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And Side by Side They Wander
Not yet published
Expected 19 May 26An intergalactic art heist by a ragtag group of underqualified misfits. What could go wrong?
For three hundred years, humanity’s greatest works of art have been on loan at the Museum of the Seed-Born. It was finally time for them to come home...but the alien curators were disinclined to return them.
Force was out of the question. Earth’s government was they were not going to press the issue. So, all we had was guile and hubris to fuel our little intergalactic art heist.
My old friend Tarquin was our leader, but not the captain. That was Tchik-tchik, though whether Tchik-tchik was our insectoid pilot’s name or species is still unclear to me. Misora, with her extremely illegal biotech mods, was our muscle.
Jack was there to hack the security systems of the biggest museum in the galaxy. He was a sensynth, a sentient synthetic being, and the most powerful machine intelligence on Earth uncorrupted by alien technology.
My name is Fennel Tycho. I’d like to tell you I was there because of my expertise in Art History. Truth is, I was there because without me, Jack would not have agreed to go. He was notorious for being difficult to work with—but it was a mistake to think I could make things any easier.
A meditation on the nature of love, life, and the "culture of the copy," And Side by Side They Wander asks the In a future where there are clones, androids, and a sentient mycelium that creates fungal simulacra, who is real and what is fake?
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
For three hundred years, humanity’s greatest works of art have been on loan at the Museum of the Seed-Born. It was finally time for them to come home...but the alien curators were disinclined to return them.
Force was out of the question. Earth’s government was they were not going to press the issue. So, all we had was guile and hubris to fuel our little intergalactic art heist.
My old friend Tarquin was our leader, but not the captain. That was Tchik-tchik, though whether Tchik-tchik was our insectoid pilot’s name or species is still unclear to me. Misora, with her extremely illegal biotech mods, was our muscle.
Jack was there to hack the security systems of the biggest museum in the galaxy. He was a sensynth, a sentient synthetic being, and the most powerful machine intelligence on Earth uncorrupted by alien technology.
My name is Fennel Tycho. I’d like to tell you I was there because of my expertise in Art History. Truth is, I was there because without me, Jack would not have agreed to go. He was notorious for being difficult to work with—but it was a mistake to think I could make things any easier.
A meditation on the nature of love, life, and the "culture of the copy," And Side by Side They Wander asks the In a future where there are clones, androids, and a sentient mycelium that creates fungal simulacra, who is real and what is fake?
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
112 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication May 19, 2026
254 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 21, 2025
And Side by Side they Wander is a phenomenal novella, with two novels' worth of ideas. Post-scarcity has been achieved thanks to the intervention of friendly aliens...and all they want in exchange is humanity's artistic heritage for a long-term loan. But worry not, the Acropolis and everything else has been replaced with identical copies. But that's not all--there's androids and clone children of a billionaire, a swath of the the US taken over by a fungus that has created weird mushroom doppelgängers of both places and people, a second species of alien, and a misfit crew including an art historian and a karate expert who can unfold herself into several people looking to do a smash-and-grab on the alien museum. A museum which has been facing budget cuts?
By turns philosophical, humorous, and profound, and limned with explorations of Walter Benjamin's theories of art in the age of mechanical reproduction and the notion of the "aura" of original art that cannot be copied with any kind of reproduction, ASbStW is the SF novella you have to read in 2026.
I was very pleased to read a pre-production copy (aura?) earlier this year, but I have pre-ordered a hardcover anyway because it is a must-have for my real, physical (not virtual!) shelf.
By turns philosophical, humorous, and profound, and limned with explorations of Walter Benjamin's theories of art in the age of mechanical reproduction and the notion of the "aura" of original art that cannot be copied with any kind of reproduction, ASbStW is the SF novella you have to read in 2026.
I was very pleased to read a pre-production copy (aura?) earlier this year, but I have pre-ordered a hardcover anyway because it is a must-have for my real, physical (not virtual!) shelf.
November 20, 2025
Fun short read, this novella is about a heist. Humans are going to recover from a far, faraway corner in a galaxy, the art we humans lend to an alien species of conservatives who refuse to return them. At the same time, we are left with bleak and pondering thoughts about what humankind will become in the future, influenced by the effects of the Mycenaean era on our civilization.
A good theme to discuss in book club or with other readers: Is there any difference in looking upon copies vs originals?
Also has an uplifting subplot that gives the novella a tone of hope.
The end feels abrupt but I didn't mind. The acknowledgments have some interesting info.
Great cover.
A good theme to discuss in book club or with other readers: Is there any difference in looking upon copies vs originals?
Also has an uplifting subplot that gives the novella a tone of hope.
The end feels abrupt but I didn't mind. The acknowledgments have some interesting info.
Great cover.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews