Stronger, Faster, And More Beautiful Featured By Bustle

“How many times a day do you find yourself wishing you could change something about yourself — whether it be your appearance or your intelligence or your physique or something else entirely? The characters in Arwen Elys Dayton's upcoming young adult novel take that desire to the next level in a terrifying future world where science has made it possible for human species to become the flawless creatures so many of them want to be. A thought-provoking science fiction novel from the author of the Seeker trilogy, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful doesn't hit shelves until Dec. 4, but you can start reading an exclusive excerpt from it below.

In Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful, six interconnected narratives come together to tell a larger story about a distant future where science and technology have made it possible to attain the kind of perfection humans have always craved. It is a twisted and sometimes terrifying exploration of the incredible possibilities of genetic manipulation and life extension that begs an important question: How far are we willing to go to become the perfect human specimen, and at what point does that perfection start to interfere with our humanity?

Powerful, poignant, and action-packed, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is an exciting sci-fi adventure firmly rooted in the realities of our present day that fans of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series will love. Although you have to wait until December to get your hands on the whole story, Bustle is thriller to present an exclusive excerpt from this exciting book that you can start reading right now, below.”

– Bustle

https://www.bustle.com/p/stronger-faster-more-beautiful-is-a-novel-about-what-happens-when-humans-achieve-perfection-13013846

erin johnston
STRONGER, FASTER, AND MORE BEAUTIFUL Received Starred Review From Booklist!

Booklist, October 15, 2018

Six stories meld perfectly together into one complex, eerily plausible narrative in Dayton's newest novel.The book thoroughly integrates scientific advancements of the present and explores the achievements—and horrors—possible in the future if these advancements are built upon. In this sci-fi world, humans are obsessed with perfection and becoming more of everything: stronger, faster, more intelligent, longer-lived, more beautiful, more resilient. Dayton allows humanity to accomplish such feats in her collection of stories, but the results aren’t the picture-perfect image most would imagine. Just as the pursuit of power can lead to malfeasance, the pursuit of perfection can foster corruption. Dhonielle Clayton explores similar themes in her fantasy novel The Belles (2018), looking at the importance of perfection through the lens of beauty in a world where people have unchecked means of remaking their physical selves. Dayton takes this a step further as she paints a gut-wrenching future where people use unlimited power to alter literally any and everything about themselves. This speculative, thought provoking novel will take readers on a frightening, remarkable journey through humanity’s past, present, and possible future.

— Enishia Davenport

https://www.booklistonline.com/Stronger-Faster-and-More-Beautiful-Arwen-Elys-Dayton/pid=9707365

erin johnston
STRONGER, FASTER, AND MORE BEAUTIFUL Received Starred Review From Publishers Weekly!

Publishers Weekly, October 15, 2018

These six linked tales delve into the question of ethics in scientific and medical human modification. Along the way, they loosely follow the life, career, and afterlife of Tad Tadd, a reverend who popularizes a movement against changing corporeal forms and then, after a family tragedy, wholeheartedly embraces people’s right to modify their bodies as they choose. The book begins with semi-identical twins Julia and Evan, whose organs are not growing fast enough to keep either alive; when Julia goes into a vegetative state, doctors advise the twins’ parents to harvest Julia’s organs for Evan, and Tadd pays a visit to the family in the hospital, calling the boy “a life-devouring creature.” Another section follows a teen, significantly modified following a car accident, who hears Tadd’s message on the radio. As the stories move further into the future, Dayton (Seeker) explores how each generation slowly blurs the lines between human, machine, and animal. Part cautionary tale and part ode to the inventive human spirit, Dayton’s brilliant collection of stories is best described as a scientific Twilight Zone. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Dec.)

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/reviews/single/9780525580959?permamore

erin johnston
STRONGER, FASTER, AND MORE BEAUTIFUL Received Starred Review From Kirkus Reviews!

Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2018

Six interwoven stories, each set farther out in time, envision the human future: fantastic but recognizable—maybe inevitable. In the near future, Evan, 15, a semi-identical twin, struggles to accept that his life depends on organs harvested from his beloved sister's failing body. A few years later, Milla, 16, conceals the extent to which her body was rebuilt after a car accident, acutely aware of prejudice against those who've undergone such procedures, until a disastrous first date with her longtime crush who's heard the Rev. Tadd's radio harangues against altering the human body, even to save lives. Years later, the charismatic religious zealot undergoes a startling change of heart. As genetic manipulation accelerates beyond cosmetic enhancements and lifesaving surgeries, animal and plant genes are modified, then used to modify human beings. Limbs can be added and the mortally ill frozen until their ailments are curable. For-profit enterprises, in the U.S. especially, compete in a laissez-faire free-for-all. Russia and countries behind the "Genetic Curtain" prohibit tampering with human DNA, instead transforming a burgeoning convict population into cyborgs who endure painfully inhumane conditions. While institutions worldwide, public and private, ignore ethical dilemmas, several vivid characters prove capable of heroism and generosity. Final story excepted, most major human characters appear white. Imaginative and incisive, this asks readers to ponder what makes us human and if we'll know when we've crossed the line, becoming something else. (author's note) (Science fiction.14-adult)

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/arwen-elys-dayton/stronger-faster-and-more-beautiful/

erin johnston
My Desk Tour
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My Desk Tour

It was time for a new desk tour - new book, new desk! See all of the current items taking up the space on my desk currently!

