Existence

Bestselling, award-winning futurist David Brin returns to globe-spanning, high concept SF with Existence.

Gerald Livingston is an orbital garbage collector. For a hundred years, people have been abandoning things in space, and someone has to clean it up. But there's something spinning a little bit higher than he expects, something that isn't on the decades old orbital maps. An hour after he grabs it and brings it in, rumors fill Earths infomesh about an "alien artifact."

Thrown into the maelstrom of worldwide shared experience, the Artifact is a game-changer. A message in a bottle; an alien capsule that wants to communicate. The world reacts as humans always do: with fear and hope and selfishness and love and violence. And insatiable curiosity.

"The discovery of alien artifacts pushes an already troubled Earth to the brink of chaos in bestseller Brin's exciting story of first contact. Gerald Livingston finds an alien 'egg' while cleaning space garbage out of valuable satellite orbits. When word leaks to the press, speculation and fears abound. Change has already brought 'Awfulday,' when Washington, D.C., was hit by a dirty bomb, and an autism plague has created a generation that neurotypical people can't understand. As a self-styled antitechnology prophet, Tenskwatawa, calls for slowing down technological progress, the alien artifact is an unwelcome 'Disturber,' even as it promises to fix all Earth's problems — with a catch, of course. Meanwhile, a second artifact recovered by a desperate Chinese fisherman warns against following other artifacts, suggesting these miniature Pandora's boxes have steered Earth's culture for some 9,000 years. Are the artifacts truly 'worldstones,' full of wonders and ingenious advice, or 'demon-stones' that will only ruin the little stability to which humanity clings? Brin's thoughtful, multilayered story explores a first contact scenario where every twist reveals greater peril. His longtime fans will especially appreciate that this story could be read as a prequel to 1983's Startide Rising, while those not familiar with his work will find it an impressive introduction to one of SF's major talents." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

"Take a world soaked in near-future strangeness and complexity....Add a beautiful alien artifact that turns out to be the spearpoint of a very dangerous, very ancient invasion....Hotwired with wisdom and wonder...Existence is as urgent and as relevant as anything by Stross or Doctorow, but with the cosmic vision of Bear or Benford. Brin is back." Stephen Baxter, bestselling author of Ark and The Time Ships

"In Existence, David Brin takes on one of the fundamental themes in science fiction — and what is also one of the fundamental questions humanity faces in this century. Since Brin is both a great storyteller and one of the most imaginative writers around, Existence is not to be missed." Vernor Vinge, bestselling author of Fire Upon the Deep and The Children of the Sky

"Existence is a book that makes you think deeply about both the future and life's most important issues. I found it fascinating and could not put it down." Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures

David Brin is a scientist, speaker, technical consultant and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula, and other awards. Brin lives near San Diego, California, with his wife and their three children.