Solaris acquires dark sci-fi debut The Ganymedan by R.T. Ester
28th February 2024
Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Ganymedan by R.T. Ester, a dark and compelling science fiction debut that examines agency and sacrifice through one man’s desperate attempt to reach home.
The prodigal son of an anti-AI rebel faction, Kerwin Dotnet tried to make a life for himself as a mixologist on Mars. Now his tyrannical employer, the richest man alive, has been murdered, and K-Dot must depend on first-generation AI spaceship TR-8901 to get him to safety on Jupiter—or suffer a fate worse than death. But TR has a direct interest in identifying the murderer, and its devotion to law and order is the only thing keeping it from purposely self-destructing after 200 years of obsolescence.
World English Language Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Jason Yarn at Jason Yarn Literary Agency.
The Ganymedan will be released in November 2025.
Author R.T. Ester on the acquisition:
“I am very pleased to have joined the Solaris family. Meeting Amy Borsuk last November, I connected instantly with her vision for The Ganymedan, her very observant take on its protagonist, and her enthusiasm for the themes it explores. I was quickly assured the story had found its home and, seeing a notable commitment to publishing thought-provoking fiction, I am thrilled it will be in the caring hands of the Solaris team. I look forward to working with Amy and everyone else to get my scorpion-and-turtle retelling that blends the transhumanist noir of Altered Carbon with the gritty spacefaring of The Expanse out into the world.”
Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:
“I’m so excited to be the editor for this provocative and brilliantly intense sci-fi story from R.T. Ester! This compelling story of one man’s doomed and determined journey home explores thought-provoking themes of agency and autonomy, and sacrifice in the name of goodness. It also has a brilliant outmoded, sentient spaceship who acts as counterpoint to everything. R.T. is a brilliant writer and those ready for darker shades of sci-fi, or journeys home, or sentient AI, will love this book.”
Originally from Nigeria, R.T. Ester moved to the United States in 1998 and, catching the creative bug early on, studied art with a focus on design. While working full time as a graphic designer, he began to write speculative fiction in his spare time and, since then, has had stories published in Interzone and Clarkesworld. The Ganymedan is his first novel.
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