Eliot Peper, Novelist

Veil is a character-driven science-fiction thriller set in a near-future where someone has hijacked the climate. Diplomats, hackers, scientists, spies, journalists, and billionaires grapple with the power and consequences of technology, life in the Anthropocene, and what it means to find a sense of agency in a world spinning out of control. August Cole calls it, “A brilliantly imagined eco-punk future filled with memorable characters locked in a life-or-death contest to control the direction of Earth’s climate in the 21st century.”

Get your copy of Veil right here.

I’ve always imagined literature to be a single extended conversation, and here are a few conversations that Veil is contributing to: Seth Godin recommended Veil in Books for Spring, OneZero ran an exclusive excerpt, I talked to BBC World Service radio about the book (the Veil segment starts at the 17-minute mark), I partnered with Goodreads on this video tour of where and how I write, Andrew Liptak interviewed me about what inspired the story, the Geekiverse ran a glowing review, I went on the Technotopia podcast to discuss the creative process behind it, Polygon featured it on their list of the best new science-fiction books, and I shared some lessons I learned writing it over on Chuck Wendig’s Terribleminds. Reviews are bubbling up across the internet, for example here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Books thrive on word-of-mouth, so the best way to support it and me is by helping the right people discover it. We all find our next favorite book through recommendations from people we trust. So if you read and love Veil, please leave an Amazon review and tell your friends about it. I know it might sound insignificant, but it makes all the difference in the world. Culture is a collective project in which all of us have a stake and a voice.

I poured my heart and soul into this book and it’s my best work yet. As with any creative project in which you’ve invested years of your life, I’m simultaneously nervous and thrilled to share it. May it offer you welcome refuge, wellspring, and adventure in these strange times. Writing Veil changed my life, and my greatest aspiration is that reading it might enrich yours.

Selected praise:

“A brilliantly imagined eco-punk future filled with memorable characters locked in a life-or-death contest to control the direction of Earth’s climate in the 21st century.”
-August Cole, author of Ghost Fleet and Burn-In

“Veil is about collapse, redemption, and heroes. As always, Peper’s near-future science fiction will stick with you.”
-Seth Godin, bestselling author and entrepreneur

“A modern parable about ecological collapse, climate change, technology, and power.”
-OneZero

“Near-term science fiction at its absolute best. Peper consistently makes step function leaps in imagination. Veil is so crazy relevant and timely.”
-Brad Feld, managing director at Foundry Group

“Eerily prescient speculative fiction.”
-Axios

“Veil is the tale we need to confront climate change. Peper deftly explores one of the most controversial ideas on the climate agenda—solar geoengineering—and its geopolitical quandaries—raising tough questions and showing why we require new forms of governance to answer them.”
-Janos Pasztor, executive director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative and former UN assistant secretary-general for climate change

“Beautifully captures the mix of mourning and resolve that pervades this apocalyptic moment.”
-Brendan Koerner, contributing editor at Wired and author of The Skies Belong to Us

“Peper turns his attention to the future of geoengineering in his latest tech thriller. The lives of billions are at stake.”
-Polygon

“A wild ride through the Anthropocene, a near-future where geoengineering and climate grief clash head-on, and help unveil a path for meaning in our rapidly changing world. You’re going to love this book.”
-Eric Holthaus, climate correspondent for The Correspondent

“A fantastic novel addressing an imminent geopolitical, moral, and techno-economic issue: who dictates the Earth’s climate in this century? Strong characterization, genuine emotional development, dead-on technical accuracy, and a fun, fast pace.”
-Matt Ocko, managing partner at DCVC

“A taut near-future science-fiction thriller, with themes that resonate. Highly recommended.”
-Templeton Gate

“Technologists are inventing the future—a future cut through with their own flaws and hubris as much as it is informed by their ingenuity. Veil imagines a world in which truth, politics, and nature itself are at the mercy of human engineering, for better and for worse. This is an adventure that will stick with you long after you reach the end.”
-Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist

“Thrilling, thoughtful, and richly imagined. A lovely book about a terrifically important subject.”
-Oliver Morton, author of The Planet Remade and briefings editor at The Economist

“The worlds Peper builds echo what we live through. I’m both afraid and hopeful that we will see echoes of Veil’s future in our present.”
-Sentiers

“Peper delivers his best novel yet. Veil is filled with diverse characters, complicated relationships, and ethical dilemmas that are sure to spark late night debates.”
-The Geekiverse

“The perfect stay-at-home read to get your mind blown.”
-Manu Saadia, author of Trekonomics

“Interrogates Anthropocene themes with respect to their complexity and wickedness.”
-Alternative Fictions

“Eliot Peper weighs the promises–and perils–of geoengineering in this tautly paced thriller which, in its final chapters, offers an intriguing solution and that most welcome of messages: a glimmer of hope.”
-Meg Howrey, author of The Wanderers

Purchase Veil.

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