Kelley Eskridge: Kelley Eskridge's novel Solitaire was a New York Times Notable Book and a Borders Books Original Voices selection, and a finalist for the Nebula, Spectrum, and Endeavour awards. Her stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies in the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan, won the Astraea Award and been finalists for the Nebula and James Tiptree awards. Her collection Dangerous Space was published by Aqueduct Press. Her story "Alien Jane" was adapted for television and a film adaptation of Solitaire titled OtherLife was produced by Cherry Road Films. She lives in Seattle, WA.
"Solitaire brilliantly explores...the dubious boundary between
'virtual reality' and the act of imagination -- all in the ageless
story of a bright, risky kid trying to find out who she is and
where her freedom lies."
-Ursula K. Le Guin (A Wizard of Earthsea) "Kelley Eskridge uses all
the best stuff -- passion and deception, devotion and betrayal --
to deliver a knock-out first novel."
-Karen Joy Fowler (We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves) "Teen
readers who are fond of the genre will embrace Solitaire with ease
while fans of YA dystopian titles will find a character who
possesses all the cool and quiet power of the best girl hero in a
story that is light years beyond the standard fare. Jackal is no
wimp or whiner, nor is she a born "chosen one." In every way that
matters she is the product of the corporate culture (both
personally and professionally) that embraced her from birth; she is
certainly a twenty-first century construct we can all recognize.
The struggles she goes through are always tempered with very
personal loss, both as a result of the accident that finds her
imprisoned and the distance from the love of her life who remains
back on Ko. What rocks so much about Solitaire is that Eskridge has
put as much time and attention into her character building as the
plot and that means that while we marvel at the world she created,
we also respond on a fundamental level with Jackal and the girl she
loves who never stops loving her back. This book is a treasure; a
true jewel for readers longing for big ideas and intimate
story."
-Colleen Mondor, Bookslut "Solitaire is a novel of our time: a
story of dashed expectations and corporate manipulations. Eskridge
explores what it means to really see ourselves, and what we are
ultimately capable of. Jackal, a slight adolescent, matures into an
adult capable of living well, no matter what her circumstances. She
is a worthy role model for any reader."
-BookPage "Vivid and provocative."
-The Baltimore Sun "As with Eskridge's short fiction, the vividness
of the characters is what makes this book so memorable."
-Locus "Psychological insights that would warm the heart of Alice
Hoffman."
-The Seattle Times "...a coming of age story done as psychological
thriller: a compelling portrait of a young woman battling both the
system and her self after her world collapses, to emerge older,
wiser and sadder from an extremely long dark night of the
soul."
-Eve's Alexandria "[a] beautifully detailed, sometimes harrowing
account of courage, cruelty, and survival . . . a remarkable,
moving novel that is difficult to set aside, and equally
difficult
to forget."
-Barnes & Noble.com "Takes the reader down to the bone . . .
Eskridge's skillful use of detail, her strong characters and
evocative settings, and her ability to take her readers on a spiral
path to the innermost depths of an individual mind, and then back
out again, make this a fascinating read."
-Strange Horizons
"The people of our time are recognizable in the people of Jackal's,
and though their technology is fiction to us, inner human strength
triumphs over hardship, and good comes out of even the depths of
madness. Jackal's story resounds with more faith in character than
is usual in future-noir." - Booklist"Eskridge's first novel offers
a dystopic vision of a near future in which virtual technology
becomes a tool for societal control. Featuring a resourceful and
engaging protagonist, this novel belongs in most sf collections and
should appeal to readers of high-tech sf intrigue." - Library
Journal
"Solitaire brilliantly explores...the dubious boundary between
'virtual reality' and the act of imagination -- all in the ageless
story of a bright, risky kid trying to find out who she is and
where her freedom lies."
--Ursula K. Le Guin (A Wizard of Earthsea) "Kelley Eskridge uses
all the best stuff -- passion and deception, devotion and betrayal
-- to deliver a knock-out first novel."
--Karen Joy Fowler (We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves) "Teen
readers who are fond of the genre will embrace Solitaire with ease
while fans of YA dystopian titles will find a character who
possesses all the cool and quiet power of the best girl hero in a
story that is light years beyond the standard fare. Jackal is no
wimp or whiner, nor is she a born "chosen one." In every way that
matters she is the product of the corporate culture (both
personally and professionally) that embraced her from birth; she is
certainly a twenty-first century construct we can all recognize.
The struggles she goes through are always tempered with very
personal loss, both as a result of the accident that finds her
imprisoned and the distance from the love of her life who remains
back on Ko. What rocks so much about Solitaire is that Eskridge has
put as much time and attention into her character building as the
plot and that means that while we marvel at the world she created,
we also respond on a fundamental level with Jackal and the girl she
loves who never stops loving her back. This book is a treasure; a
true jewel for readers longing for big ideas and intimate
story."
--Colleen Mondor, Bookslut "Solitaire is a novel of our time: a
story of dashed expectations and corporate manipulations. Eskridge
explores what it means to really see ourselves, and what we are
ultimately capable of. Jackal, a slight adolescent, matures into an
adult capable of living well, no matter what her circumstances. She
is a worthy role model for any reader."
--BookPage "Vivid and provocative."
--The Baltimore Sun "As with Eskridge's short fiction, the
vividness of the characters is what makes this book so
memorable."
--Locus "Psychological insights that would warm the heart of Alice
Hoffman."
--The Seattle Times "...a coming of age story done as psychological
thriller: a compelling portrait of a young woman battling both the
system and her self after her world collapses, to emerge older,
wiser and sadder from an extremely long dark night of the
soul."
--Eve's Alexandria "[a] beautifully detailed, sometimes harrowing
account of courage, cruelty, and survival . . . a remarkable,
moving novel that is difficult to set aside, and equally
difficult
to forget."
--Barnes & Noble.com "Takes the reader down to the bone . . .
Eskridge's skillful use of detail, her strong characters and
evocative settings, and her ability to take her readers on a spiral
path to the innermost depths of an individual mind, and then back
out again, make this a fascinating read."
--Strange Horizons
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