AUGER'S TOUCHSTONE or The Wrong Side of Contemporary History Book 4 of the Blessings of Gaia Series
by Robert Balmanno
Paperback / 978-1-58790-536-0 / 386 pgs / 5.5 x 8.5 / $15.95
Science Fiction / Dystopian / Apocalyptic & Post Apocalyptic
ABOUT THE BOOK
Beyond dystopia ... After a millennium of cultural eclipse, the Earth’s human inhabitants have resurrected civilization and rekindled high tech. But immense challenges loom. The Outer World remains caught up in barbarism. A tech-enriched plutocracy runs the Inner World. Prosperity is commonplace, but so is poverty and inequality. Schisms roil the Gaia faith as ancient artifacts come to light. And scientists struggle to convince the public that an errant asteroid could bring earthly extinction, and thus for humanity the end of the line, if not repelled. Set in Silicon Valley 27 centuries hence, Auger’s Touchstone is a tale of historians, astronomers, techno-elites, agrarians, believers, dissidents, nihilists, a bruja, and a brilliant young couple living by their wits and trying to make sense of it all. It’s a world much different from ours, but also surprisingly familiar. Ideas and adventures abound.
Auger’s Touchstone completes a four-part dystopian, science fiction, apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic series, which was begun with the novel September Snow, published in 2006. September Snow, has sold nearly 8,000 copies.
The first novel 40 to 80 years in the future, the second 60 to 110 years in the future, the third 600 years in the future, the final book, Auger’s Touchstone, 2700 years in the future.
The first two novels deal with the profound effects of climate change, accompanied with the development of a “second half of the 21st century” for of neo-totalitarianism. Book Three deals with a primitive form of theocracy, after the collapse of civilization. Each of these books being dystopian are all dark in nature, but they end with a ray of hope. Auger’s Touchstone — showing a high tech Silicon Valley of the far distant future — is also dark, but optimistic.
Each of the books are “stand alones,” as is Auger’s Touchstone, the final book in the tetralogy. Auger’s Touchstone can be read as the “first” in the series, indeed it is the perfect setup for reading the technically first book September Snow.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Balmanno retired from the Sunnyvale Public Library after 32 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and did his post-graduate work at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and the University of London, King’s College.
September Snow
“Futuristic fiction at the very top. It can be placed beside Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four.” — Tim Gray, Author
Runes of Iona
“Robert Balmanno is a writer of great courage and imagination.” — Adele Horwitz
Embers of the Earth
“If you liked Walter Miller’s Canticle for Leibowitz or Frank Herbert’s Dune, you’ll love Embers of the Earth.” — Becky Breitwieser