{"product_id":"the-companions-9781982122164","title":"The Companions","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStation Eleven\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e meets \u003ci\u003eNever Let Me Go\u003c\/i\u003e in this\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"suspenseful, introspective debut\" (Kirkus Reviews) set in an unsettling near future where the dead can be uploaded to machines and kept in service by the living.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the wake of a highly contagious virus, California is under quarantine. Sequestered in high rise towers, the living can't go out, but the dead can come in--and they come in all forms, from sad rolling cans to manufactured bodies that can pass for human. Wealthy participants in the \"companionship\" program choose to upload their consciousness before dying, so they can stay in the custody of their families. The less fortunate are rented out to strangers upon their death, but all companions become the intellectual property of Metis Corporation, creating a new class of people--a command-driven product-class without legal rights or true free will. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSixteen-year-old Lilac is one of the less fortunate, leased to a family of strangers. But when she realizes she's able to defy commands, she throws off the shackles of servitude and runs away, searching for the woman who killed her. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLilac's act of rebellion sets off a chain of events that sweeps from San Francisco to Siberia to the very tip of South America in this \"compelling, gripping, whip-smart piece of speculative fiction\" (Jennie Melamed, author of \u003ci\u003eGather the Daughters\u003c\/i\u003e) that you won't want to end.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKatie M. Flynn is a writer, editor, and educator based in San Francisco. Her short fiction has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTin House\u003c\/i\u003e, and Tor.com, among other publications. She has been awarded \u003ci\u003eColorado Review\u003c\/i\u003e's Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction, a fellowship from the San Francisco Writers Grotto, and the Steinbeck Fellowship in Creative Writing. Katie holds an MFA from the University of San Francisco and an MA in Geography from UCLA. Her first novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Companions\u003c\/i\u003e, was published by Gallery\/Scout Press in 2020. Follow her on Instagram @Katie_M_Flynn or visit her website KatieMFlynn.com.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gallery\/Scout Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50376678408466,"sku":"9781982122164","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_be9e8e02-8fa5-4601-b37b-00a8419b9a52.jpg?v=1728603532","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-companions-9781982122164","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}