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Tag: science fiction

My Dystopian Bookshelf at ALA 2023

Libraries are an important place for book discovery. As an indie author, it’s even more important that I find ways to reach a critical audience of curators: the librarians!

This year I was excited to have an entire shelf to myself featuring my four dystopian novels at the American Library Association’s 2023 conference in Chicago. The event ran from June 22-27. My books appeared in a booth managed by the Independent Book Publishers Association. I’m a proud IBPA member.

Novels by Adam Bender on a shelf at the ALA 2023 conference on a stand for independent publishers. Also displayed are bookmarks for Utopia PR and postcards for The Wanderer and the New West.
Utopia PR bookmark with a quote: "Maybe you see a vicious killing machine that got loose and went on a rampage, but I sure don't ... Why, that there is a hero pup!"
Utopia PR bookmark

I made some really fun Utopia PR bookmarks specifically for the event! I’ve got extras and will try to find a way to make these available in the future. Let me know if you’re interested by tagging me on social media.

I had previously displayed and signed copies of The Wanderer and the New West at a pre-pandemic ALA conference in Washington, DC. I was unable to attend this year’s show in person, but I hope to get out to this excellent conference again in the future.

I love finding out that my books are available in libraries, whatever the format. All four eBook editions of my novels, plus the audiobook editions of my last two books, were accepted into the Indie Author Project and available to participating libraries. Books in physical and digital formats can also be acquired separately through distributors including Ingram and Smashwords. Please contact me if you need help finding my books.

Here are few more photos from ALA 2023. Here’s a fun idea: Try to find my novels in each picture like it’s a Where’s Waldo book!

Thanks to IBPA for taking all of the photos in this post!

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I Was a Cat in this Great Dystopian Game

Recently, a great dystopian game took me by surprise.

But before I get to that, I want to give you a geeky origin story about the PC upgrade that enabled me to play it and some other awesome games! See, I’ve always enjoyed games but had started to get a little behind on the hardware. Sure, I have a Nintendo Switch and that’s always fun, but there were an increasing number of PC games I wanted to give a try.

A couple of months ago, I finally went ahead and upgraded my graphics card to an AMD Radeon 6700 XT. Not the best you can get, but definitely a good mid-range card to help me get my gaming fix, and more than enough to play some of the indie titles I was eager to try. To complement the card, I also upgraded my monitor to a 32″ screen with 1440p resolution and a silky smooth 165Hz refresh rate.

Upgrade complete, one of the first games I enjoyed on the new system was…

Stray

Screenshot from Stray, a PC game
Why wouldn’t I want to play a cat in a dystopian future?
Credit: Annapurna Interactive

I write dystopian fiction, so obviously I had to try this dystopian game. Stray was a short but sweet game with engaging storytelling throughout. The game begins with a cat slipping into an underground city where humans went to hide when the planet became inhospitable. However, the only life left down there is artificial. Well, that and radioactive rat things. As the cat, you help a little robot remember its past and try to help a group of sentient robots escape to the surface.

It’s cute! And scary! What really makes it unique is you explore the Blade Runner-esque world from the perspective of the cat. Messing around in the feline way (scratching doors, leaping from the floor, to a table, to a shelf, to a…) keeps the gameplay feeling fresh. And the neon-lit world looks absolutely beautiful.

Definitely worth a play if you’re looking for a sci-fi game that’s not about a beefy soldier shooting up aliens.

Oh, and by the way, I probably didn’t need a big PC upgrade to play Stray, but it sure does look good with the graphics settings turned up to 11. I definitely did need the upgrade, however, to play…

Marvel’s Midnight Suns

Screenshot of Marvel's Midnight Suns for PC
Planning your next move is half the fun. The other half is the KAPOW that follows.
Credit: 2K

This one isn’t a dystopian game, but I did have a dystopian experience when I bought it not long after launch. After a couple really fun introductory battles, Midnight Suns started crashing … and crashing … every 15 minutes. I learned on Steam that some other players were having the same problem. But when I checked with 2K support, they basically gaslit me, forcing me to do all kinds of tests of my system rather than entertaining the idea that it might be their software that was the problem.

Then one day, 2K released a patch and the crashing stopped! Guess it wasn’t my system’s fault. Hopefully, my countless crash reports helped some other players out as well.

But I digress. While I could have let all that irritation stop me from playing Midnight Sun at all, the truth was those 15-minute play sessions were blissful while they lasted.

Midnight Suns is by the creators of XCOM and similarly has turn-based tactical fights. As a somewhat older gamer with a young child in the house, that kind of thing is really more my speed these days than a faster-paced action game. Anyway, Midnight Suns is like chess with superheroes and explosions! What’s not to like?

While this isn’t a dystopian game like Stray, it does focus on the darker, magical side of the Marvel Universe. While you still get to have heavy hitters like Iron Man and Spider-Man on your team, it’s cool to see a game feature this less frequently adapted side of the comics.

My only complaint (now that it’s stopped crashing) is that there is a whole lot of time between battles spent talking with heroes and wandering aimlessly around a mansion. It’s not unenjoyable, but the battles are so much more fun, and sometimes I just want to play a few of these in the row. I often only have an hour to play, and I feel like I end up spending 45 minutes of each of these periods outside of battle. The game could just use a little balance.

