Shovel Ready

'I don't want to know your reasons. I don't care. Think of me as a bullet. Just point.'

Spademan used to be a garbage man. That was before the dirty bomb hit Times Square, before his wife was killed, before New York became a burnt-out shell. Now the wealthy spend their days tapped into virtual reality; the rest have to fend for themselves in the streets. Now there's nothing but garbage.

So he became a hit man. He doesn't ask questions, he works quickly, and he's handy with a box-cutter.

When he's hired to kill the daughter of a high-profile evangelist, Spademan's life is upended. He will have to navigate two worlds - both the slick fantasy and the wasteland reality - to finish the job, clear his conscience, and make sure he's not the one who winds up in the ground.




Genre: Science Fiction

"With prose chiseled to hardboiled perfection and a tale that throbs with the keen ache of noir, Adam Sternbergh's 'Shovel Ready' reads like William Gibson as directed with inky brilliance by Christopher Nolan. Debut novels as sleek, resonant and accomplished as this are a rare gift." - Megan Abbott

"'Shovel Ready' tosses you off a precipice and you don't know where you're going to land. Dark and often funny, with sparse, sharp language. Think Charlie Huston's dystopian New York meets Richard Stark's anti-hero--this is good, bitter fun." - Toby Barlow

"Hardboiled as f*** with writing as fierce and sharp as a paper-cut." - Lauren Beukes

"A terrific debut. It has the grimy neon feel of Warren Ellis's 'Transmetropolitan' combined with a touch of Philip K. Dick's gonzo cyberpunk." - Austin Grossman

"Compulsive! Savage future noir that crackles with deadpan wit." - Nick Harkaway

"'Shovel Ready' is an elegant, lean and clever noir. It's the best sci-fi thriller I've read since 'Snow Crash'." - Roger Hobbs