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OUT NOW: The Chosen Twelve by James Breakwell!

We’re utterly thrilled to be wishing The Chosen Twelve by James Breakwell a very happy publication day!

The Hunger Games meets Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in this breathless, darkly humorous survival thriller as the last of humankind fights for survival against killer robots.

There are 22 candidates. There are 12 seats.

The last interstellar colony ship is down to its final batch of humans after the robots in charge unhelpfully deleted the rest. But rebooting a species and training them for the arduous task of colonisation isn’t easy – especially when the planet below is filled with monsters, the humans are more interested in asking questions than learning, and the robots are all programmed to kill each other.

But the fate of humanity rests on creating a new civilization on the planet below, and there are twelve seats on the lander.

Will manipulation or loyalty save the day?

‘Breakwell’s examination of society is as precise and pointed as his humor, taking readers on a roller-coaster ride to a bittersweet conclusion.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘Had me fully on board in the first couple of pages, sticking with me long after finishing.‘ — Frank Fleming, author of Superego

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Solaris to publish James Breakwell’s thrilling sci-fi debut, The Chosen Twelve

JAmes Breakwell

We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Chosen Twelve, a thrilling science fiction novel by James Breakwell publishing in spring 2022.

World English Rights were acquired by Kate Coe from Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group.

Author James Breakwell on the release:

“I couldn’t be more excited to be with Rebellion books. This story has been bouncing around in my head for years, and Rebellion has the vision, reach, and expertise to help me finally share it with the world. After sticking strictly to comedy for most of my career, I’m thrilled that Rebellion has given me the opportunity to showcase another side of my writing. Publication day can’t come soon enough.”

Editor Jim Killen on the book:

“I am incredibly excited to be working on this title. The inventive perspective and the dark humor made this a fantastically fun and interesting novel. I’m excited to see what James comes up with next”.

Here’s the blurb:

There are 22 candidates. There are 12 seats. Don’t be left behind.
The last interstellar colony ship is down to its final batch of humans after the robots in charge unhelpfully deleted the rest. But rebooting a species and training them for the arduous task of colonisation isn’t easy – especially when the planet below is filled with monsters, the humans are more interested in asking questions than learning, and the robots are all programmed to kill each other.
But the fate of humanity rests on creating a new civilization on the planet below, and there are twelve seats on the lander. Will manipulation or loyalty save the day?


James Breakwell is a professional comedy writer and amateur father of four girls, ages ten and under. He is best known for his family humor Twitter account @XplodingUnicorn, which has more than a million followers. He has published three comedy parenting books that explore hot button issues like the benefits of doing as little as possible and the best ways to protect your child from zombie attacks. His fourth book, Prance Like No One’s Watching: A Guided Journal for Exploding Unicorns, teaches kids to find humor in the world around them while also avoiding the undead. The Chosen Twelve will be James’ science fiction debut. He lives in Indiana, US.

For press enquiries please contact Hanna Waigh, PR & Marketing Manager: hanna.waigh@rebellion.co.uk.

Image credit: Van Deman Photography