Speaking of balance, I feel like I’ve spent more time complaining about this game than praising it. Honestly, though, I do recommend it! If you’re a Marvel fan or like turn-based fighting with big production values, give this game a try.

Update (4/3/23): I jinxed it! After running fine for a couple of months, Midnight Suns tonight began crashing again for no apparent reason. Be warned.

More to Come!

When I started writing this blog post, I planned to feature a couple more games, but this is starting to feel a bit long! How about instead, I do a part two in not too long? In the meantime, let me know in the comments your thoughts on the above games or any recommendations you have about what I should play next on my upgraded PC!

Did you know?

I created two games based on my first novel, We, The Watched.

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Bender’s Favorite Dystopian Books Foresee a Frightening Future

Dystopian authors like dystopian books! The fine folks at Shepherd, an up-and-coming competitor to Goodreads, recently asked me to write a list of five favorites from the same genre as my debut novel, We, The Watched.

So, without further ado, click the link to peruse: The best dystopian novels that foresee a frightening future!

KRAKOOM!

Scary lightning bolt strike
Photo by Johannes Plenio

For some reason, a lightning strike seemed appropriate after that title.

And no, I didn’t just list all my novels. It’s a mix of classics and some newer books. When you finish, also check out Shepherd’s dystopia bookshelf for more great reads recommended by other authors.

"The best dystopian novels that foresee a frightening future," with cover images for "The Last Policeman" by Ben H. Winters, "Wool" by Hugh Howey, "1984" by George Orwell, "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood, and "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury.

Please sound off in the comments if you’ve read any of my picks, or if you’d like to make some recommendations of your own. I’m always looking for my next read… After all, dystopian authors like dystopian books!

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Audiobook Sale: More Than 50% Off Bender’s Novels

Celebrate the New Year by grabbing the headphone editions of my dystopian novels at a more than 50% discount in my audiobook sale!

I’m running an audiobook sale for the first three months of 2023 on my political satire UTOPIA PR (Now $3.99) and near-future western THE WANDERER AND THE NEW WEST (Now $5.99) audiobooks at Apple, Google, Chirp, B&N, and Spotify! Click the store links below to access the audiobook sale!

Audiobook cover for The Wanderer and the New West by Adam Bender
The Wanderer and the New West for just $5.99!

The Wanderer and the New West was one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2018. A rogue vigilante known only as the Wanderer seeks redemption in a lawless, near-future America that fully protects the rights of armed citizens to stand their ground against mass shooters and motorcycle gangs. $5.99 ($12.50) for a limited time only!

Utopia PR audiobook cover
Adam’s latest novel Utopia PR for just $3.99!

Utopia PR is a sci-fi satire about seeking work-life balance while doing public relations for an authoritarian president. PR extraordinaire Blake Hamner (the n is silent) put off his honeymoon for his big break: joining a major political campaign for president. Now, the “Hammer” struggles to make time for his marriage as Crisis Communications Manager for Our Leader, who since taking power has become increasingly mad and totalitarian. $3.99 ($8.99) for a limited time only!

This deal ends March 31, 2023, so makes sure to act fast!

Happy New Year! May 2023 be ever less dystopian.

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Utopia PR audiobook released! Plus, summer sales a plenty!

It’s finally here! The audiobook edition of my dystopian satire Utopia PR!

Utopia PR audiobook
Written by Adam Bender. Narrated by Tristan Wright

You can buy it now directly from me or from your favorite audiobook retailer, including Audible, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google Play and Chirp!

I am so happy with how the audiobook came out. Tristan Wright put all his comedy chops into the reading of the wild PR team that has to spin for the President, who is known by the people as Our Leader. We received a ton of great reviews on NetGalley before today’s publication (Blake “The Hammer” Hamner him(n)self writes about them here). After 40 honest reviews there, it has an average score of four stars! I’m so very proud of that. Thank you to everyone who downloaded the book early and wrote a review.

Nice!

All that great feedback follows the original written version winning an award for best humor in last year’s IndieReader Discovery Awards.

Listen to an excerpt from the Utopia PR audiobook!

Skip this paragraph if you’ve already read my elevator pitch, but Utopia PR is a sci-fi satire about a public relations rep seeking work-life balance while managing crisis after crisis for a dystopian president. PR extraordinaire Blake Hamner (the n is silent) put off his honeymoon for his big break: joining a major political campaign for president. Now, the “Hammer” struggles to make time for his marriage as Crisis Communications Manager for Our Leader, who since taking power has become increasingly mad and totalitarian.

Buy the audiobook today!

Deals a plenty! Wanderer audiobook and Smashwords Sale!

If you’re really on an audiobook binge, I’m also excited to share that the spoken version of my previous novel, The Wanderer and the New West, will be part of a Findaway Voices sale from July 1 until September 30, 2022! You’ll be able to get my dystopian western at a steep discount from Barnes & Noble, Chirp, Apple and Google Play.

In addition, you can find free or discounted eBooks of all four of my novels during the Smashwords Summer sale (or Winter sale if you’re in Australia)! The sale runs from July 1 until July 31, 2022. We, The Watched is free, while Divided We Fall, The Wanderer and the New West and Utopia PR will all be 50% off!

Thanks to all my readers for your continuing support. I hope to share more news soon on my next project.

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