Shades of Forever

In a heretofore calm pocket of a postapocalyptic world, a few survivors find they are not alone as they face a new reality rife with cosmic horrors.

In an isolated village at the edge of a forest, the last of humanity ekes out a spirited existence on an Earth that was ravaged by cataclysm generations ago. Here, Sky Memoriam prepares to assume the role of memory keeper, sole relator of the long-forgotten histories of the Old World. But Sky is in for a shock.

When a ship from somewhere out in space lands in the survivors' clearing, its wisecracking AI interface, Box, quickly announces its intention to integrate Sky into what the visitor insists is the true reality. In order to withstand the forthcoming eldritch horrors--so soul-rippingly incomprehensible there are no words to describe them--it seems assimilation is essential. But creature-combat training aside, Sky's greatest task will be making sense of everything the snarky bot has to impart about limitless imagination, the endless infinity of other worlds, and the dangers on this one.

Being torn between the wasteland Sky and the plucky village folk call home and the infinite multiverse proffered by Box is enough to drive anyone insane. But as our hero soon discovers--and as weird as it sounds--madness itself may be the key to surviving this wild ride.

At once violent, funny, and hopeful, Shades of Forever is a reality-shattering, mind-melting slice of dystopian fiction from author, activist, and former NFL punter Chris Kluwe.