Day 9

by Robert T. Jeschonek

Somewhere in the world, a genius builds a machine to bring mankind closer to God.


Somewhere in time, another genius builds a cathedral with a mind of its own.


Somewhere on the road, three searchers race a serial killer to find the man with the key to salvation.


It takes the sound and fury of Day 9 to bring them all together. If God took six days to make the world and rested on Day 7, humanity has spent Day 8 tearing it all apart. Everything changes on Day 9, when we get it right at any cost…or lose everything. On Day 9, a God’s-eye view of the world collides with the visions of a living, breathing cathedral in a war between the delusions of yesterday and the dreams of tomorrow. A war between beauty and mediocrity…love and hate…madness and sanity…life and death.


If the unlikely heroes in the heart of the storm can’t face down their own demons, the deepest secrets of maniacs and murderers could bring the hope of the future crashing down forever.


Don't miss this edgy, exciting, surprising, and thought-provoking thriller in the tradition of Tim Burton, the Coen Brothers, Thomas Pynchon, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. It’s the latest novel from award-winning storyteller Robert T. Jeschonek, a master of unique and unexpected fiction that packs a punch.


Reviews


"Robert Jeschonek is the literary love child of Tim Burton and Neil Gaiman--his fiction is cutting edge, original, and pulsing with dark and fantastical life. His stories suck me in and refuse to let me go until the last page, even as his characters are busy stealing my heart." – Adrian Phoenix, critically acclaimed author of The Maker's Song series and Black Dust Mambo


"…Robert Jeschonek is a towering talent..." – Mike Resnick, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author


"Jeschonek´s stories are delightfully insane, a pleasure to read…" – Fábio Fernandes, Fantasy Book Critic


Contents


Full-length novel plus novel preview


About the Author


Robert T. Jeschonek is an award-winning writer whose fiction, comics, essays, articles, and podcasts have been published around the world. DC Comics, Simon Schuster, and DAW have published his work. According to Hugo and Nebula Award winner Mike Resnick, Robert "is a towering talent." Robert was nominated for the British Fantasy Award for his story, "Fear of Rain." His young adult urban fantasy novel, My Favorite Band Does Not Exist, is now available from Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and received a starred review from Booklist.

ebook

First published September 2, 2011

About the author

Robert T. Jeschonek is an award-winning writer whose fiction, comics, essays, articles, and podcasts have been published around the world. His young adult fantasy novel, My Favorite Band Does Not Exist, won the Forward National Literature Award and was named one of Booklist’s Top Ten First Novels for Youth. His cross-genre science fiction thriller, Day 9, is an International Book Award winner. He also won the Scribe Award for Best Original Novel from the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers for his alternate history, Tannhäuser: Rising Sun, Falling Shadows. Simon & Schuster, DAW/Penguin Books, and DC Comics have published his work. He won the grand prize in Pocket Books' nationwide Strange New Worlds contest and was nominated for the British Fantasy Award. Visit him online at www.thefictioneer.com. You can also find him on Facebook and follow him as @TheFictioneer on Twitter. Sign up for the Robert T. Jeschonek newsletter right here: http://eepurl.com/tpKhr

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. That sentient cathedral. Having finished the book, I still can’t come up with a good reason why that plotline exists. I mean, the existence of the cathedral is sort of brought back into the main plotline, but the sentience of it isn’t, especially in a world where nothing else explicitly magical happens. The sentience could have been stripped out and it wouldn’t have affected anything concrete. In fact, the story would have made more sense.

The narrative is extremely vivid; I have great mental images of nearly everything that happened. That’s impressive. Also, the basic ideas are quite original. (Seriously, despite my problems with it, who thinks of something like a sentient cathedral?! That’s new!) Unfortunately those are really the only things I liked about the book. The characters are fairly unlikable. In particular, the fan crowd (part of the early narrative takes place at a convention) is relentlessly portrayed as pervy and crazy and obsessed with semi-incestuous slashfic.

