Subterranean

*2019 NEXT GEN INDIE BOOK AWARDS WINNER – SCIENCE FICTION*"For a few seconds Ronnie just looked at the envelope. There was an idea in movies and books that when someone lost a person they loved, comfort might be found in an artifact–an old scarf, a necklace, a shopping list left pinned to the refrigerator–but Hil was not truly gone, or at least he did not know that she was, and this stupid envelope with her handwriting did not bring him comfort but only reminded him of her absence, like an artificial sweetener or a robotic dog that replaced a beloved pet."Hil Mills is missing. Worse, her boyfriend Ronnie can't find out anything about her because she's been living off-the-grid since childhood, and doesn't even have an online profile. In a world loaded with Screens, where robots do almost every job, Ronnie and a team of misfits try to solve the mystery of Hil's disappearance. Through warehouse raves, transcendentalism-obsessed communes, and bougie corporate parties, Ronnie digs for answers. Meanwhile, Hil's busy saving herself from her past, and a future she never wanted. Is it a conspiracy, a terror plot, or just a bad break-up? Spoiler alert: it's all that and more. "...Colombo’s characterization is strong; the portrait of HDT’s founder, Losi West, is especially well-rounded and poignant. Also, the author’s portrayal of the universal desire for connection is vividly real, moving, and relatable. A thoughtful, trenchant adventure story." - Kirkus Reviews "Sarah Colombo's debut novel, Subterranean, is a rollicking adventure set in a not-too-distant future—one in which most people are completely consumed by technology, while others long for the past: whether that be the 1990s of ravers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, and Nirvana, or Henry David Thoreau's mid-nineteenth century 'cabin of clay and wattles made.' But this book is also, like the best work of Vonnegut, Bradbury, and Philip K. Dick, a serious critique of our culture and the dangerous road down which we're headed. Subterranean will have readers simultaneously weeping for what once was and what could potentially be, while still giving them pause to laugh at all the human folly in between." - David Armand, author of Harlow and My Mother's House “In Subterranean, Sarah Colombo creates a rich and unsettling world of ubiquitous screens and surveillance, snarky robots and tech-resistant cults. The themes of struggle for human connection and establishing one's identity in an over-documented and ego-obsessed culture are both surprising and familiar. Subterranean is a sci-fi adventure with humor and heart.”- Bridget Erin, playwright of Sonata for Four Hands and In Our Backyard