Fan of the dystopian Divergent series?
If you rooted for Tris and Four when they battled against the suffocating hard lines of their clan-based society, you’ll love Isotopia, where the polished surface of the city is hiding a dark, dangerous secret.
Life is grand for Patch, the hotshot superstar of the hunting clan, until dead bodies start turning up in the Marketplace. By-the-book Detective Jimmy Lask can’t get any answers – not about the murders he’s tring to solve, not about his mysterious new boss, and not about the ranks of enforcement officers that seem to multiply daily all around him.
Detective Lask’s gut tells him to trust no one, but he forms an unlikely alliance with the brash, young hunter, whose appetite for illegal herbs might get them both killed. Together, Patch and Lask build a ragtag army of soldiers, healers, and scientists, who must set aside ancient rivalries to battle the forces determined to destroy the clan system, the very foundation of a free Isotopia.
Trigger Warnings: drugs, violence
What inspired the author, Jeff Greenberg?
Isotopia is the debut novel (and tragically, the final literary work) of author Jeff (a.k.a. Jeffrey) Greenberg, who happens to be my son. A scientist by training (Jeffrey held a Masters in Computational Psychology), Jeffrey was inspired by his favorite books and TV shows (House, The Leftovers, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The Wire, Always Sunny in Philadelphia) to bring his own story to life.
His ear for snappy dialogue and delight in intense personal connection greatly influenced Jeffrey’s writing style. Readers of Isotopia will enjoy the lively exchanges between brash, young Patch and career officer Jimmy Lask. You will bask in the warmth emanating from ol’ Koop, the healer, as Jeffrey thrived under the mentorship of his own personal hero, Dr. Michael Kahana.
But Jeffrey relished the dark side, too. His deep appreciation of heavy metal lyrics and unfortunate fascination with mind-altering chemicals influenced the way he viewed the world. In his efforts to understand his fellow humans, he was always searching for the motivations behind the behaviors. Hence, Jeffrey’s “bad guys” are fully drawn and believable. You will appreciate how young Rayne Hobb’s unfulfilled yearning ultimately directs his behavior. You may cringe (as I do) while reading the more graphic scenes of Isotopia, but you will feel the plight of The Forgotten.
How did this book get finished after the author died?
This story belongs to Jeffrey, but he wrote it to share with the world. My goal was to bring Jeffrey’s story from the obscurity of his laptop into the light of day, staying as true to his voice and intentions as possible. Fortunately, just a few weeks before he passed, Jeffrey and I had the opportunity to spend many hours together, specifically reviewing my notes on his most recent draft and brainstorming ideas for the ending. His manuscript was nearly finished before I touched a single word.
Jeffrey designed the rich architecture of the forest, the marketplace, and the battlegrounds that comprise the world of Isotopia. As to the nitty-gritty of who wrote what, the majority of my edits were fairly straightforward: formatting, punctuation, or minor style points Jeffrey had agreed to during our conversations. Out of the 760 comments I’d left on his last draft, he bristled at only one suggestion, a character’s name he was reluctant to change; I didn’t touch it. I also didn’t sugarcoat his action scenes.
“Take one last look before I gouge your eyes out.”
Isotopia, chapter 85
Levol pushed at Hobb’s knees with all his remaining strength, but the heat pellets were doing their job, emptying the brute’s charbroiled guts onto the floor. Hobb snagged the hunting blade from his boot and stabbed a sloppy circle around Levol’s left eyeball. While Levol screamed and clawed at the ravaged socket, Hobb carved out his other eyeball and threw it across the room.
The last few chapters required substantial original writing on my part, only because Jeffrey hadn’t fully fleshed out the details of his newly discovered ending. I’d like to believe he would be very pleased with the outcome.
Behind the Cover
The uber talented Betti Gefecht created this gorgeous cover, which elegantly captures both the dark and light elements of the forest that is critical to the plot. As Jeff intentionally set his story in a universal place and time, Betti and I were free to interpret the particulars of the vegetation unbounded by any actual geography. We viewed hundreds of forest photos until we landed on this combination of tall, thin trunks with a leafy canopy and just the right balance of shadow and light.
