Jeff Somers is an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Literary career

Since 1995, Somers has published his

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

''The Inner Swine'' and has been a prolific contributor to

alt.zines A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

. The 21st century has seen Somers's transformation from an observational essayist into a science fiction writer of no small talent, "a gifted craftsman" with a "funky wit." His first novel, ''Lifers'' was soon followed by the

dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...

Avery Cates series. His novels are published in the US and the UK by

Orbit Books Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It is a division of Lagardère Publishing. History Orbit Books was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company. In 1992, ...

. Somers has also been called one of the "promising lesser lights" of mystery writing

Critical attention

According to one critic, Jeff Somers' first novel ''Lifers'' has an "undernourished plot," although the same critic praises Somers's character observations. Somers' novel ''The Electric Church'' was widely praised on its publication. ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'' wrote, "Somers' stunning debut introduces one of the genre's most promising newcomers." ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' called it "a dark future of high tech and low dreams in an action-filled noir thriller reminiscent of Blade Runner." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' praised the characters but was less enthusiastic about the plot, writing, "Somers's icplot sprints along through the nicely detailed (if slightly unoriginal) world, but the characters are the real prize in this entertaining near-future noir." In 2009 one of Somers' short stories ''Drum Trial'' was selected as 1st Runner Up for Best Science Fiction Story 2500 to 6999 words in the "Best Of" contest from ''Strange, Weird & Wonderful Magazine''.

Bibliography

The Avery Cates Series

#''The Electric Church'' (2007) #''The Digital Plague'' (2008) #''The Eternal Prison'' (2009) #''The Terminal State'' (2010) #''The Final Evolution'' (2011) #"The Shattered Gears" (short story, 2014) #"The Iron Island" (short story, 2015) #"The Pale" (short story, 2015) #"The Walled City" (short story, 2015) #"The City Lord" (short story, 2016) #"The Bey" (short story, 2016) #''The Shattered Gears'' (short story collection, 2016) #''The Kendish Hit'' (2017) #''The Burning City'' (short story collection, 2020)

The Ustari Cycle

#''Trickster'' (2014) #''Fixer (prequel eBook)'' (2014) #''We Are Not Good People'' (2014)

Other works

* ''The Ruiner'' (2014) * ''Chum'' (2013) * ''Lifers'' (2001) * ''The Freaks Are Winning'' (2002) * ''Blood and Splendor: Sliders Special'' (1997 Sliders Comic Book Co-writer)

Writing & Publishing Guides

* ''Writing Without Rules: How to Write & Sell a Novel Without Guidelines, Experts, or (Occasionally) Pants'' (2018)

Digital Friction

* ''The Electric Church'' (an

Alternate Reality Game An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by int ...

) * Twitter Fiction * ''The Eternal Prison''

Text Adventure Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...

References

External links

* *
The story behind We Are Not Good People - Online Essay by Jeff Somers
at Upcoming4.me
The story behind Trickster - Online Essay by Jeff Somers
at Upcoming4.me {{DEFAULTSORT:Somers, Jeff Living people American male writers Year of birth missing (living people)