If I’m making this sound like a slog of a science lesson/cautionary tale, it’s anything but. This is an incredibly smart, witty, imaginative 22nd century thriller that is ostensibly about teleportation in the future gone awry, but ultimately a sly, speculative warning shot about our insatiable (and unsustainable) need for technological advancement in the hands of corporate interests. Klein’s sci-fi and sci-fantastic The Punch Escrow rivals the best of Wells and Bradbury in ideas per page. Now Joel must outsmart the shadowy organization that controls teleportation, outrun the religious sect out to destroy it, and find a way to get back to the woman he loves in a world that now has two of him. He’s pretty much an everyday twenty-second century guy with everyday problems-until he’s accidentally duplicated while teleporting. Joel Byram spends his days training artificial-intelligence engines to act more human and trying to salvage his deteriorating marriage.

And teleportation has become the ideal mode of transportation, offered exclusively by International Transport-the world’s most powerful corporation, in a world controlled by corporations. We’ve genetically engineered mosquitoes to feast on carbon fumes instead of blood, ending air pollution.

Advancements in nanotechnology have enabled us to control aging. 'Featuring themes similar to Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter, the dense sci-fi feel of a Michael Crichton thriller and clever Douglas Adams-like charm, the book posits an intriguing future that is both inviting and horrific.' -Brian Truitt, USA TODAY Dubbed the “next Ready Player One,” by former Warner Brothers President Greg Silverman, and now in film development at Lionsgate.

The punch escrow