David Walton - The Genius Plague

I brought up the latest batch of indecipherables on my computer and selected one at random. It was time to get back to work.

My fantastic agent Eleanor Wood was my first reader for this book, devouring it a chapter at a time as I wrote it and always asking for more. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate her encouragement and tireless efforts on my behalf.

It’s always hard to see the flaws in my own stories, so I rely on my beta readers to see what I can’t. Thanks to Mike Shultz, David Cantine, Chad and Jill Wilson, Nadim Nakhleh, Mike Yeager, Joe Reed, Jon Louis Mann, William Taylor, and Robert Walton for their invaluable comments and ideas. A special thank you to my friend Celso Antonio Almeida, who helped me present an authentic view of Brazilian locations and culture.

Thanks to my editor Rene Sears and all the great people at Pyr for loving my stories and putting their tremendous skills into creating this final book and putting it into your hands.

Finally, to my family, thanks for your enthusiasm for my stories and my successes. You make my life a delight, and I love you all.

David Walton is the internationally best-selling author of the quantum physics murder mysteries Superposition and Supersymmetry . He won the Philip K. Dick Award for his debut novel, Terminal Mind , a cyber-thriller that takes place in the crater where the city of Philadelphia used to be. David lives near Philadelphia with his wife and seven children and leads a double life as an engineer for defense contractor Lockheed Martin. He enjoys responding to fan mail at davidwaltonfiction@gmail.com.

Superposition

Supersymmetry

“Paired with relentless pacing, an action-packed narrative, and a cast of interesting characters, Walton’s fluid writing style and tightly constructed plot produce a virtually un-put-down-able read. Tonally the love child of Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain and Aldiss’ SF classic Hothouse , this is a page-turner of the highest order.”

“Fast-paced and engaging, this had me rapt from beginning to end. A surprisingly vicious, timely look at the line between humanity and its environment. Beautifully done. I am eating a mushroom omelet as revenge.”

“David Walton is one of our very best writers of science-fiction thrillers, and The Genius Plague is a triumph from first page to last. This one will stick with you.”

“Riveting. David Walton gives us a wild ride through new territory.”

“Once areader picks up Walton’s latest whirlwind sf thriller, she will not be able to put it down.”

Walton infuses his latest novel with adventure, spycraft, humor, and shudders…. The Genius Plague freshens up the nature-versus-man archetype with an unusual “critter” and contemporary global politics, resulting in a page-turning read that is also thought-provoking. We may never look at mushrooms the same way again.”

“This original and frightening ecological response to human activity dances tantalizingly on the edge of believability. Adding to questions of species survival are chewy concepts that touch on individual choice and free will.”

“This is the way sci-fi ought to be.”

“An expanding universe of delight.”

“Gripping, suspenseful and original, this is a page-turning novel that readers are sure to devour.”

“Walton delivers fast-paced action, suspense and riveting mystery—all of it spinning about a core of vivid, speculative science. Enjoy some tense, imaginative fun.”

“Thrills and spills and sheer excitement on full-throttle overdrive.”

“This sequel to Superposition is just as excellent as the first. Fast-paced, mind-bending, super-scientific yet fully accessible…. Full of new possibilities and probabilities, Supersymmetry gives readers a peek into what the future may hold and the cost that comes with it. This is a science fiction novel full of humanity and all its inherent beauty and ugliness.

Published 2017 by Pyr®, an imprint of Prometheus Books

The Genius Plague . Copyright © 2017 by David Walton. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Cover illustration © Eric Nyquist

Cover design by Nicole Sommer-Lecht

Cover design © Prometheus Books

This is a work of fiction. Characters, organizations, products, locales, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.

Inquiries should be addressed to

Pyr

59 John Glenn Drive

Amherst, New York 14228

VOICE: 716-691-0133

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Walton, David, 1975- author.

Title: The genius plague / by David Walton.

Description: Amherst, NY : Pyr, an imprint of Prometheus Books, 2017.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017011549 (print) | LCCN 2017016357 (ebook) | ISBN 9781633883444 (ebook) | ISBN 9781633883437 (paperback)

Subjects: | BISAC: FICTION / Science Fiction / High Tech. | FICTION / Science Fiction / Adventure. | GSAFD: Science fiction.

Classification: LCC PS3623.A454 (ebook) | LCC PS3623.A454 G46 2017 (print) | DDC 813/.6—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017011549

Printed in the United States of America