Edvard the 3D Scream sculpture

The sculpture based on Edvard Munch's The Scream which features in my novel Xeno is an actual thing that haunts my everyday life. It's made by Design Toscano, a company headquartered in Wood Dale, Illinois. Titled The Silent Scream, it comes in different sizes and is meant to be a garden ornament. I own the largest one, which stands at nearly a metre tall. I would never put it in my garden as I can imagine it being stolen within a week.

I love Munch's masterpiece, so naturally I love seeing it in three dimensions. It's also quite handy as a writing aid. My Edvard stands there looking at me every day as I write. Whenever I hit a writer's impasse, I imagine him asking me questions, or giving me encouragement, and sometimes even wailing over my lack of progress. Unlike in Xeno, my Edvard is definitely a friendly, positive character.

Speaking of Xeno, I've realised I set it up to be a trilogy. The foreword states the Xeno spaceship wasn't the only one to set forth into the abyss of space. It was followed by Xeno II and Xeno III. I hadn't realised I'd set the scene for sequels until recently, much like Arthur C. Clarke didn't initially know he'd done the same thing with his fantastic novel Rendezvous with Rama, even though he'd ended it with the line "The Ramans do everything in threes." Since the Ramans did everything in threes, it meant two more huge cylindrical starships had to be heading for our solar system.

At the moment I don't know whether sequels to Xeno will ever see the light of day. If you would like to read a Xeno sequel, please don't hesitate to let me know.

"Anti-money" science fiction novel released

My new "anti-money", anti-capitalism science fiction / cyberpunk novel You Cannot Kill the Root is available from multiple outlets. As well as the usual ebook format, it's also available from Amazon in both paperback and hardback form in certain countries.

Here is the synopsis of the new book:

In the not-too-distant future the citizens of civilised society are required to take part in the System, a grand attempt at tackling wealth inequality. After poor but brilliant Wesley Moon inexplicably fails his career aptitude test, ending his dream of becoming an astronomer, his introduction to an underground resistance group reveals the System is a sham, its machinations designed by a clique of wealthy elites called the Consortium.

As Wesley is targeted by more than one faction over his suspicious test result, he comes to realise the Consortium is responsible for far more than just the System. It has set in motion a chain of events that will lead to the demise of everyone but the super-rich – a future he must change if he and those he loves are to have any chance of survival.

The book is available from Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play Books and Kobo.

All Nathan Kuzack material now available for free

All published Nathan Kuzack novels and short stories are now available for free from Apple Books, Google Play Books and Kobo. Doomware and The Anguisher Creature have received significant updates – mostly edits to correct typos that weren't caught the first time around, or changes to make the text flow better. The basic storylines remain unchanged.

Doomware received a spell of extra attention a few months ago, apparently due to the third episode of the excellent TV series The Last of Us titled Long, Long Time, in which two men form a relationship in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, much like David and Tarot in Doomware. It's a good example of how factors totally unrelated to an individual author can affect their readership and sales.

The Nathan Kuzack Twitter (now X) account has been deleted, along with the copy of this blog on Goodreads. They took up too much time. And also I just can't stand Elon Musk.