About this item
The Sixth Sense meets Planet of the Apes in a moving science fiction novel set so far in the future, humanity is gone and forgotten in Lawrence M. Schoen's Barsk: The Elephants' GraveyardAn historian who speaks with the dead is ensnared by the past. A child who feels no pain and who should not exist sees the future. Between them are truths that will shake worlds.In a distant future, no remnants of human beings remain, but their successors thrive throughout the galaxy. These are the offspring of humanity's genius-animals uplifted into walking, talking, sentient beings. The Fant are one such species: anthropomorphic elephants ostracized by other races, and long ago exiled to the rainy ghetto world of Barsk. There, they develop medicines upon which all species now depend. The most coveted of these drugs is koph, which allows a small number of users to interact with the recently deceased and learn their secrets. To break the Fant's control of koph, an offworld shadow group attempts to force the Fant to surrender their knowledge. Jorl, a Fant Speaker with the dead, is compelled to question his deceased best friend, who years ago mysteriously committed suicide. In so doing, Jorl unearths a secret the powers that be would prefer to keep buried forever. Meanwhile, his dead friend's son, a physically challenged young Fant named Pizlo, is driven by disturbing visions to take his first unsteady steps toward an uncertain future.
About the Author
Lawrence holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology, was a college professor for 10 years, and currently works as the director of research for a mental health & addiction services medical center. He's one of the world's foremost authorities on the Klingon language. He also runs Paper Golem, a speculative fiction small press. And he's a certified hypnotherapist.
His fiction draws on his professional expertise, and it's no surprise to find themes of language, memory, and cognition throughout his work. There's a generally light and humorous tone to most of his fiction, and his style has frequently been described as harkening back to a simpler time in SF. He's been nominated for the Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the Hugo Award for Best Short Story, three times for the Nebula Award for Best Novella. This year he received a Nebula Award nomination for Best Novel for BARSK: THE ELEPHANTS' GRAVEYARD.
