The Mountain in the Sea (2022)

A novel by Ray Nayler

Thursday May 7th

6pm to 7pm

2023 Locus Award for Best First Novel

When pioneering marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen is offered the chance to travel to the remote Con Dao Archipelago to investigate a highly intelligent, dangerous octopus species, she doesn't pause long enough to look at the fine print. DIANIMA - a transnational tech corporation best known for its groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence - has purchased the islands, evacuated their population and sealed the archipelago off from the world so that Nguyen can focus on her research.

But the stakes are high: the octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extrahuman intelligence and there are vast fortunes to be made by whoever can take advantage of their advancements. And no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. And what they might do about it.

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Called "One of the up-and-coming masters of SF short fiction" by Locus Online, Ray Nayler's critically acclaimed stories have seen print in Asimov's, Clarkesworld, Analog, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Nightmare, as well as in many "Best Of" anthologies, including The Very Best of the Best: 35 Years of The Year’s Best Science Fiction.

For nearly half his life, he has lived and worked outside the United States in the Foreign Service and the Peace Corps, including a stint as Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer at the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. Beginning in September 2022, he will serve as the international advisor to the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.