Placing the solitary, armed figure in the foreground as he peers through binoculars, we can feel the hunter Patch’s vigilance and readiness to do whatever it takes to protect his beloved Isotopia. At the same time, this character’s eerie loneliness will serve as his internal engine throughout the story.
We wanted Jeff’s name to stand out from the background, and Betti accomplished this beautifully with the simple, bold font. The outlined title hints at the powerful forces lurking just beneath the surface of Isotopia.
Many said that Isotopia seemed to re-blossom into the same jumbo plant each day. The City contained everything that any decent city in its place and time would be expected to have, yet it was also small and homey. ~Jeff Greenberg, Isotopia
See why I named my business “Isotopia Publishing”? Here’s more history on how that came to be.
Here’s a teaser:
Patch’s gaze swept the slowly-clearing marketplace for good-looking women, landing instead on Cole, charging straight at him.
“Hey, Cole!” Patch called, greeting him with a cheery wave. “What’s—”
Cole’s fist slammed into Patch’s nose. Blood spurted in a sickening arc as he dropped to the pavement. The crowd gathered quickly, surrounding Patch with gasps and murmurs and greedy curiosity.
“Here, let’s get you up.” Koop’s voice cut through the fog of stunned disbelief as he helped Patch to his feet. “Are you okay?” Koop’s anxious gape blurred a bit, then shifted back into focus.
“I’m fine,” Patch answered, craning around Koop to make sure Cole wasn’t about to pop him again. Not a chance—Lask had him pinned from behind.
“It’s all right, man,” Patch said to Lask. “I mean, he’s all right.” He said it louder this time, spinning a three-sixty to address the whole crowd. “He’s my friend.”
Lask huffed. “Some friend. So, what’s going on here, guys? Trouble in the sack?”
Patch rolled his eyes, then racked his temporarily scrambled brains. “No idea.” He turned to Cole. “Dude. What the fuck?”
“If anyone should be asking that, it’s me!” shouted Cole. Lask tightened his grip, and Cole kicked and squirmed.
“Whoa, buddy,” Lask said smoothly, “how about you give it a rest? You have the man’s attention.”
Cole jerked his shoulders once more, but it seemed more for show than an actual threat. He nodded at Lask, who let him go, but not before Cole flashed them both a look of disgust.
“So… what, Patch? You stop coming by, and now you’re trolling with Enforcement?”
Patch had barely thought about Nectar the past few weeks, let alone Cole. Sure, they’d shared plenty of good times, but Cole was his drug dealer first and his friend second. “Look, man, I’m really sorry I haven’t been around. I’ve been extremely busy lately—”
“Save your breath. I know all about your little escapades with your new friends. How could you just bail on me? Am I nothing to you but a bottle of Nectar?”
Patch shot daggers at Cole, but the damage was done.
Lask let him have it. “Ah! So, this ‘friend’ is your drug dealer! And you’ve been buying Nectar off him for how long, now?”
“Shut the fuck up!” Patch yelled at Lask.
Lask grabbed two fistfuls of Patch’s shirt and yanked him forward. “Don’t forget about my badge just because we’re working together, you damn degenerate.”
“Let go of me!” Patch pushed Lask’s hands away. “What, you think you’re better than me because you’re IES? And just who do you think is going to hunt down our enemies when chaos erupts? I’ll give you a hint: the hunters.”
Lask chuckled. “Have you ever even seen the IES in action? Have you witnessed an operation? Seen our weapons?”
“See this?” Patch jabbed his thumb toward the heat rifle strapped to his back. “This thing can kill and flash-cook a full-grown pogg before you can even whip out your damn hand gun!”
“Oh, well that’s perfect! When shit starts getting heavy, we’ll all hang back and let you cook our enemies for us! Because that’s exactly what we need—cooked terrorists!”
Get your copy of Isotopia today!
sci-fi | dystopia | adventure
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