Eden Robins
Out now! Order here:
What the people are saying:
"Clever, genre-bending...Ms. Robins has clearly enjoyed herself designing this vast network of connections, which often resembles the art installations it commemorates, full of patterns and puzzles and messages. Its excess and energy make it less a memento mori than a reminder, spelled out in boldface, of the remarkable tenacity of life." ― Wall Street Journal
"Robins infuses her stories with the kind of lived-in, unremarkable reality that more traditional science fiction narratives often struggle to impart…Original and thoughtful, refreshing despite the constant centrality of death, this is highly recommended." ― Locus Magazine
"Kaleidoscopic…a fascinating and fresh reading experience." ― Chicago Reader
"A joyously enlivening masterpiece…Eden Robins could have the singular bestseller of the year." ― Shelf Awareness
Provocative...an intriguing read for those who enjoy SF and innovative storytelling." ― Booklist
"Eden Robins's Remember You Will Die transcends its ingenious obituary form. It becomes a murder mystery of portraits, a eulogy of the everyday moments that make up epic lives, a web of the important ways we intersect and influence one another beyond our knowing. It handles the morbid and the macabre with admirable compassion and humor. I loved every page." ― Jac Jemc, author of Empty Theatre and The Grip of It
"A bold structure, wonderful errantry, and a unique imagination mark Eden Robins's new novel, Remember You Will Die―a compilation of obituaries whose impact is greater than the sum of its parts." ― Jeffrey Ford, author of The Shadow Year
"An audacious and unforgettable tale that reminds us what the novel can do, Remember You Will Die captures the exhilaration, heartbreak, and passion of a life fully lived." ― Stephanie Feldman, author of Saturnalia
"In Eden Robins' eerie and poignant Remember You Will Die, we follow an AI woman, Peregrine, as she attempts to understand what happened to her human child. Did she die? Did she disappear? And what does it mean to die, to disappear? Peregrine learns what it means to grieve as she travels all of history via a cache of obituaries and etymologies, searching for clues about her child. By the end, I was gobsmacked, awed. Eden Robins has given us an instant classic." ― Lindsay Hunter, author of Hot Springs Drive
"Emotionally powerful, witty, and razor sharp, Remember You Will Die is unlike anything you’ve read before. Eden Robins has created a new epistolary literary form, one custom made for our dark times. It feels both dystopian and full of hope, classic and groundbreaking, and it will leave you changed. Brilliant." ― Ann Dávila Cardinal, author of We Need No Wings
What the back cover says:
“Can the absence of words tell a story? Like a pattern in lace, the holes as important as the threads?”
A search. A puzzle. Sixty protagonists—all of whom are dead.
Told entirely through obituaries and ricocheting through time, Remember You Will Die is an innovative, genre-bending epic about the messy tapestry of human history and the threads that connect us, through the eyes of Peregrine, an AI mother, grappling with the unexpected death of her human daughter, Poppy.
From the newspaper clippings of individual lives emerges something else unexpected: generations entwined through blood and art and the consequences of their actions, betrayals and redemptions that traverse our dying world and beyond.
Spanning continents, centuries, planets, and genres, and centering a diverse mix of human experiences, Remember You Will Die is a provocative exploration of who we are and what we could be.
Out now! Order here:
What the back cover says:
Franny Steinberg knows there's powerful magic in laughter. She's witnessed it. With the men of Chicago off fighting WWII on distant shores, Franny has watched the women of the city taking charge of the war effort. But amidst the war bond sales and factory shifts, something surprising has emerged, something Franny could never have expected. A new marvel that has women flocking to comedy clubs across the nation: the Showstopper.
When Franny steps into Chicago's Blue Moon comedy club, she realizes the power of a Showstopper—that specific magic sparked when an audience laughs so hard, they are momentarily transformed. And while each comedian's Showstopper is different, they all have one thing in common: they only work on women.
After a traumatic flashback propels her onstage in a torn bridesmaid dress, Franny discovers her own Showstopper is something new. And suddenly she has the power to change everything…for herself, for her audience, and for the people who may need it most.
What the people are saying:
"It's a book about comedy, so it's funny – but it's a book about comedy, so it's also wrenching and difficult to look at (or look away from) in places. The supernatural conceit at the heart of the tale – the Showstoppers – are played perfectly, in matter-of-fact realness...[Robins] has blossomed into an outstanding talent, a storyteller who manages to tell tales that feel utterly contemporary and like old classics." -- Cory Doctorow (full review)
"A warm hug of a novel that empathetically covers topics like trauma, queerness, and gender equality." -- Buzzfeed
"Prepare yourselves for this one, because this novel is the perfect funny and heartbreaking read to pick up for the fall...When Franny Stands Up is funny, sweet, and certainly magical, but it also covers difficult topics— such as PTSD and sexual identity— with insight and heart." -- Book Riot
"This is a fucking powerhouse of a novel. If you think it's a fantasy Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, you're missing the wonderful and glorious nuance of this book. This is a book about comedy and trauma and family. It is funny and heartbreaking on every other page. I could not stop reading it, and I had deadlines and kittens that should have pulled me away. I love Franny and all her awkwardness and strength. I loved her family. The only things I didn't love were things that were supposed to make me uncomfortable and did it with mastery. Eden Robins is a helluva powerful writer. This book is a Showstopper." -- Mary Robinette Kowal
"Readers will fall in love with this one." -- Publisher's Weekly (full review)
"Just like a good comedy routine, which can find hilarity even as it cuts, this book ultimately delights beyond the seriousness that underlies the story. Although Franny belongs to another time, she is someone in whom we can believe, someone we know, perhaps even someone we recognize in ourselves." - LitStack (full review)
"When Franny Stands Up is a story not just about standing up on a stage, it’s also standing up for what’s right and standing up for yourself. Franny’s journey is sometimes painful but, overall, heartfelt and compelling." - Historical Novel Society (full review)
"Sprightly, fast-moving, and bawdy, filled with a host of distinct and colorful characters, this novel wears its seriousness like summer linen, always there but never getting in the way of a good time. Along the way it touches on an astonishing range of topics—gender equality, power dynamics, family secrets, sexual politics, domestic violence, race relations, indigenous erasure, workplace safety, blockbusting, even the Holocaust—while remaining as funny, naughty and thought-provoking as a well-constructed comedy set." - William Shunn (full review)