Skyrmion: Book One of the Sweetland Quartet - 9798986152318

Fourteen-year-old Jessie Larivee has decided go to Sweetland. There is no future on Earth for children like her. She has been taking virtual training classes at an online university, and she is determined to emigrate, no matter the cost. But she hasn't figured out how to convince her luddite father.

Joe Larivee is a tireless social worker trying to help the growing legions of the poor while keeping his own head above the water. In 2038 the water is rising fast, fed by global warming and collapse of the ice caps. America is on the verge of war and economic disaster. For the starving many, rumors of a new answer have arrived. It's Sweetland, a newly-discovered earth-like world. And there's a novel way to get there - through the virtual reality called New Life.

Meanwhile, virtual private eye, Claire Deluna, has been hired to spy on a mysterious corporate upstart by it's parent company, New Life, Inc. Now she has the big players on her tail, but is it the mob, the government, the Bolivarians, or someone else? More worrying, why are bodies of mostly poor, young people turning up everywhere? And what does it have to do with the Temple of New Life and something called Sweetland?

Skyrmion is a near-future science fiction novel that speaks to climate disaster and the current state of the world crisis, with strong female characters and a diverse cast. Those who like a good love story will also not be disappointed.

"An intricate, cyberpunk dystopian thriller that will keep readers engrossed."

- Publishers Weekly - BookList Editors' Pick

"Poncy's cyberpunk adventure, the debut installment in the Sweetland Quartet series, is pitch perfect, pulse-pounding adventure rife with high action, tension, and poignant human emotions... Readers will be wowed." Bookview Reviews

"The world-building is top-notch, the main character Joe Larivee and his relationship with his daughter carried me deep into the narrative, and the concept was fascinating. -David Agranoff, author of Ring of Fire and Punk Rock Ghost Story