new book alert

a wall is also a road

Coming October 6!

You can pre-order A Wall Is Also a Road from Tor, or get signed copies from Noe Valley Books or Green Apple Books.

Explore a large and lonely universe—one that becomes a little less lonely when two unlikely life-forms cross paths.

Gardenpath is a graduate student in biology. They also happen to be an amoeba from an ancient civilization that dwells in a vast network of towers between the stars. And when they turn their many eyes to a remote, dangerous planet that other researchers have long dismissed, they stumble upon the discovery that will make their academic fortunes: a complex ecosystem unlike anything they've ever encountered, home to some peculiar, multicellular animals who seem to have language and culture.

To investigate, Gardenpath changes their shape to resemble one of these animals. That's how they meet a creature named Murtis, who lives in a city she calls Pompeii, works in a brothel known to locals as "the lupanar," and is unfazed by a visitor from the stars. As Gardenpath looks into their wild new friend’s sensor bulb, attached to a bizarre electro-chemical control system, they begin to wonder if there’s more to life than academic achievement.

They're not sure what it is, but they're going to use science to find out.

Praise for A wall is also a road:

“A brilliant, wholly original adventure of an alien scholar who stumbles upon a discovery that could upend scientific understanding of life in the universe: us. Only Newitz could deliver such a daring, mind-bending yet tender story of Roman history, anthropology, academia, and ethics. Single-celled eukaryotes have never been so sexy.” —Yume Kitasei, author of The Stardust Grail and Saltcrop

"All at once a beautiful cluster of navigating the perils and pitfalls of academia and scientific ambition, a sweet romance on finding love amidst the stars and oneself, and a rollicking good ride into space and our own history. The alien (and familiar) will knock you sideways." —CB Lee, bestselling author of Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe

"I love a book that makes me think and feel. A Wall is Also a Road gave me happy tears and a lot of Very Big Thoughts." —Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo Award-winning author of the Lady Astronaut series