What would a teenage Benjamin Franklin do with an iPhone after he discovers porn? From Philip K. Dick Award winning author Meg Elison comes this ingenious satire of U.S. history and modern technocracy gone terribly, terribly wrong.
‘Relentlessly, brutally, scathingly, funny. I’d expect nothing less from the one and only Meg Elison.’
—Sarah Gailey, author of Spread Me
The trouble starts when a curious young man finds a smartphone in his privy. The problem is, it’s supposed to be the year 1750.
The Antediluvian Society—a shadowy cabal of right-wing billionaires—is fed up with a country they cannot fully control or understand. So they have done what any reasonable American patriots would do: Clone the Founding Fathers and raise them in secrecy. The plan, unbeknownst to the boys, is for them to restore America to its "original glory."
Ben takes his technological discovery to his brothers, Thomas, John, and George. The boys have been raised on an isolated island plantation by Mary Libertas, a firm but kind woman, and Jeff Hancock, their de facto father. But the idyllic life is far too dull for young men. The boys have been chafing at the restrictions upon them (especially Tom, who has impregnated yet another of the servants). Hancock is complaining to the Society that it's well past the time to tell the boys where they come from and what they must do.
Unfortunately for their keepers, the young men now have a phone...and many other notions.
Seamlessly combining science fiction and history with sharp, witty commentary, Meg Elison has once again shown why she is one of speculative fiction's most exciting voices.
Genre: Science Fiction
‘Relentlessly, brutally, scathingly, funny. I’d expect nothing less from the one and only Meg Elison.’
—Sarah Gailey, author of Spread Me
The trouble starts when a curious young man finds a smartphone in his privy. The problem is, it’s supposed to be the year 1750.
The Antediluvian Society—a shadowy cabal of right-wing billionaires—is fed up with a country they cannot fully control or understand. So they have done what any reasonable American patriots would do: Clone the Founding Fathers and raise them in secrecy. The plan, unbeknownst to the boys, is for them to restore America to its "original glory."
Ben takes his technological discovery to his brothers, Thomas, John, and George. The boys have been raised on an isolated island plantation by Mary Libertas, a firm but kind woman, and Jeff Hancock, their de facto father. But the idyllic life is far too dull for young men. The boys have been chafing at the restrictions upon them (especially Tom, who has impregnated yet another of the servants). Hancock is complaining to the Society that it's well past the time to tell the boys where they come from and what they must do.
Unfortunately for their keepers, the young men now have a phone...and many other notions.
Seamlessly combining science fiction and history with sharp, witty commentary, Meg Elison has once again shown why she is one of speculative fiction's most exciting voices.
Genre: Science Fiction
Praise for this book
"Foundling Fathers is an American revelation. Meg Elison is a singular, incisive wit (at least until they clone her)." - Charlie Jane Anders
"Relentlessly, brutally, scathingly, funny. I'd expect nothing less from the one and only Meg Elison." - Sarah Gailey
"Deftly hilarious. You will be tempted to read page after page, chapter after chapter. Do not resist!" - Eileen Gunn
"A brilliant and timely premise that she weaves into a compelling tale that both unravels the founding mythology of the United States but somehow also gives me hope." - Auston Habershaw
"Foundling Fathers has only grown more relevant-more current since Elison began writing it. It's funny, it's sad, it's edged, and like all Elison's work, it makes me believe that its world continues to run along without me after I finish reading." - Alex Jennings
"In there with the political satire and the pitch-perfect 18th-century diction is a moving story of found family and four 'brothers' whose quirky brilliance does not get in the way of their being engagingly human." - Ellen Kushner
"Meg Elison delivers a satirical tale of arrogant billionaires so preoccupied with their attempt to re-create a mythical something (or in this case someones) they didn't stop to consider if they should." - Stina Leicht
"Meg Elison has produced a sly meditation on greatness, American politics, and the very notion of national hagiography. Also, this book is just a lot of fun to read." - David Liss
"Audaciously funny and painfully accurate. Elison sends up our nation's flawed history and fervent mythologizing with creativity and wit." - Samantha Mills
"The perfect read for the United States' 250th anniversary. Hilarious, curious, and furious, it gives this country's toxic nostalgia the wedgie it deserves." - John Wiswell
"Relentlessly, brutally, scathingly, funny. I'd expect nothing less from the one and only Meg Elison." - Sarah Gailey
"Deftly hilarious. You will be tempted to read page after page, chapter after chapter. Do not resist!" - Eileen Gunn
"A brilliant and timely premise that she weaves into a compelling tale that both unravels the founding mythology of the United States but somehow also gives me hope." - Auston Habershaw
"Foundling Fathers has only grown more relevant-more current since Elison began writing it. It's funny, it's sad, it's edged, and like all Elison's work, it makes me believe that its world continues to run along without me after I finish reading." - Alex Jennings
"In there with the political satire and the pitch-perfect 18th-century diction is a moving story of found family and four 'brothers' whose quirky brilliance does not get in the way of their being engagingly human." - Ellen Kushner
"Meg Elison delivers a satirical tale of arrogant billionaires so preoccupied with their attempt to re-create a mythical something (or in this case someones) they didn't stop to consider if they should." - Stina Leicht
"Meg Elison has produced a sly meditation on greatness, American politics, and the very notion of national hagiography. Also, this book is just a lot of fun to read." - David Liss
"Audaciously funny and painfully accurate. Elison sends up our nation's flawed history and fervent mythologizing with creativity and wit." - Samantha Mills
"The perfect read for the United States' 250th anniversary. Hilarious, curious, and furious, it gives this country's toxic nostalgia the wedgie it deserves." - John Wiswell
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