Harbinger

"Skillingstead's notable talent with short stories doesn't quite extend to this often disjointed debut. Disaffected teen Ellis Herrick has psychic visions of the future and a mystical bond with the girl he loves. After surviving a terrible accident, Ellis discovers superhuman healing abilities as well. An eccentric billionaire kidnaps the traumatized boy and requires him to serve as a one-man body parts factory for decades. Having lost everyone he cares about, Ellis allows the billionaire's great-grandson to continue using him in this obscene fashion until, finding a new love among colonists on a generation ship, he revolts with tragic consequences. At his best, Skillingstead gives off strong vibes of Philip K. Dick and Kurt Vonnegut, but readers will struggle to gain any kind of emotional connection to his depressed immortal protagonist." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Six years after a drunk driver kills his mother and brother on Halloween night, Ellis Herrick awakens to find himself changed by a mysterious power. For the next two centuries Ellis pursues answers to the riddle of his immortality, a journey that takes him from the irredeemable past to the far reaches of outer space - and ultimately to the innermost caverns of his wounded psyche. Harbinger is a novel of adventure, evolution, imperishable love, and the shifting nature of personal reality.