Quantum Cannibals (Stories from the Milky Way)

Spanning continents, time, and dimensions, Quantum Cannibals is a darkly intricate tale that’s equal parts satisfying puzzle and richly imagined mythology.In the bucolic Early Bronze Age, regional chieftain Taiku prepares for war, enlisting the help of his good friend Asenath, the wise and beautiful leader of the local Ebers—an educated, innovative people without a land of their own. The enemy they face is led by a ruthless, bloodthirsty invader named Ja’ix, a man intent on subjugating all who stand in his path and converting them to his religion.When the Ebers of the technologically advanced Modern Age are exiled to the arctic dimension known as the Edge of the World, an eminent quantum biologist named Osnat and her husband Simon run straight into a savage Tunniq hunting party, which brutally subdues and kidnaps them. Simon is butchered and eaten, while Osnat is adopted by the village shaman, a transgender woman named Aarluk. Knowing her survival depends on it, Osnat buries her grief and loathing, determined to learn all she can from the Tunniq so she can use it against them to wreak vengeance. In the Modern Age, the barrier keeping the Ebers locked in the icy North has begun to break down, and no one knows how to fix it but the Ebers themselves, who are known for their facility with repairs. When an Eber named Saima is brought through the barrier to serve as a technician he finds himself warm and well fed, but the cost for these comforts is high: the people have given up all individuality and independent thought, and conformity is enforced by law. What no one around him knows is that Saima has come to recover what the ancestors of this world stole from his people.Quantum Cannibals is smart writing for smart readers, where complex world-building and seemingly disparate storylines are woven into an astonishing and rewarding whole. It will appeal to fans of modern classics like Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas and Dan Simmon’s Hyperion, as well as Golden Age greats like Clarke’s Childhood’s End.

About the Author

Nathan Elberg has an M.A. in anthropology and is working (slowly) on his doctorate. He's lived and hunted with Indians and Inuit, studied folklore, warfare, cannibalism, shamanism, Kabbalah, primitive art and communications among other things (all used to build the Quantum Cannibals world). He is a member of the Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction Association. He blogs occasionally at quantumcannibals.com

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