Alpha Omega
Published on 21. July 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
416 pages
978-1-78909-381-0 (ISBN)
Description
Stranger Things meets Black Mirror and Ready Player One in this unsettling, near-future SF standalone.
Something is rotten in the state of the NutriStart Skills Academy
With the discovery of a human skull on the playing fields, children displaying symptoms of an unfamiliar, grisly virus and a catastrophic malfunction in the site's security system, the NSA is about to experience a week that no amount of rebranding can conceal. As the school descends into chaos, teacher Tom Rosen goes looking for answers - but when the real, the unreal and the surreal are indistinguishable, the truth can be difficult to recognise.
One pupil, Gabriel Backer, may hold the key to saving the school from destroying itself and its students, except he has already been expelled. Not only that - he has disappeared down the rabbit-hole of "Alpha Omega" - the world's largest VR role-playing game, filled with violent delights and unbridled debauchery. But the game quickly sours. Gabriel will need to confront the real world he's been so desperate to escape if he ever wants to leave...
Something is rotten in the state of the NutriStart Skills Academy
With the discovery of a human skull on the playing fields, children displaying symptoms of an unfamiliar, grisly virus and a catastrophic malfunction in the site's security system, the NSA is about to experience a week that no amount of rebranding can conceal. As the school descends into chaos, teacher Tom Rosen goes looking for answers - but when the real, the unreal and the surreal are indistinguishable, the truth can be difficult to recognise.
One pupil, Gabriel Backer, may hold the key to saving the school from destroying itself and its students, except he has already been expelled. Not only that - he has disappeared down the rabbit-hole of "Alpha Omega" - the world's largest VR role-playing game, filled with violent delights and unbridled debauchery. But the game quickly sours. Gabriel will need to confront the real world he's been so desperate to escape if he ever wants to leave...
Reviews / Votes
"By the final chapter each thread has been skillyfully unravelled... Nicholas Bowling is a thrilling writer who keeps the reader permanently on edge." Telegraph"Inventive, playful bonkers writing... and an explosive finale that ties up all the story's threads with a beautiful, pitch-black bow." SFX Magazine
"A relentlessly entertaining ride - memorably oddball characters, spot-on satire and smart, deadpan humour. I read it in a flurry." Tim Major, author of Snakeskins
"Too-close-for-comfort dystopia... A frightening picture of a repressive near-future, but it's the glints of humanity and humour in its telling that set it apart." Louis Greenburg, author of Green Valley
"Wonderfully twisty and atmospheric... One not to miss." The Bookseller
"The author is one to watch." Historical Novel Association
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
295 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78909-381-0 (9781789093810)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Nicholas Bowling is an author, musician, stand-up comic and Latin teacher from London. He graduated from Oxford University in 2007 with a BA in Classics and English, and again in 2010 with a Masters in Greek and Latin Language and Literature, before moving into teaching. He has also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has recorded two albums and two EPs with Me For Queen.
His critically acclaimed debut WITCHBORN was published in 2017 by Chicken House, and was followed in 2019 by IN THE SHADOW OF HEROES, which was shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award. In 2020, Titan published ALPHA OMEGA, Nicholas s first adult fiction novel, and it will be followed by the supernatural thriller THE FOLLOWER in 2021.
His critically acclaimed debut WITCHBORN was published in 2017 by Chicken House, and was followed in 2019 by IN THE SHADOW OF HEROES, which was shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award. In 2020, Titan published ALPHA OMEGA, Nicholas s first adult fiction novel, and it will be followed by the supernatural thriller THE FOLLOWER in 2021.