Amorphous: Breaking the Mold
Amorphous incorporates humor while exploring themes of space, communication, and the absurdities of life. Uses thematic elements such as first contact, alien communication, and the exploration of non-human intelligence.
An approaching interstellar object crashes into a California coast golf course restaurant, where the main characters are attending a soft-open event. A journalist trying to get a scoop gets horrifically subsumed by the life form, which is on a feeding path across the golf course. The group enrolls a quirky AI to help them communicate with the organism — which appears to be unkillable as it spreads all over the Earth — to release the journalist without killing him. Meanwhile, he is undergoing numerous ego-blowing and hallucinogenic experiences.
Amorphous: Breaking the Mold is a novel set in the near future that thrusts an unlikely group of wisecracking characters into a battle against an otherworldly threat. When an interstellar object crashes into a California restaurant, a terrifying life form is unleashed, and a journalist is horrifically subsumed. As the mysterious organism spreads across the Earth, the group, with the help of a quirky AI, must find a way to somehow communicate with a biology that has no brain before humanity’s fate is sealed. Amidst the chaos, the journalist undergoes numerous ego-blowing halucenogenic experiences.
This is a romp through humanity's first contact experience, where that experience is with a species deeply different from our own. Oh, and we have Al help, in which the Al does just as much joking around as the humans. Amorphous even got me to laugh out loud, which is rare for me in reading a book. If you enjoy humor mixed with science, or science mixed with humor, you'll probably enjoy Amorphous as much as I did. ~ Christine Peterson, Co-Founder, Foresight Institute
Amorphous begins with the arrival of Ukali, a seemingly ordinary asteroid that enters our solar system. Unbeknownst to astronomers, it's not a typical space rock. Ukali houses a potentially sentient, world-spanning slime mold, a kind of intelligence with no sense of individual self or other. It is driven by a prime directive to be fruitful and multiply, seeding life across the cosmos.
As Ukali enters Earth’s atmosphere, it splits into numerous smaller pieces that crash in diverse locations around the globe. One of them lands on the Snowy Plover golf course in Goleta, California, releasing a pulsating yellow ooze that quickly engulfs a hapless journalist, Bob.
Word of the "Little Slimy Aliens" (LSAs) and their strange behavior spreads quickly, generating a global panic. People react in diverse ways, some succumbing to fear and religious fervor, others drawn to the LSAs in a bizarre form of self-destructive curiosity.
Comp Titles
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - A classic that combines absurdity and wit in a tale of interstellar travel and existential questions.
- Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers by Grant Naylor - This novel follows the misadventures of the last human alive aboard a mining spaceship, filled with quirky characters and hilarious situations.
- Futurama: Anthology of Interest by Matt Groening - Based on the animated series, this collection features humorous takes on futuristic concepts and alternate realities.
- John Dies at the End by David Wong - A blend of horror and comedy, this novel follows two friends who encounter bizarre phenomena and supernatural threats with a humorous twist.
- The Android's Dream by John Scalzi - A satirical take on intergalactic politics involving a genetically engineered sheep and a reluctant hero.
- Year Zero by Rob Reid - A comedic exploration of copyright law in space, where aliens are obsessed with Earth's pop culture.
- Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues by Alan Dean Foster - Based on the beloved film, this story humorously explores the lives of actors from a canceled sci-fi show who become real-life heroes.
- We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor - A humorous tale about a man who becomes a sentient AI and navigates space while dealing with quirky characters and absurd situations.
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - This novel features a diverse crew on a spaceship, filled with lighthearted moments and humor amidst their adventures.
- Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente - A vibrant and humorous story about an intergalactic singing competition that determines the fate of civilizations.
- Blindsight by Peter Watts - This novel explores first contact with an alien species that challenges human understanding and communication, much like the slime molds in Amorphous.
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - A story involving a lone astronaut's mission to save Earth from an existential threat, featuring unique extraterrestrial life forms and themes of survival and communication.
- Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky - This book features intelligent non-human species and explores themes of evolution and communication with alien life, similar to the intelligent slime molds in Amorphous.
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin - Focuses on understanding alien cultures and communication, which parallels the efforts in Amorphous to communicate with the slime molds.
- Contact by Carl Sagan - A classic novel about humanity's first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, focusing on communication and understanding across species.
- Semiosis by Sue Burke - Involves humans communicating with sentient plant life on an alien planet, drawing parallels to the sentient slime molds in Amorphous.
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - Explores first contact with an alien species and the resulting cultural misunderstandings, akin to the challenges faced in Amorphous.
- Solaris by Stanislaw Lem - Features a sentient ocean that interacts with human consciousness, echoing the mysterious nature of the slime molds in Amorphous.
- Anathem by Neal Stephenson - Includes complex alien encounters and philosophical reflections on communication and consciousness, resonating with themes in Amorphous.
- A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge - Explores various forms of alien intelligence and communication challenges, similar to those depicted in Amorphous.
Metadata
ISBN:
Approx. 114,000 words