Skip this paragraph if you don’t want any details spoiled. There are a few unexplained plot holes in here. How did a nice Amish boy manage to get hold of plastic explosives and wire himself up with a bomb on a dead-man’s switch? How did a TV producer build an entire city in the desert on the down-low? In an otherwise no-magic setting, how is a cathedral sentient? What’s up with the ridiculously high prevalence of people with Dissociative Identity Disorder? Why would a guy who’s actively trying to be found go to such huge lengths not to be found? Also, there’s a line in the Amazon description of the book that reads, “Somewhere in the world, a genius builds a machine to bring mankind closer to God.” However, this plot shows up for all of two minutes and then gets dropped.

Day 9 didn’t make me want to read anything more by the author. However, if you care more about reading something new and unusual than you do about narrative consistency, or you’re looking for something original and surreal, this might be the right book for you. The basic writing skills are there–the story just has some holes.


Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2018/08/r...
Consider my rating a 2.5.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Day 9, the reader learns to expect the unexpected. At 548 pages, the novel boasts multiple settings, various perspectives, and endless engaging and humorous dialogue. It centers around Dunne Sullivan, a novelist who is set to write the screenplay for a movie remake of a 70’s tv cult classic, Weeping Willows. To gain the rights for adapting the series, Sullivan must partner with Hanahlee Saylor, an actress from the iconic show, and find the old creator, Cyrus Gowdy, who has been missing for years. If that is not enough intrigue, as the novel progresses further, the reader realizes there is still much more to the Weeping Willows universe than meets the eye. This book is ambitious and creative, holding unexpected thematic elements stolen from a variety of genres and literary forms. I did feel at this times that it was needlessly overelaborate, and could have benefited from a more concise plot line, but Day 9 was an overall rewarding read. If you want a complex and challenging novel, look no further.

[Alyvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A prayer so huge and lasting and wild that God Himself will not wish to look away from it.”

Day 9’s strength is its ambition. It has a unique premise and quirky characters, and is determined to tackle several different plots all at once. There are many twists and turns to be found in this hodgepodge of storylines and concepts. It’s a great story for those that crave something passionate and unique.

If you are someone that needs a story to slow down and explain itself to you, however, I wish you the best of luck; Day 9 may leave you high and dry. It progresses at a snappy pace, darting between perspectives, locations, and time periods without the slightest hesitation. It does not land every beat that it aims for—the characters felt underdeveloped and there were holes left at certain points in the storyline. However, with enough plot points to spare, Day 9 is sure to land at least some of them.

[Caroline Waters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel's strongest suits are its originality and vividness. Jeschonek tosses tons of different storylines, concepts, and types of characters in here in a signature amalgamation. Like his other novels/short stories, there's no lack of creativity here.

With that being said, sometimes his creativity comes at the expense of a plot-hole-free read. In juggling so much, this novel drops the ball in some areas, leaving unexplained gaps in the narrative. Its ambition is remarkable, if a bit overzealous.

Overall, though, Day 9 is a fun, quick, energetic read. If you're looking for a novel jam-packed with action, heart, and creativity, this is the perfect read for you.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun read, and really emblematic of Jeschonek's style: lots of twists and turns, a lot of fun jokes, and some interesting experimental writing. The characters are a little wacky but are well written, the story is set to a quick pace, and you can sit back and take a fun ride that ends nowhere near where you expect it to. It could do with a few less surprises in my opinion, but all in all, it's a pretty good read.

[Malena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a perfect cross between art and adventure. The narrative structure is intricate and certainly ambitious, jumping between the main plotline, the perspective of a serial killer, and a sentient cathedral. But even though so much is happening, it still reads seamlessly, and the fast-paced action and lovable characters had my attention constantly hooked. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a story that’s original and fresh while also super fun.

[Julia Dillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot going on in this story, but it certainly grabs the reader's attention. I enjoyed the varying perspectives throughout the novel. I'll admit I struggled to follow every direction the plot went in, but I enjoyed the story as a whole. It was well-written, if not perfectly organized.

[Melissa]

I absolutely love Catholic/Religious horror, and something about religious themed sci fi really really intrigued me. The authors strength, as per usual, is his unique and creative ideas. This book can be confusing at times, but it definitely draws you in and pulls on your interests.