Neal Stephenson presents Fall; or, Dodge in Hell @ Public Works

Booksmith is excited to welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seveneves, Anathem, Reamde, andCryptonomicon Neal Stephenson for his new novel Fall; or, Dodge in Hell, a wildly inventive and entertaining science fiction thriller — Paradise Lost by way of Philip K. Dick — that unfolds in the near future, in parallel worlds.

Please note: This ticketed event will be held at Public Works: 161 Erie St, San Francisco, CA 94103. Tickets can be purchased in advance here and are not guaranteed to be available at the door. Please read the ticketing information carefully and direct any questions to events AT booksmith DOT com.

In his youth, Richard Dodge Forthrast founded Corporation 9592, a gaming company that made him a multibillionaire. Now in his middle years, Dodge appreciates his comfortable, unencumbered life, managing his myriad business interests, and spending time with his beloved niece Zula and her young daughter, Sophia.

One beautiful autumn day, while he undergoes a routine medical procedure, something goes irrevocably wrong. Dodge is pronounced brain dead and put on life support, leaving his stunned family and close friends with difficult decisions. Long ago, when a much younger Dodge drew up his will, he directed that his body be given to a cryonics company now owned by enigmatic tech entrepreneur Elmo Shepherd. Legally bound to follow the directive despite their misgivings, Dodges family has his brain scanned and its data structures uploaded and stored in the cloud, until it can eventually be revived.

In the coming years, technology allows Dodges brain to be turned back on. It is an achievement that is nothing less than the disruption of death itself. An eternal afterlife — the Bitworld — is created, in which humans continue to exist as digital souls.

But this brave new immortal world is not the Utopia it might first seem . . .

Fall, or Dodge in Hell is pure, unadulterated fun: a grand drama of analog and digital, man and machine, angels and demons, gods and followers, the finite and the eternal. In this exhilarating epic, Neal Stephenson raises profound existential questions and touches on the revolutionary breakthroughs that are transforming our future. Combining the technological, philosophical, and spiritual in one grand myth, he delivers a mind-blowing speculative literary saga for the modern age.

Neal Stephenson is the bestselling author of the novels Reamde, Anathem, The System of the World, The Confusion, Quicksilver, Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Zodiac, and the groundbreaking nonfiction work In the Beginning . . . Was the Command Line. He lives in Seattle, Washington. Author photo by Brady Hall.

This event is 21+. No exceptions.

All tickets are standing room only. Requests for special seating arrangements need to be made at least three days in advance by emailing events@booksmith.com.

Doors at 6pm. Program at 7. Program includes signing.

Signing details: Mr. Stephenson will sign as many copies of the new novel as guests wish to purchase. He is happy to personalize short inscriptions such as Happy birthday but due to time constraints is not unable to copy out longer inscriptions or make up personal inscriptions on the spot. Backlist can be signed, but within reason, and after the major business of signing the hardcover is taken care of. Any major collectors in line with many copies to sign or any guest with many books may be asked to wait until the end of the line.

Photo details: Candid photos are welcome, but again for time constraints Mr. Stephenson will not be able to stop signing and pose.

Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. All ticket sales are final.

If you can’t attend the event but would like to order a signed copy of Fall; or, Dodge in Hell and/or any of Mr. Stephenson’s books, order below and add your request in the special field.

RSVP not required, but always appreciated.