Book Description

A former rock star fights a fascist private army in a war-torn future Europe in this “chillingly plausible” and prescient science fiction classic (Kirkus Reviews). It is 2039, and parts of Europe have been annihilated by tactical nukes and Russian aggression. As the chaos of a third world war rages, the Second Alliance smells an opportunity. They present themselves as a large multinational capable of creating some much-needed order. In reality, they are an organization of racists and theocrats with a very specific idea of “order” in mind—led by an ambitious televangelist, staffed with mercenaries, and harboring a dangerous cult within its ranks. Using media manipulation and propaganda, they gain power in the United States, in a pioneering space colony, and on an artificial island known as Freezone. But the New Resistance recognizes the SA for what it really is. And Rick Rickenharp—a once-famous guitarist hanging around the underground clubs—is about to play an unexpected role in their cause . . . Originally published in 1985 and updated by the author in 2012, Eclipse is the first book in an extraordinary trilogy by a visionary science fiction talent. “Spiky prose [hooks] the reader’s attention . . . a Goya-esque vision of war-torn western Europe, bombed out and unstable . . . from a resurgence of Russian militarism and the collapse of NATO.” —Publishers Weekly “[John Shirley is] cyberpunk’s Patient Zero.” —William Gibson