Literary career

Since 1995, Somers has published his zine

Zine

A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....

 The Inner Swine and has been a prolific contributor to alt.zines. The 21st century has seen Somers's transformation from an observational essayist into a science fiction writer of no small talent, "a gifted craftsman" with a "funky wit." His first novel, Lifers was soon followed by the dystopian Avery Cates series. His novels are published in the US and the UK by Orbit Books

Orbit Books

Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company...

. Somers has also been called one of the "promising lesser lights" of mystery writing.

The Avery Cates Series

1. The Electric Church (2007)

2. The Digital Plague(2008)

3. The Eternal Prison(2009)

4. The Terminal State (2010)

5. The Final Evolution (2011)

Other Works

Lifers (2001)

The Freaks Are Winning (2002)

Blood and Splendor: Sliders Special (1997 Sliders Comic Book Co-writer)

Digital Fiction

The Electric Church (an Alternate Reality Game

Alternate reality game

An alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....

)

Twitter Fiction

The Eternal Prison Text Adventure

Critical Attention

According to one critic, Jeff Somers's first novel Lifers has an "undernourished plot," although the same critic praises Somers's character observations.

Somers's novel The Electric Church was widely praised on its publication. Booklist

Booklist

Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...

wrote, "Somers' stunning debut introduces one of the genre's most promising newcomers." Library Journal

Library Journal

Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...

called it "a dark future of high tech and low dreams in an action-filled noir thriller reminiscent of Blade Runner." Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...

praised the characters but was less enthusiastic about the plot, writing, "Somers's plot sprints along through the nicely detailed (if slightly unoriginal) world, but the characters are the real prize in this entertaining near-future noir."

In 2009 one of Somers's short stories Drum Trial was selected as 1st Runner Up for Best Science Fiction Story 2500 to 6999 words in the "Best Of" contest from Strange, Weird & Wonderful Magazine.

External links