Knocking on Heaven's Door: A Novel

(Hardback)

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On a hotter and more volatile earth in the twenty-third century, humans like Clare and Jon live in utopia, hunting and gathering in small tribal bands, engaged in daily art and ritual, reunited with old friends like the shaggy mammoth and giant ground sloth. Even better, they still have solar- powered laptops and can communicate with each other around the world. The understanding of physics has also advanced. When scientists first cloned extinct species from the Pleistocene, they discovered that many of them were telepathicthat consciousness travels in waves. For most people, animism has become the preferred religion, a panpsychism compatible with the laws of a fractal holographic universe. As Clare tells one of her students, the return to an older, Paleolithic lifestyle is one of humanitys greatest achievements.

Its too bad that utopia had to come at such a cost: a genetically engineered super-virus that wiped out most of earths human population. Humanity was shaken by that event, and humanity vowed to change. Now, on the 150th anniversary of that catastrophe, a small group of men and womenas well as a smarter-than-average dire wolf and saber-toothed catare suddenly faced with decisions in which the stakes are higher than ever before. Will earth repeat the cycle of unbridled hubris Or is humanitys destiny even stranger than that

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Reviews

Is there anything Sharman Apt Russell cannot do on the printed page A triumph of the imagination; a brilliant and mesmerizing addition to the sci-fi canon." JJ Amaworo Wilson, author of Damnificados

This conflicted postapocalyptic tale of sparse but still civilized humans in a world of cloned mammoths and telepathic saber-toothed tigers tries to find the balance between preservation and progress. Clare, a hunter and writing instructor, guides Brad, a lab rat who discovered an important principle of the universe, on a wilderness quest. It leads not to enlightenment but to bigender loner Luke/Lucia and mutated dire wolf Dog. Wishing for fame in a world that frowns on individual aggrandizement, Brad takes peyote, links minds with Dog, and discovers the long-sought secret of how DNA broadcasts consciousness. Aided by Luke/Lucia and Dog, he constructs a device that can resurrect the dead, including Clares baby daughter. Russell happily sets up a Paleoterrific primitive utopia and then allows the gritty reality of dying young and the discomfort of conforming to social norms in a small community to wear away at an eco-friendly life with nature. Big cats may mentally howl I love you, but they still want to eat you. Publishers Weekly

Theres a spin on this story that is unlike the others I have read. I liked it enough that I read it all in one sitting. . . . I essentially inhaled this book. It has a wonderful flow. Geeks of Doom

A dazzling and hallucinatory mythBeautifully written and vertiginousCastaneda jacked into the Matrix, Einstein crunching numbers on the walls of Lascaux, a druid with a sickle and a laptop. Andrew Todhunter, author of A Meal Observed and Dangerous Games

Russells intelligence and imagination shine. Eric C. Otto, author of Green Speculations: Science Fiction and Transformative Environmentalism

"In classic science fiction style, Russell presents a devastated world reformed into a seeming paleolithic paradise [a] suspenseful and gripping tale William Seager, author of Natural Fabrications: Science, Emergence and Consciousness

Like Ursula K. Le Guin and Kim Stanley Robinson, Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of human reorientation within a radically reanimated world an urgent story that immerses the reader in the agonizing entanglements and wonders of being. Gib Prettyman, Pennsylvania State University, Associate Editor, Resources for American Literary Study

Sharman Apt Russells vibrant new novel will enthrall readers with its vision of a future in which animism, panpsychism and hard science come together to show us how the forces shaping consciousness and the universe are one and the same. Imre Szeman, co-author of After Globalization

"An intriguing and compelling tale of humanity struggling to recover its indigenous allegiance to Earth and Earth Law despite the genie of physical science having well and truly escaped from the bottle." Freya Matthews, author of For Love of Matter: a Contemporary Panpsychism

A voice keenly in tune with the discourses of science, ecology, rhetoric, and spirituality. . . . Russells vision of tomorrow imagines sobering consequencesand pathways to possible solutionsto the crises we face today." Michael R. Page, author of Frederik Pohl and The Literary Imagination from Erasmus Darwin to H.G. Wells: Science, Evolution, and Ecology

Russell has a knack for fast-paced action and poetic turns of phrase, and readers will turn the pages quickly so they can follow along with the adventures of Brad, Clare, Dog, and Luke as they journey through this new world. Fans of post-apocalyptic science fiction will find this a wild and enjoyable ride. Stephanie Vie, author of (E)-Dentity

What a great read! Bringing back the animalsand reminding us of animal powers and mindsis an important message for the here and now. An engagingand thoughtfully-informedpost-apocalyptic novel that stays with you for weeks afterward. Sharman Russell has a clever and also provocative imagination that leads the reader into deep reflection on who we are and who we might become. Margaret Conkey, co-author of Ancient Goddesses: the Myths and Evidence and co-editor of Engendering Archaeology: Women and Prehistory

