From the Vault

New California

This is one of my earlier novels, originally published in 2012. It's the first of my novels to reflect the idea that, because space travel is and will remain relatively very expensive, space colonies can't pay for themselves by exporting food, raw materials, or manufactured goods.

Instead, most space settlements will be founded as religious colonies. "Religious" in a broad sense. The German atheist socialists who founded the town of Comfort, Texas had similar motivations as their Amish cousins who founded deeply pietist communities across the American Midwest.

One common feature, though, is that religious colonies don't have to pay for themselves. In fact, the less they have to deal with filthy lucre, the more they can stay true to their ideals.

Until their ideals grow hollow....

On that theme, New California was founded, about fifty years before the events of the novel, by a wealthy Californian who wanted a refuge for the nearest thing he had to a religion: New Age hedonism.

But tasting all sorts of physical pleasures and standing at the pinnacle of his new world wasn't enough....

After New California's founder commits suicide, two men compete to rule the colony.

One, bureaucrat Ashwin George, supported by Tián Quán, the Chinese company whose hyperdrive ships and intelligent robots dominated half the settled galaxy.

Alone against them, Desmond Park, nanotechnology engineer, armed only with a shrewd intellect, the loyalty of the colony's smart and disaffected youth, and the most formidable weapon of all.

A single idea.

Rated PG-13 for violence, themes, and Chinese and Mexican-Spanish foul language.

Looking back

• The "selfish gene"—the idea that genes build individual organisms for the gene's benefit, not the individual's—is explored heavily in this book.
• If "our genes = evil godlings that made our world" catches your attention, you should take a look at this one. Evolutionary theory meets Gnosticism?
• This book is one of my few titles that includes intelligent robots as major characters.
• I had a lot of fun finding Chinese and Mexican-Spanish words borrowed into New California English. One excellent resource: a website devoted to translating the Chinese words used in the 2002 space adventure TV show Firefly.

New California is available in ebook ($4.99) at most major booksellers, and you can buy it direct at shop.raymundeich.com. Buy direct this week and take 20% off. Use code NC20 at checkout. (Deal ends Saturday, March 30).

Buy the ebook direct and save!

Prefer other stores or other formats? New California is available in trade paperback ($17.99) and audiobook (about $21.95). All prices USD. Click below to learn more and buy now.

Learn more and bookstore links

Thanks for your time. I'll be back in a couple of months with a reminder about another one of my older titles.