Ouroboros

by Kevin Kauffmann

When Escape was created, the United States was already losing the War on Drugs. Public opinion shifted over the decades into apathy and acceptance. A hallucinogen that allowed the user to escape to another life was not just appealing, it was the perfect substitute for the society the last generation had left them.Taken safely, Escape was all a person could ever want. But everything changed once a young boy died with a small tab of paper on his tongue. Ouroboros engages with a society that has given up on its present and failed its future. Its citizens are trapped in a world where meaningful change seems impossible.

293 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 5, 2014

About the author

As a kid, Kevin Kauffmann would spend most days creating worlds and adventures for action figures and old Transformers. After grabbing a degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, he decided that creating worlds should be more than a hobby.

The Icarus Trilogy, a sci-fi tale about futuristic gladiatorial warfare, was Kauffmann's first series, but he has since gone on to tell stories in many different genres. His Forsaken Comedy is a dark fantasy trilogy about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and his latest, Ouroboros, has received high praise for its representation of hallucinogen use and self-destructive behaviors.

Starting in 2024, 25&Y Publishing will release two novels and a collection from Kauffmann, the Misadventures of Rumpelstiltskin the Third, Daytrippers and Evenin' Flow, and he is the Narrative Director for Exfinitum, an upcoming card game from Yoton Yo Studios.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid piece of sci-fi. When you get started, it feels similar to a lot of other cyberpunk-y books with new drugs, but Kauffmann does flip things around a bit so it ends up being a very different type of story.

Fast read. Was able to knock it out in a couple of nights. Need to check for an audiobook version, as I have some friends that I think would really dig this when we're driving to a con next week.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of Kauffman's novels I have read and it left such an impression I plan to purchase one of his trilogies next. After I finished reading Ouroboros I immediately read it a second time to re-experience the story because so many elements he wove into this book caught me off guard. It was just as satisfying a read the second time through.

I loved Kaufmann's characters; some felt familiar, then surprised me. Some played against stereotype, which was refreshing.

I was especially fascinated with how Kauffman described his fictional designer drug, Escape, and how his characters utilized it. I'm a baby boomer, which means I grew up when hallucinogens were being used and talked about a lot. I think it’s an interesting topic to touch on in this era, when opiates, meth, and club drugs have been more in the spotlight. The visually-rich fantasies the characters inhabited were intriguing and made me hope that some smart producer will option this book for a movie. But I'd still tell people to read the book first, because it's a captivating trip to take with your own imagination.