Pre-order Now! Book 2 of the Imogene Durant mystery series set in idyllic Ireland.
Ravenstone
Pre-order Now! A psychological twist on the Bluebeard Tale, Behind the Door is fraught with suspense and fear.
Pre-order Now! A double-booked rental, terrifying headlines across Europe and a looming deadline are the least of Amy's worries.
A gripping debut that probes a fraying world at the mercy of a mysterious phenomenon.
Featured
- Book Club Questions:
- Imogene Durant is a retired Comparative Literature prof, whose present work entails reading a book while living where the story is situated. Her thesis is that it enhances an appreciation of the work. Have you ever read a book set where you live, or a place you know intimately? How has that influenced your appreciation of the book? How did the book influence your appreciation of your hometown?
- The crime committed in Les Miserables that labels Jean Valjean a criminal is stealing a loaf of bread to feed his hungry family. Street art is featured in Victor & Me in Paris, which is also considered illegal. Victor Hugo’s Inspector Javert doesn’t distinguish when it comes to severity of crimes, whereas modern-day Toni seems to be more lenient. Who is right?
- Anti-tourism sentiment is on the rise in Europe and various sunspot destinations. Imogene tries to distance herself from the average tourist in various ways. What are they, and do you think she succeeds?
- What do you think is the perfect way to travel?
- In the past, young people were encouraged to make a grand tour of Europe, which then evolved into a gap year backpacking tour, as a means of encouraging a greater perspective on the world. Is travel important to our education and behaviour as citizens?
- In Comparative Literature classes, world literature is read in translation. Can translations accurately capture the essence of what the author is trying to evoke?
- Imogene is a “woman of a certain age,” retired and divorced. She is finding herself free for the first time in many years. What are some of the social norms that hold women back from this sort of adventure?
- Paris is more than the backdrop to this narrative. In what ways does the City of Lights feature as almost another character in the plot? What elements of the plot could only happen in Paris?
- Imogene makes several comparisons to her hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada while visiting Paris. What are some possibly surprising ways in which the cities compare in her mind?
- In Victor & Me in Paris, the author has titled the chapters. Does this enhance your reading or annoy you?
- How much of the events we are privy to do you think Imogene will include in her version of Victor & Me in Paris?
- Do you think Marcel targeted Imogene, or was it sheer happenstance that brought them together?
- Solo travel is considered unusual, and yet Imogene travelling alone doesn’t appear to be a surprise to anyone she meets. Is this believable to you? What are some of the benefits of travelling alone, and what does she miss out on? Would you travel alone, or have you?
- If you were going somewhere for a month, what would you pack?
- If you were going to read a great work set in Paris, what would you choose? Why?
Everything Paris can offer! Fine dining, good reading and a mystery to solve!
Featured
- Awards and Honours:
- Nominated: Aurora Awards, Best novel
- Reviews:
- One heck of a debut novel. —R. Graeme Cameron, Amazing Stories
The thrilling sci-fi debut novel from pillar of the Toronto science fiction community, Don Miasek.
- Praise:
- Don Miasek plunges readers into a cracking fusion of cyberpunk and space opera, whirling us with breakneck action through a wonderfully realized vision of a inhabited solar system riven by intrigue. As agendas and loyalties fray and collide, our only certainty is that we care deeply about the characters, no matter which side they think they are on. —David Annandale, Warlord (Warhammer 40,000) and The Tyrant Skies (A Marvel: Untold Novel)
- Brimming with atmosphere from the first paragraph, the incredible world-building by Don Miasek will draw you in, but it's the fascinating characters and intriguing plot that will keep you there. Pale Grey Dot is a gripping debut that won't let you go until the last page is turned. —Jason Pchajek, author of Bounty
Featured
- Book Club Questions:
- Discuss the dual meaning behind the novel's title "Bounty" and how it appears implicitly and explicitly throughout the story.
- The novel concerns a business/market-focused response to climate change, in what ways, large and small, can you see this throughout the story? Discuss potential alternative responses to the climate crisis.
- The cli-fi genre, of which the novel is a part, concerns social, cultural, and political changes in response to climate change. Discuss aspects of the novel's world where this is shown. Would you consider these changes good or bad by today's standards? Could you see any of these occurring?
- Human enhancement, through cybernetic prothesis, medication, and technology, are a major component to this world. Many bioethicists believe we already live in an era of human enhancement. In what ways do you see yourselves or the people around you being "enhanced" by technology?
- In the novel, climate change has effectively been halted, and humanity is beginning the process of "pushing the climate clock back." Do you think that's possible with how we currently view solutions to the climate crisis? Or do things need to get worse before they can get better.
- Do you think there is a price humanity should be willing to pay to respond to climate change, or ensure humanity is more resilient?
- Nikos Wulf, and many of the other characters in the novel, are bounty hunters, a group of citizen peacekeepers. This vocation was created to put policing and criminal justice back "in the hands of the people." In an era with rampant police spending, and calls for complete overhauls or curtailing of such spending, do you think there will ever be an appetite for such a system? In what ways does it exacerbate or maintain the issues with criminal justice that already exist today?
- In the novel, Nikos states that the anti-establishment groups have legal and illegal purposes/businesses in the city. The Plainswalkers, for instance, provide locally grown and processed food to the people of the sublevels, creating jobs and ensuring the less fortunate of the city have healthy things to eat. In your mind, does the good outweigh the bad?
- While drinking at Haven, Mack remarks that credits are a universal currency, meaning they are the preferred currency across the globe. Do you think this is a feasible idea in today's world and beyond? Could concepts like the Eurozone be extended far enough to encompass the whole planet?
- Would you describe the world presented in Bounty as a utopia or dystopia? Why or why not?
- Is this a future you'd be ok living in? Why or why not?
- At its core, Bounty explores what would happen if we continued to look to corporations and billionaires to save us from the challenges of our lives (i.e. climate change). Do you believe this is inherently good or bad? At what point do "benevolent corporations" become less-than benevolent? Or do human needs clash too much with corporate needs.
A bold new vision of a world on the edge of disaster.
Turnstone Press Ltd.
206-100 Arthur Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
R3B 1H3
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