THE AGE OF THE CONGLOMERATES：A NOVEL OF THE FUTURE

Book ID/图书代码： 01240008B22227

English Summary/英文概要： This is a trade paperback original that we will be publishing this August that will certainly be well received by publishers everywhere. It is a futuristic novel in the tradition of Asmiov and Orwell, about the transcending power of love and family in a time of political and cultural dictatorship. In near-future America, the economic and social structure has failed, and The Conglomerates, a political party controlled by an Oz-like Chairman, has transformed national law. Through genetic engineering, you can tailor-make your child, or recreate your self.
George and Patsy Salter are just two of the many elderly people known as Coots who have been deemed a burden to family and society, and they have been shipped off to one of the government-run communities in the southwest, under The Family Relief Act. Meanwhile, back in New York, their two granddaughters, estranged from each other and their family, are struggling in different ways, with the world of The Conglomerates. Christine, our heroine, is head of genetic engineering at a New York medical center, and has fallen in love with a man in her department, who is mysteriously abducted by The Conglomerates. Then Christine is charged with a dangerous task by the all-powerful Chairman of the Conglomerate Party: to make him more youthful, through genetic engineering. Christine’s sister, at the other end of the power spectrum in the Age of the Conglomerates, is a Dyscard, considered too troublesome to be worth bothering with, just a young drain on society and on people’s resources and time, and she has been kicked out, to live with the Dyscards in the city’s underground. Separated by time, space, and values, these four characters search through a futuristic landscape for ways to survive and to hold on to love, hope, and mercy, in this strangest of times.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 數十年後，基因改造主宰了一切，人們可以複製自己，無止盡的延長青春與壽命，甚至訂做一個滿意的下一代。不符合新時代規則的老廢物們被送到集中營，不滿現狀的年輕人則遁入地下生活。原本投身先進基因科技研發與實驗的故事主角，能發現一切只是荒謬的騙局嗎？該如何重新拼湊倫理親情、愛與家庭？一個出版界的業務員，因為有感於父母受阿茲海默症侵襲之苦，寫出了這部動人暢銷的科幻小說，廣受好評與讀者喜愛。(TT)

Awards/获奖情况：“Smart and exhilarating . . . a highly original debut novel, told in an exciting voice, that casts shades of Asimov.”--–Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Charlemagne Pursuit
Nevins’s debut reads like the novelization of a film adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novel. It’s 2048, and the U.S. government is run by the Conglomerates, a political party controlled by the chairman, whose regime has transformed the demographics of the country: Coots, or those over 80, have been relocated to retirement communities, while problematic youth, or Dyscards, live in city subways. Christine Salter is the director of genetic development at the New York Medical Center, where she helps people create, or re-create their children and themselves through genetic manipulation. When her best employee and potential love interest disappears after being suspected of subversive activities, Christine cozies up with the chairman in order to find out what has happened to him. Meanwhile, her grandparents are deported to Cootsland, and Christine’s estranged sister becomes a Dyscard. As Christine uncovers a sinister plot, she abruptly reconsiders the moral implications of her work and puts her own life at risk to save those whom society has forsaken. Readers willing to pardon the oversimplification of good versus evil may enjoy the slick presentation and Hollywood-like setup.--- Publishers Weekly
SF author Thomas Nevins told SCI FI Wire that his novel The Age of the Conglomerates speculates on the future of aging and was inspired, in part, by his parents’ battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
"I wondered what it would be like in the future, for my generation--a significantly larger demographic with longer life expectancy--to deal with growing old and for our children, who would be saddled not only with us, but with the debt we accumulated and passed on to them," Nevins said in an interview. "I took a step back to look at the culture at large and thought of the future of consumerism, marketing, politics and the private sector in relation to the problems of people and started to write what became The Age of the Conglomerates."
The book takes place in a near-future America in which the economy and the culture have collapsed, as has any confidence in the established political parties. "A new party emerges from the private sector, the Conglomerates, who gain power with a hyper-marketed message of economic stability through government control," Nevins said. "The Conglomerates are run by a party chair that is neither elected nor selected but is in complete, unaccountable control."
The protagonist, Dr. Christine Salter, is the director of genetic development at a leading medical center. "[She] specializes in the highly profitable field of reproductive genetic planning and experimental genetic renovation in the ultimate self-improvement for adults," Nevins said. "She is much in demand but finds her attention and affection for a co-worker, along with what is happening to her family, have her questioning her motives and responsibilities."
Christine’s sister, Ximena, is 18 and has recently been exiled into the Dyscards, a government-sanctioned program for troubled youth. "[She] is deposited into the subways and tunnels of the city’s underground," Nevins said. "Patsy and George Salter, Christine’s grandparents, are Coots--octogenarians whose properties and assets are seized for the economic crimes of the past--and are sent to a government-run community out west. How their lives intertwine with each other--how love and mercy survive in this time and culture--is the basis of the story." ---John Joseph Adams,the editor at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and the reporter for SCI FI Wire

About the Author/作者介绍： Thomas Nevins has been involved in the book business for most of his life, and is currently employed as a sales representative for Random House. He lives with his family in New York.

Format:TRADE PAPERBACK

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：

原文第一章内容：暂无

手稿：暂无

大纲：暂无