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Safe State
It’s 2058. Six years ago, the Winter of Disconnect shattered Britain and stole Jas McDonnell’s childhood. She survived. Millions didn’t.
Now eighteen, Jas still bears the scars. She scrapes a living in Louth, a forgotten market town barricaded against the slaver gangs outside, and lorded over by a sable-robed mayor. Jas gets by on trickledown lo-fi emotion inducers to dampen trauma, and glitchy lightfield projectors to smear an augmented veneer over reality’s grime.
She’s just grateful to be safe.
A hundred miles south, Grand London thrives as a transhumanist playground, its neuman elites paying no mind to baseline human struggles. But when an illegal shipment of bio-fabricators arrives in Louth, everything changes. The mayor seizes a chance to put the town back on the map, promising to unleash a cybernetic swarm that will spread law and order beyond the barricades. Suddenly, Louth isn’t forgotten any more. And for Jas, safety has never felt more dangerous.
Who sent UN-sanctioned biotech to a Lincolnshire backwater? Why now? And why is Jas the only one asking questions?
To uncover the truth, Jas will have to risk everything – and leave safety behind. Because the posthuman demigods down south are watching now. And maybe it’s not the fame-seeking mayor they’ve noticed.
Maybe it’s her.
Safe State is a grimy post-cyberpunk thriller for readers who love the deep immersion of William Gibson’s The Peripheral, the bleakly real tech extrapolations of Daniel Suarez’s Change Agent, and the dark British cynicism of Charles Stross’s classic Accelerando. In an age where we fear what our machines and AI will become, Safe State shouldn't we be more afraid of what we’ll become ourselves?
Amazon Praise for Segmentation Fault "It's a rare occasion when you pick up a new author and know within the first few pages that you'll want to read everything they publish. Segmentation Fault was that kind of story for me.""I adored this story. I’m a sucker for a near-future dystopia and Segmentation Fault’s world is one for the ages — fascinating, terrifying, and all so grimly plausible.""An intelligent, heart wrenching tale of love in the times of societal collapse, this dystopian short story casts a knowing glare at the way modern life seems to be going. It is not an easy read. Thought provoking in sentiment and written with sincere emotion, it tackles difficult subjects without getting gratuitous or shirking the hard reality of being considered wrong for being "other" in a world still dogged by intolerance.""Thematically deep, and necessary glimpse in our possible future""Great little cyberpunk story that's equal parts heartwarming and tragic."
Now eighteen, Jas still bears the scars. She scrapes a living in Louth, a forgotten market town barricaded against the slaver gangs outside, and lorded over by a sable-robed mayor. Jas gets by on trickledown lo-fi emotion inducers to dampen trauma, and glitchy lightfield projectors to smear an augmented veneer over reality’s grime.
She’s just grateful to be safe.
A hundred miles south, Grand London thrives as a transhumanist playground, its neuman elites paying no mind to baseline human struggles. But when an illegal shipment of bio-fabricators arrives in Louth, everything changes. The mayor seizes a chance to put the town back on the map, promising to unleash a cybernetic swarm that will spread law and order beyond the barricades. Suddenly, Louth isn’t forgotten any more. And for Jas, safety has never felt more dangerous.
Who sent UN-sanctioned biotech to a Lincolnshire backwater? Why now? And why is Jas the only one asking questions?
To uncover the truth, Jas will have to risk everything – and leave safety behind. Because the posthuman demigods down south are watching now. And maybe it’s not the fame-seeking mayor they’ve noticed.
Maybe it’s her.
Safe State is a grimy post-cyberpunk thriller for readers who love the deep immersion of William Gibson’s The Peripheral, the bleakly real tech extrapolations of Daniel Suarez’s Change Agent, and the dark British cynicism of Charles Stross’s classic Accelerando. In an age where we fear what our machines and AI will become, Safe State shouldn't we be more afraid of what we’ll become ourselves?
Amazon Praise for Segmentation Fault "It's a rare occasion when you pick up a new author and know within the first few pages that you'll want to read everything they publish. Segmentation Fault was that kind of story for me.""I adored this story. I’m a sucker for a near-future dystopia and Segmentation Fault’s world is one for the ages — fascinating, terrifying, and all so grimly plausible.""An intelligent, heart wrenching tale of love in the times of societal collapse, this dystopian short story casts a knowing glare at the way modern life seems to be going. It is not an easy read. Thought provoking in sentiment and written with sincere emotion, it tackles difficult subjects without getting gratuitous or shirking the hard reality of being considered wrong for being "other" in a world still dogged by intolerance.""Thematically deep, and necessary glimpse in our possible future""Great little cyberpunk story that's equal parts heartwarming and tragic."
294 pages, Paperback
Published January 15, 2025
25 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 20, 2025
An author I haven’t read but a setting (Dystopian cyberpunk future) that I enjoy. Turns out Klements is actually pretty good writer. I enjoyed the story and the characters, and even when I thought I knew I was going to happen with some of the characters, it turns out I was thrown some interesting surprises as what I thought was going to happen manifested enough differently to be interesting. The ending really fit, absolutely fantastic. Honestly, I have to recommend this one for people who like this type of setting. In fact, I actually enjoyed it more than I enjoy William Gibson, because Klements made me care about the characters more than I ever cared about any of Gibsons.
I picked this relatively unknown author and title when I saw it on BookBub. It is still on sale on Amazon when I last checked.
I plan to pick up his other stories.
I picked this relatively unknown author and title when I saw it on BookBub. It is still on sale on Amazon when I last checked.
I plan to pick up his other stories.
December 18, 2025
DNF, stopping 17% in.
I really wanted to enjoy this one. Great worldbuilding and sense of dread mixed with bits of this MC's life--but at nearly 20% in, there's just not enough to keep my interest. Sigh.
I really wanted to enjoy this one. Great worldbuilding and sense of dread mixed with bits of this MC's life--but at nearly 20% in, there's just not enough to keep my interest. Sigh.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews