No world is like the other. Within this masterful collection, each setting is more strange and wonderful than the last, brimming with new technologies and beings. And yet for all the advances in these futuristic lands, the people must still confront deeply human problems. In these six short stories, Veronica Roth reaches into the unknown and draws forth something startlingly familiar and profoundly beautiful.
In “INERTIA,” friends Claire and Matt stopped speaking six months ago. When Matt gets into a car accident and his end looks certain, he requests a Visitation, a procedure that allows him and Claire to revisit shared memories—and a chance to discover what went wrong.
“THE SPINNERS” follows bounty hunter Atleigh Kent as she tracks and kills leeches—a predatory extraterrestrial race that illegally absorbs human host bodies. But death begets death, and Atleigh is relentless in her search for revenge.
Imagine a unique symphony, a slow ode of aches and joy, notes created by each body as it lives and as it dies. In “HARKENERS,” these songs are heard by a select few. As Darya makes a difficult decision between her role as a recorder of life songs or death songs, she discovers where the two merge.
“VIM AND VIGOR” explores fandom, anxiety, and female friendship through Edie’s choice to use the Elucidation Protocol, a simulated reality technology that reveals the likely outcomes of difficult decisions.
In “ARMORED ONES,” Teka has one mission while working undercover with the Storyteller: kill Cyra Noavek. Akos, on the other hand, must prove his wit and mettle in a rite that will likely kill him.
“THE TRANSFORMATIONIST” delves into the psyche of Otho—a prisoner in jail for a crime he never intended to commit. His honest story is all it would take to release him, but he refuses to speak.
This collection has something for new and old fans alike. Divergent’s globally bestselling author, Veronica Roth, weaves tales that begin with a hope for a better end, but always end with a better understanding of the beginning.