With compelling characters, a driving rhythm, and a rich plot, the novel smoothly navigates between the principles of biology and physics, the mystique of animism, the politics of posthumanism, and the tropes of science fiction. Keren Omry, American Studies, University of Haifa, Science Fiction Research Association, Vice President

She's earned a spot next to Margaret Atwood and Daniel Quinn for sparking readers to reflect on the tensions between the natural environment and our ever-evolving technology. Sean Murray, author of Composition Incorporated: Turbo Capitalism, Higher Education, and the Teaching of Writing

Russells implementation of panpsychist theory brings this book to life as one of the most extraordinary sci-fis of our time . . ." Jack Symes, author of "In Defense of Strong Emergentist Panpsychism"

A syncretic approach where hard science and the hard problem of consciousness merge into a welcome addition to the science fiction canon. Whats more, this is a piece of storytelling at its best! John M. Gist, co-author of Angst and Evolution: The Struggle for Human Potential, author of Lizard Dreaming of Birds

A gripping readI couldnt put it down, but I didnt want it to end! Sharman Russell knows how to pay tribute to the great traditions of science fiction storytellingand how to make them new for the twenty-first century. Lisa Yaszek, author of Galactic Suburbia and past president of the Science Fiction Research Association

Russells novel remains steadfastly optimistic. A refreshing alternative to near-future dystopias, she offers a glimpse of a future primitive in which people live more sustainably and equitably, sustained by a sense of wonder when nature turns out to have been panpsychic all along. Melody Jue, author of Vampire Squid Media
Is there anything Sharman Apt Russell cannot do on the printed page A triumph of the imagination; a brilliant and mesmerizing addition to the sci-fi canon." JJ Amaworo Wilson, author of Damnificados

This conflicted postapocalyptic tale of sparse but still civilized humans in a world of cloned mammoths and telepathic saber-toothed tigers tries to find the balance between preservation and progress. Clare, a hunter and writing instructor, guides Brad, a lab rat who discovered an important principle of the universe, on a wilderness quest. It leads not to enlightenment but to bigender loner Luke/Lucia and mutated dire wolf Dog. Wishing for fame in a world that frowns on individual aggrandizement, Brad takes peyote, links minds with Dog, and discovers the long-sought secret of how DNA broadcasts consciousness. Aided by Luke/Lucia and Dog, he constructs a device that can resurrect the dead, including Clares baby daughter. Russell happily sets up a Paleoterrific primitive utopia and then allows the gritty reality of dying young and the discomfort of conforming to social norms in a small community to wear away at an eco-friendly life with nature. Big cats may mentally howl I love you, but they still want to eat you. Publishers Weekly

Theres a spin on this story that is unlike the others I have read. I liked it enough that I read it all in one sitting. . . . I essentially inhaled this book. It has a wonderful flow. Geeks of Doom

A dazzling and hallucinatory mythBeautifully written and vertiginousCastaneda jacked into the Matrix, Einstein crunching numbers on the walls of Lascaux, a druid with a sickle and a laptop. Andrew Todhunter, author of A Meal Observed and Dangerous Games

Russells intelligence and imagination shine. Eric C. Otto, author of Green Speculations: Science Fiction and Transformative Environmentalism

"In classic science fiction style, Russell presents a devastated world reformed into a seeming paleolithic paradise [a] suspenseful and gripping tale William Seager, author of Natural Fabrications: Science, Emergence and Consciousness

Like Ursula K. Le Guin and Kim Stanley Robinson, Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of human reorientation within a radically reanimated world an urgent story that immerses the reader in the agonizing entanglements and wonders of being. Gib Prettyman, Pennsylvania State University, Associate Editor, Resources for American Literary Study

Sharman Apt Russells vibrant new novel will enthrall readers with its vision of a future in which animism, panpsychism and hard science come together to show us how the forces shaping consciousness and the universe are one and the same. Imre Szeman, co-author of After Globalization

"An intriguing and compelling tale of humanity struggling to recover its indigenous allegiance to Earth and Earth Law despite the genie of physical science having well and truly escaped from the bottle." Freya Matthews, author of For Love of Matter: a Contemporary Panpsychism

A voice keenly in tune with the discourses of science, ecology, rhetoric, and spirituality. . . . Russells vision of tomorrow imagines sobering consequencesand pathways to possible solutionsto the crises we face today." Michael R. Page, author of Frederik Pohl and The Literary Imagination from Erasmus Darwin to H.G. Wells: Science, Evolution, and Ecology

Russell has a knack for fast-paced action and poetic turns of phrase, and readers will turn the pages quickly so they can follow along with the adventures of Brad, Clare, Dog, and Luke as th

Author Bio

Sharman Apt Russell is a longtime professor at Western New Mexico University and Antioch University in L.A. She is the award-winning author of numerous essays, short stories, and books, including Hunger and An Obsession with Butterflies. Additionally, she was the recipient of the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award, the New Mexico Zia Award, and the Rockefeller Fellowship. She lives in Silver City, New Mexico.