Nicky Drayden

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About Nicky Drayden
Nicky Drayden is a Systems Analyst who dabbles in prose when she’s not buried in code. She resides in Austin, Texas where being weird is highly encouraged, if not required. Her debut novel THE PREY OF GODS is forthcoming from Harper Voyager this summer, and is set in a futuristic South Africa brimming with demigods, robots, and hallucinogenic hijinks. See more of her work at http://www.nickydrayden.com or catch her on twitter @nickydrayden.
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Books By Nicky Drayden
Take flight with the ender dragon in this official Minecraft novel! When a desert town is threatened by illager raids, a young adventurer turns to a newborn dragon to save her home.
Zetta is the best potion-maker in the village of Sienna Dunes. Okay, maybe she's the only potion-maker in the village of Sienna Dunes. And maybe her potions don't exactly work like they're supposed to all the time. But when her village is menaced by a pack of illagers, only Zetta can see that the traditional ways won't keep Sienna Dunes safe anymore.
Zetta journeys to her eccentric aunt's workshop outside town to search for an answer and finds a lot more than she bargained for. A mysterious egg hatches into a scaly creature with purple eyes, black wings, and poisonous breath. It can't possibly be the mythical ender dragon . . . can it? And if it is, can Zetta raise it to be the savior her village needs?
The threat of the illagers is growing fast, and Zetta's accidental dragon is growing even faster. With the help of her two best friends and her daydreaming little cousin, Zetta must train the scariest (and scaliest) baby in the Overworld. But when the dragon is fully grown, will it save Sienna Dunes? Or will it spell the village's end?
Winner of the Compton Crook Award
From a new voice in the tradition of Lauren Beukes, Ian McDonald, and Nnedi Okorafor comes The Prey of Gods, a fantastic, boundary-challenging tale, set in a South African locale both familiar and yet utterly new, which braids elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and dark humor.
In South Africa, the future looks promising. Personal robots are making life easier for the working class. The government is harnessing renewable energy to provide infrastructure for the poor. And in the bustling coastal town of Port Elizabeth, the economy is booming thanks to the genetic engineering industry which has found a welcome home there. Yes—the days to come are looking very good for South Africans. That is, if they can survive the present challenges:
A new hallucinogenic drug sweeping the country . . .
An emerging AI uprising . . .
And an ancient demigoddess hellbent on regaining her former status by preying on the blood and sweat (but mostly blood) of every human she encounters.
It’s up to a young Zulu girl powerful enough to destroy her entire township, a queer teen plagued with the ability to control minds, a pop diva with serious daddy issues, and a politician with even more serious mommy issues to band together to ensure there’s a future left to worry about.
Fun and fantastic, Nicky Drayden takes her brilliance as a short story writer and weaves together an elaborate tale that will capture your heart . . . even as one particular demigoddess threatens to rip it out.
"Don't be alarmed - that dizzy pleasurable sensation you're experiencing is just your brain slowly exploding from all the wild magnificent worldbuilding in Nicky Drayden's Escaping Exodus. I loved these characters and this story, and so will you."
- Sam J. Miller, Nebula-Award-winning author of The Art of Starving and Blackfish City
The Compton Crook award–winning author of The Prey of Gods and Temper returns with a dazzling stand-alone novel, set in deep space, in which the fate of humanity rests on the slender shoulders of an idealistic and untested young woman—a blend of science fiction, dark humor, and magical realism that will appeal to fans of Charlie Jane Anders, Jeff VanderMeer, and Nnedi Okorafor.
Earth is a distant memory. Habitable extrasolar planets are still out of reach. For generations, humanity has been clinging to survival by establishing colonies within enormous vacuum-breathing space beasts and mining their resources to the point of depletion.
Rash, dreamy, and unconventional, Seske Kaleigh should be preparing for her future role as clan leader, but her people have just culled their latest beast, and she’s eager to find the cause of the violent tremors plaguing their new home. Defying social barriers, Seske teams up with her best friend, a beast worker, and ventures into restricted areas for answers to end the mounting fear and rumors. Instead, they discover grim truths about the price of life in the void.