1. A dictionary from the 1800’s - I love the clear, well phrased definitions in this one

2. Noise cancelling headphones, a must

3. Books I’m reading for stories

4. The NY Times crossword—An addiction. I’m trying to cut back.

5. Inspiration Images for Strong, Faster and More Beautiful

6. Plastic animals, for companionship

7. My laptop case

8. Always need tea when writing – this is rooibos with cream

9. An important message to myself in a small notepad which reads “Turn off the Internet. Be free!”

10. Index cards from story outlining

11. Lily's chocolate for life

12. A pre-pub copy of Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful

13. Working on my next novel edits!!!!

Arwen Dayton
Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful Early Testimonials
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EARLY PRAISE for STRONGER, FASTER, AND MORE BEAUTIFUL

“Arwen Dayton weaves these six stories together in a way that presents a future that would be laughably complex and require immense explanation if they did not rest so neatly upon one another. She transports the reader so carefully that you almost don't notice how strange the destination is when you arrive there. That, I think, is part of the point. Like the frog in the stove pot, we aren't great at seeing how drastically our world (and our selves) are shifting when it happens incrementally. I ended up caring so much for the characters and their hardships that their reality became mine. Each story left me desperate to go deeper into Dayton's future. And somehow the further from today she travels, the more real it becomes. A deep and suddenly necessary exploration of the beautiful and terrible futures we face.” –Hank Green, co-founder of Vlogbrothers and VidCon, and author of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing 


“Haunting, challenging and provocative — this is an extraordinary book. I can't stop thinking about it.” –Amie Kaufman New York Times bestselling author of the Illuminae series


Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is...visionary and very hard to put down. The characters live in compelling, personal stories that have relevance to the future of the human race itself.” –Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of The Dark Between the Stars 


“An alternately charming and horrifying exploration of what it means to be human, and how far we’ll go in pursuit of personal and societal ‘perfection.’ Dayton’s newest is imagination at its best and most terrifying. I devoured it.” –Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken 


“A work of unforgettable vision and imagination. This book is everything I love about science fiction.” –Jay Kristoff, New York Times bestselling author of the Illuminae series

Arwen Dayton
My Current Book Recommendations
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I could give book recommendations for days - but wanted to give you some classics, inspiration, favorites and current reads that I would recommend. See some titles below:

  1. CAREER OF EVIL by Robert Galbraith

  2. BLADE RUNNER by PHILIP K. D.

  3. DUNE by Frank Herbert

  4. THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES by Peter Wohlleben

  5. OTHER MINDS The Octopus, The Sea, And The Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith

  6. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO by Boris Pasternak

  7. 1984 by George Orwell

  8. ROBOPOCALYPSE by Daniel H. Wilson

  9. LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng

  10. TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN by John Green

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CAREER OF EVIL

by Robert Galbraith

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BLADE RUNNER

Philip K. D.

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DUNE

by Frank Herbert

THE HIDDEN LIFE


OF TREES

by Peter Wohlleben

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OTHER MINDS The Octopus, The Sea, And The Deep Origins of Consciousness

by Peter Godfrey-Smith

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DOCTOR ZHIVAGO

by Boris Pasternak

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1984

by George Orwell

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ROBOPOCALYPSE

by Daniel H. Wilson

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LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE

by Celeste Ng

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TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN

by John Green

Arwen Dayton
Resurrection Accolades + Announcements

Resurrection hits #1 on Kindle Historical Fantasy Bestseller List

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Resurrection at #10 in Hot New Releases today

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Resurrection hits #1 in Sci-Fi and #1 in Fantasy

Very, very excited to see that Resurrection just hit #1 in Sci-Fi and #1 in Fantasy in Amazon’s kindle store. My publisher told me there are something like 900,000 titles being sold in the kindle store, so being #1 in those two categories is a big deal!

I keep nerding out and looking at the book in the rankings. In fantasy, Resurrection is situated alongside numerous George RR Martin titles. I’m thrilled to be in that company.

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Resurrection #1 in Sci-Fi in UK kindle store…

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In the UK, Resurrection at #1 on Amazon’s Sci-Fi list for over a week

Resurrection has been at the top of the Sci-Fi list on Amazon UK for over a week. Very excited about the response to the book…

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Resurrection unseats two Hunger Games books to reach #2 in entire Kindle store

I have to admit I had my fingers cross to hit the #1 spot, but I’m still happy with where things ended up yesterday…

 

erin johnston