Sunset, Water City

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Year 2160- It's been ten years since the cataclysmic events of Eventide, Water City, where 99.97 percent of the human population was possessed or obliterated by Akira Kimura, Water City's renowned scientist and Earth's former savior. Our nameless antihero, a synesthete and former detective, and his daughter, Ascalon, navigate through a post-apocalyptic landscape populated by barbaric Zeroes-the permanent residents of the continent's biggest landfill, The Great Leachate-who cling to the ways of the old world. They live in opposition to Akira's godlike domination of the planet-she has taken control of the population that viewed her as a god and converted them into her Gardeners, zombie-like humans who plod along to build her vision of a new world. What that world exactly entails, Ascalon is not entirely sure, but intends to find out. Now nineteen, she, a synesthete herself, takes over this story while her father succumbs to grief and decades of Akira's manipulation. Tasked with the impossible, Ascalon must find a way to free what's left of the human race. In the powerful conclusion to the sci-fi noir Water City trilogy, faith, power, and tech clash when our nameless protagonist passes the responsibility of saving the world to his teenage daughter. For fans of Phillip K. Dick and The Last of Us. Year 2160- It's been ten years since the cataclysmic events of Eventide, Water City, where 99.97 percent of the human population was possessed or obliterated by Akira Kimura, Water City's renowned scientist and Earth's former savior. Our nameless antihero, a synesthete and former detective, and his daughter, Ascalon, navigate through a post-apocalyptic landscape populated by barbaric Zeroes-the permanent residents of the continent's biggest landfill, The Great Leachate-who cling to the ways of the old world. They live in opposition to Akira's godlike domination of the planet-she has taken control of the population that viewed her as a god and converted them into her Gardeners, zombie-like humans who plod along to build her vision of a new world. What that world exactly entails, Ascalon is not entirely sure, but intends to find out. Now nineteen, she, a synesthete herself, takes over this story while her father succumbs to grief and decades of Akira's manipulation. Tasked with the impossible, Ascalon must find a way to free what's left of the human race.

Reviews

Praise for Sunset, Water City

A BookBrowse Best Book of December 2023
CrimeReads Best Speculative Crime Fiction of 2023
CrimeReads Most Anticipated Crime Fiction of Fall

A rewarding [series] thats brought to an imaginative conclusion here.
Toronto Star

McKinney completes a pivot from futuristic detective narrative to a work set in a full-on post-apocalyptic landscape (or seascape). Its a haunting conclusion for an ambitious series.
Tor.com

A thrilling finale . . . Read this trilogy if youve ever wondered what a Philip K. Dick novel would feel like underwaterthat sounds like a joke, but this is impeccable scifi noir and a stirring series for our times.
CrimeReads

McKinney's narrative is so compelling that it's well worth entering his speculative world.
BethKanell, Stories That Matter

McKinney nails the landing in the wrenching conclusion to his 22nd-century sci-fi noir trilogy . . . As in prior entries, McKinneys worldbuilding is top-notch, and he successfully launches more rattlingand gratifyingsurprises than most would expect from a series finale. This brings a superior series to a sharp, startling conclusion.
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Few SF trilogies are as ambitious as this one: it beganin 2021s Midnight, Water Citywith the world struggling to recover after a near miss with an asteroid. For McKinney, that catastrophe was merely the jumping-off point, and this satisfying conclusion to a magnificent trilogy offers a real treat for SF fans.
Booklist

Praise forthe Water City Trilogy

Binge-worthy . . . The noir tone of the trilogy is sure to appeal as much to detective novel readers as it is to science fiction fansand its commentary on class, climate, and the morality of truth is absolutely on point.
Paste

This distinctive novel brims with delightful innovations, razor-sharp social commentary and richly wrought characters, all set against a teeming underwater city.
Newsweek

An impressive feat of world-building, blending speculative but coherent takes on environmental issues and the future of tech, politics and the economy . . . Theres no denying McKinney has a fantastic imagination thats running in high gear here, making this series well worth checking out.
The Toronto Star

This gritty noir set in a sci-fi landscape is a real page-turner.
Buzzfeed

After reading Water City Trilogy, a sci-fi triptych out of Hieronymus Bosch, you may never look at your phone the same way again. A powerful parable about the illusion of free will and the poison of ego couched in a fast-paced, wisecrack-filled detective story, the novels jolly you along the road to environmental and technological disaster. Its a swell ride, exhilarating, the prose crackling.
The Hawaii Review of Books

Many writers use crime fiction to reveal hidden elements of society or expose the abuses of those in power . . . And that sense of powerful people concealing crucial secrets from the general public is very much on display in Chris McKinneys Midnight, Water Citya novel which makes the most of its slow-burning narrative of detection.
Tor.com

Eventide, Water City is sci-fi, neo-noir at its finest. Chris McKinney doesnt just build a worldhe conjures up a glimpse at what the world could be if were not careful.
Eli Cranor, author of Don't Know Tough

Midnight, Water City is futuristic crime reinvented. A weird, smart blast of sci-fi noir, this narrative places readers in constantlyshifting terrain. Politically engaged, environmentally conscious, and packed with action, this novel shows an all-too-plausible future. Chris McKinney has arrived, and his mixture of classic genre themes and innovation make his distinctive voice one that demands attention.
Gabino Iglesias, author of Coyote Songs

Combine[s] brilliant worldbuilding and sophisticated plotting . . . McKinney keeps readers guessing about the storys direction for much of the novel, and sticks the landing with a near-perfect conclusion. Sci-fi thriller fans will anxiously await the series finale.
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Author Bio

Chris McKinney was born and raised in Hawai'i, on the island of Oahu. He has written nine novels, including The Tattoo and The Queen of Tears, a coauthored memoir, and the screenplays for two feature films and two short films. He is the winner of the Elliott Cades Award and seven Kapalapala Po'okela Awards and has been appointed Visiting Distinguished Writer at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.