Then, Seske is unexpectedly thrust into the role of clan matriarch, responsible for thousands of lives in a harsh universe where a single mistake can be fatal. Her claim to the throne is challenged by a rival determined to overthrow her and take control—her intelligent, cunning, and confident sister.
Seske may not be a born leader like her sister, yet her unorthodox outlook and incorruptible idealism may be what the clan needs to save themselves and their world.
This Box Set Includes:
Delightfully Twisted Tales: Close Encounters of the Worst Kind
Delightfully Twisted Tales: Fire, Fangs and Brimstone
Delightfully Twisted Tales: The Weirdos Next Door
Delightfully Twisted Tales: Wisps, Spells and Faerie Tales
Delightfully Twisted Tales: Love and other Filthy Habits
Delightfully Twisted Tales: Family Antimatters
A shifty shapeshifter cons an intergalactic casino, an old demon gets caught up in the bureaucracy of hell, a washed-up pirate gets one last chance at pirating again, a curious restaurant patron gets more than she bargains for, a lonely zombie gets one last chance at romance, two sisters spend an ordinary day together dodging tentacled aliens, plus much, much more! This delightfully twisted collection of nineteen short stories, flash pieces, and poems contains more weirdness than you can shake a stick at, even if you happen to be very skilled at stick shaking.
Zetta ist vielleicht nicht die beste Zaubertrank-Herstellerin aller Welten, aber als ihr Dorf von einem Rudel Illager angegriffen wird, ist sie die Einzige, die erkennt, dass ihre Verteidigungsmaßnahmen nicht ausreichen werden. In der Werkstatt ihrer Tante sucht sie nach neuen Mitteln – und findet ein Drachenei! Das Wesen, das daraus schlüpft, erinnert mit seinen Schuppen und den lila Augen sehr an den Enderdrachen. Trotzdem zieht Zetta ihn zusammen mit ihren Freunden auf, in der Hoffnung, dass er bei der Verteidigung gegen die Illager helfen wird. Doch dieses Vorhaben birgt ganz eigene Gefahren, und schon bald sind die Illager vielleicht nicht mehr die einzige Bedrohung für Zettas Zuhause.
Ein neues Roman-Abenteuer für alle MINECRAFT-Fans ab 12 Jahren
The Compton Crook Award-winning author weaves her trademark blend of science fiction and dark humor in this dazzling story that continues the imaginative saga begun in Escaping Exodus, in which a society lives in the belly of a beast—and an entire civilization's survival depends on a pair of uneasy allies who must come together for one epic battle.
The Senate allowed Doka to lead their people believing he’d fail spectacularly—a disaster that would cement the legitimacy of their long-standing matriarchy. Despite vocal opposition and blatant attacks on his authority, Doka has continued to handle his position with grace and intelligence; he knows a single misstep means disaster. When a cataclysmic event on another Zenzee world forces Doka and his people to accept thousands of refugees, a culture clash erupts, revealing secrets from the past that could endanger their future. For Doka, the stakes are bigger and more personal than ever before—and could cost him his reign and his heart.
He has fallen for the one woman he is forbidden to love: his wife, Seske.
Doka and Seske must work closely together to sway the other Zenzee worlds to stop their cycles of destruction. But when they stumble upon a discovery that can transform their world, they know they must prepare to fight a battle where there can be no winners, only survivors.
The Quarantine Blues Edition is guaranteed to help you stew in all your quarantine feels, and it includes these three bitter-sweet short stories...
Lost Inside: A woman gets porcupine quill implants to help her safely navigate the post-quarantine world that's left her behind.
Rainbow Fish, Redux: A reverse merman has trouble building healthy relationships both above the water's surface and deep, deep below it.
The Horse Women of Cincinnati: A heart-wrenching post-apocalyptic tale about a woman chasing after her lost love.
