The Scorching: Just Press Play by Nick Snape

SPSFC 2024

Joshua Nkosi, cop, joker, vlogger and an octopus's best friend…but Earth’s saviour? Winner of Literary Titan's Black Gold Award “Staggeringly original and timely release from a masterful voice in modern sci-fi” ★★★★★ SPR Review On an Earth devastated by The Scorching climate event, the Drathken land their giant plantships with the promise of healing the planet. Joshua Nkosi vlogs and jokes his way through an easy life guarding a deep-sea mining operation while watching old vids. That is until he, and his modded octopus partner, Marc, get caught up in a plot to steal radiation rich materials from the seabed, fuelling the terrorists’ plan to destroy a Drathken plantship, and ultimately put an end to the alien/human alliance. Nkosi and his sarcastic tentacled buddy are forced to enter the Burnout Zone, only to come face to face with humanity’s stark future when the hunt for the terrorists' lab takes a devastating twist. As conspiracies deepen and the jokes fly, Nkosi and Marc enter a dark journey of discovery—one they decide humanity desperately needs to listen to.

Adult • Science Fiction/Cyberpunk and Biopunk • Science Fiction/Alien Invasion • Science Fiction/Post-Apocalyptic • Science Fiction/Dystopian

Content Warning: The book explores themes around mental health and the modding of animals. This is not described in detail.