Surrogate Colony
by Boshra Rasti
Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction
In
MicroScrep, a post-pandemic world, one politician, Arthur Mills,
brings all scientists and engineers together to create a vaccine and
rebuild a world where harmony ensues. What results is a society where
algorithms control who you marry, who your child is, and what
position you have.
Adriana
Buckowski is not normal. Her eyes are two different colors, making
her less susceptible to the system’s propaganda, she has a unique
connection with a boy named Zach, and she has questions. Weird
occurrences happen as she gets closer to her Calling Ceremony, where
she’ll be given a position. When she finally starts piecing
together the twisted motives at play in MicroScrep, she becomes a cog
in the wheel of the state.
Her
only option for survival lies with Zach, and the hope that she will
be vindicated through a vigilante group off-grid. But with time
ticking against her, will she survive long enough to be redeemed?
Reviews:
“A
stunning debut by a bold new writer whose vision of the future
conjures the near-impossibility of affection, with women tossed
homicidally into surrogate birthing centers and men groomed to
become, yes, eunuchs. Or if you will, think Brave New World meets The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Boshra Rasti’s dystopia redeems itself
when two young characters conceive of a daring off-grid survival
among a group of elusive scientists. The author’s mature and
compelling voice is not afraid to lift the scrim, but beware, for
when she does lift the scrim, readers may recognize a society whose
angers and horrors and violent fetishism may seem all too familiar.
Surrogate Colony is a must read.”
~
Dan Gutstein, author of Buildings without Murders
“The
crisp prose and vibrant characters contained within Surrogate
Colonies' worldscape is a stunning debut by an author sure to capture
the public imagination. Rasti writes of the not-too-distance future
with terrifying clarity. “
~
Raymond Lee, author of The Race Riot
“Surrogate
Colony is a thrilling tale of love, betrayal, and the dangers of a
world reliant on technology.”
~
Caryn Pine
“Boshra
Rasti’s sweeping dystopian drama follows two young protagonists on
a journey of survival and redemption. Set in a post-pandemic world,
Surrogate Colony explores the human psyche after trauma and what can
happen when we succumb to fear. While Ms. Rasti’s writing is filled
with vivid imagery and edge-of-your-seat action, it is also the bond
between Adriana and Zach that anchors this story firmly in the
reader’s mind.”
~
Katherine Day, Grattan Street Press
“It
is not a surprise to learn that Boshra Rasti has a debut novel coming
out. I knew that she had the goods as a writer when her brilliant
short piece Creep appeared in Literally Stories UK during the spring
of 2021. She writes tough, economical yet entertaining descriptive
prose. From what I have previewed of it, the same holds the day in
Surrogate Colony. All readers new to Boshra will be well rewarded."
~
Leila Allison, Associate Editor, Literally Stories UK
Boshra Rasti is an Iranian-Canadian expatriate, writer and educator. She currently lives in Qatar as a teacher.
She is the author of several published poems, “Connection in the City”, a poem about the city of Surrey, BC, Canada, as well as the author of “In the Chrysalis”, a poem about the COVID-19 pandemic, published in Together...Apart, an anthology of creative works published by HBKU Press. Her short stories have been published by Grattan Street Press, Literally Stories, and South Florida Poetry Journal.
Boshra draws inspiration from the teenage mind, one she may not have fully outgrown. She also is an avid runner who enjoys the self-torture of running in Qatar. She has other eclectic interests such as making vegan ice-cream.
She may or may not use a pen name in the future to prevent a life-long tendency that people have of butchering her name. She hopes to someday make her home somewhere that doesn’t include burning up due to the consequences of global warming. You can find her works on her website: www.boshrawrites.com
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