen King @StephenKing

The best novel I read in 2022 was THE DELUGE, by Stephen Markley. It will be published on January 10 of this year. This is what the world is going to look like in the next 10 years, if changes aren't made. More terrifying than THE STAND. Because it's real.

I highly recommend giving it a read.

My plan is to record the conversation and release it as a podcast. But of course these things are always more fun live. If you are in or around Seattle, I hope you will come. RSVP here.