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018!
A Vulture Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book of 2018!
In a land similar to South Africa, twin brothers are beset by powerful forces beyond their understanding or control in this thrilling blend of science fiction, horror, magic, and dark humor—evocative of the works of Lauren Beukes, Ian McDonald, and Nnedi Okorafor—from the author of The Prey of Gods.
Two brothers.
Seven vices.
One demonic possession.
Can this relationship survive?
Auben Mutze has more vices than he can deal with—six to be exact—each branded down his arm for all the world to see. They mark him as a lesser twin in society, as inferior, but there’s no way he’ll let that define him. Intelligent and outgoing, Auben’s spirited antics make him popular among the other students at his underprivileged high school. So what if he’s envious of his twin Kasim, whose single vice brand is a ticket to a better life, one that likely won’t involve Auben.
The twins’ strained relationship threatens to snap when Auben starts hearing voices that speak to his dangerous side—encouraging him to perform evil deeds that go beyond innocent mischief. Lechery, deceit, and vanity run rampant. And then there are the inexplicable blood cravings. . . .
On the southern tip of an African continent that could have been, demons get up to no good during the time of year when temperatures dip and temptations rise. Auben needs to rid himself of these maddening voices before they cause him to lose track of time. To lose his mind. And to lose his . . .
TEMPER
We save and invest and plan for our future, but in twenty, thirty, forty years, science fiction will become our new reality. How do we go about retirement planning when human cloning will likely be a viable option? What degrees should we encourage our children to pursue when robots are competing for the best jobs? How will the housing market be affected by the discovery of parallel universes? Your financial portfolio might be in dire need of a major readjustment if you haven't considered these and other scenarios, because after all, you can't adequately plan for YOUR future without planning for THE future. This delightfully twisted collection of six flash fiction stories is easily devoured in one sitting and will leave you hungry for more.
Also available by this author:
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Close Encounters of the Worst Kind (Volume One)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Fire, Fangs and Brimstone (Volume Two)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: The Weirdos Next Door (Volume Three)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Wisps, Spells and Faerie Tales (Volume Four)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Love and other Filthy Habits (Volume Five)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Family Antimatters (Volume Six)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: The Wide, Wide World of Weird (Volume Seven)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: The Worst of Both Worlds (Volume Eight)
Maintenance workers tend to a living ship with mental issues, a tentacled alien competes in her first triathlon on Earth, a man goes to the ends of the Earth and beyond for the perfect anniversary present, and a horny translator hopes to put the "contact" in an impending first contact. This delightfully twisted collection of four short stories is easily devoured in one sitting and will leave you hungry for more.
Also available by this author:
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Close Encounters of the Worst Kind (Volume One)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Fire, Fangs and Brimstone (Volume Two)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: The Weirdos Next Door (Volume Three)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Wisps, Spells and Faerie Tales (Volume Four)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Love and other Filthy Habits (Volume Five)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Family Antimatters (Volume Six)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: The Wide, Wide World of Weird (Volume Seven)
Experience three times the twisted tales in this triple volume!
Star-crossed lovers test the strength of their relationship at a gator farm…in outer space, a pair of teens hunt for deals on jeans at a Gap store run by zombies, mobster plants put the shakedown on an irresponsible gardener, a young dragon gets into the holiday spirit by burning down villages and snacking on the unchaste, plus much, much more! This delightfully twisted collection of nine previously published short stories and three original works contains more weird than you can shake a stick at, even if you happen to be very skilled at stick shaking.
Also available by this author:
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Close Encounters of the Worst Kind (Volume One)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Fire, Fangs and Brimstone (Volume Two)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: The Weirdos Next Door (Volume Three)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Wisps, Spells and Faerie Tales (Volume Four)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Love and other Filthy Habits (Volume Five)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: Family Antimatters (Volume Six)
- Delightfully Twisted Tales: The Wide, Wide World of Weird (Volume Seven)
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