coming soon

THE MANGA MAN
A Novel set in the Neuro Future

By Alexander Besher
Introducing the new anti-millennial hero Johnny Hara—the half-digital, half-human Japanese post-Zen "Butoh" dancer-assassin from the Edge of the Future.

His mission: To stop the warlords who seek to clone the universe.

“Pure Superfuture cooked down in sf's last mad scientist's lab. Enough ideas for thirty other books blistered down into a sharp little drug that'll reengineer the front of your head. You want a hit of this. Trust me."
— Warren Ellis, author of the Transmetropolitan and Global Frequency series of graphic novels

“A hidden SF master.”
— Rudy Rucker, Philip K. Dick Award winning author of Postsingular, Spaceland, and The Ware Tetralogy (the great-grandson of Hegel!)

“Fascinating! Great!”
— China Miéville, author of Iron Council and Perdido Street Station, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the British Fantasy Award

“This book would make Philip K. Dick delirious with joy. Nobody else in science fiction has ever pushed the envelope this hard—or with better success.”
— Spider Robinson, best selling novelist and Robert A. Heinlein Estate-appointed completer of sequels to Heinlein’s novels

“Exquisitely kinky. Beyond twisted, far-reaching visionary, psychedelic, ayahuasca-riffic, with all the blend of pain, dark, kink, futurism, extropianism, techlust and synaptic overload that I adore in fiction."
— Mistress Carmen the Dopamine Dominatrix, Los Angeles

It is the year 2062. The Psi-Revolution is in full swing. Thanks to the latest advances in meta-technology, the collective dreams of the entire planet have become privatized. The entertainment industry’s dream-malls are filled with bio-networked Sleepers who are hooked to its pipeline of Rapid Eye Movement ‘REM’ sitcoms, adventure serials, and sleep-soaps.

It’s a world in which things, already gone awry, get further convoluted. Now the International Planetary Union must face the latest threat to global security. The remilitarized state of Imperial New Nippon is engaged in a sinister plot to launch a diabolical psi-virus codename “Fingermoon” that will conquer Omnispace, the successor to Old Cyberspace.

Enter Jake Hill, the American writer of a series of bio-animé action serials. He discovers that his popular “Tao” Smith REM-strip has been hijacked by a ?toon assassin called “The Hanging Butoh.” A freedom-fighter from the uncharted dimension of the Z-Zone, this phantom dances his kills of New Nippon’s warlords through the steps of “Butoh.”

This post-Zen “Dance of Darkness” preaches that salvation can only be attained, not through the traditional means of Enlightenment, but through a dark state of grace known as “Endarkenment.”

Can Jake Hill stop The Hanging Butoh and resurrect his former life? Or will he confront his inner darkness and join his alter ego in a race to save the world before the final curtain falls on human existence as we know it?

The Manga Man is the first title in Besher’s “Dance of Darkness” trilogy of alternative noir fantasy novels to be followed by The Black Tao.

Also Coming Soon . . . The graphic novel version of THE MANGA MAN, a collaboration with the renowned Italian graphic novel artist Daniele Serra!!!

See a sample of the opening pages.

Listen to an audio excerpt from THE MANGA MAN.

Watch the "Manga Man" neo-silent short film.

Order the T-shirt below (Paypal button is at the bottom of this page).

QR Code Fashion Tip #1:
"Wear this Book!"

The Manga Man:
A Multimedia Novel Set in the Neuro Future
by Alexander Besher
Philip K. Dick Award nominated author
of Rim (HarperCollins, Book One of The Rim Trilogy,
followed by Mir and Chi, Simon & Schuster)

Limited First Edition Sentient Tee Collectible (100 out of 280)
American Apparel 100% Jersey Cotton Classic T-shirt (black).
Sizes remaining: XL, M, and S.
(Please specify size when you order.)
Artwork by Daniele Serra, prize-winning
graphic novel artist.

As featured in the tech blogs of Wired, Boing Boing, and cited
in the"Apps of the Future" issue by Telecomasia.net

"(Besher) is way ahead of his peers and counterparts. It's hard to find an author
or a writer who is as technologically 'linked-up' as he is. Whether it is six months
down the road or a year from now, the question of whether the QR code fad will hit America
or the Western world or not is…not the question. It will, that's the answer." “
—http://www.beqrious.com/show/author-markets-manga-man-book-with-qr-code

"Not just a traditional print novel, (The Manga Man) comes with a swathe of pictures, video and audio.
More unusually (at least by Western standards) is that the book is being published direct to mobile phones . . .
Besher has come up with the sly idea of getting T-shirts printed with a QR code,
which when scanned (with a smartphone camera) directs people to the website for the novel.”
—http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/11/a-mobile-phone-novel-read-via.html

“Very meta-multimedia and cool on the futuristic capabilities front . . .
Very ‘dance of darkness’ anime style.”
—http://blog.shaping youth.org/?p=3470

Welcome to the World of The Manga Man

It is the year 2062. The Psi-Revolution is in full swing.
Thanks to the latest advances in meta-technology,
the collective dreams of the entire planet have become privatized.
The entertainment industry’s dream-malls
are filled with bio-networked Sleepers who are hooked to its pipeline
of Rapid Eye Movement ‘REM’ sitcoms, adventure serials, and sleep-soaps.
In a world in which things have already gone awry,
that's just when the real trouble begins . . .

As fast-paced, humorous and eclectic as Besher's highly acclaimed Rim trilogy,
The Manga Man introduces a zany rogues’ gallery of unforgettable characters,
while providing a blizzard of innovative ideas and futuristic cliff-hangers.

Meet the Ninja of the Future

Johnny Hara—the half-digital, half-human Japanese post-Zen “Butoh” dancer-assassin
from the Edge of Mangaspace.

His mission: To stop the warlords who seek to clone the universe.

Praise for The Manga Man

“A hidden SF master.”
—Rudy Rucker, Philip K. Dick Award winning author of Postsingular, Spaceland,
and The Ware Tetralogy

“Pure Superfuture cooked down in sf’s last mad scientist’s lab.
Enough ideas for thirty other books blistered down into a sharp little drug
that’ll reengineer the front of your head. You want a hit of this. Trust me.”
— Warren Ellis, author of the Transmetropolitan
and Global Frequency series of graphic novels

“Fascinating! Great!”
—China Miéville, author of Iron Council and Perdido Street Station,
winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the British Fantasy Award

“This book would make Philip K. Dick delirious with joy.
Nobody else in science fiction has ever pushed the envelope
this hard—or with better success.”
—Spider Robinson, best selling novelist and
the Robert A. Heinlein Estate-appointed completer
of sequels to Robert A. Heinlein’s novels

Wrap Your Mind & Body Around this Rare Collectible
in the Pantheon of Wearable Literature!
And Remember, You Are the Media!