Down in the Sea of Angels - by Khan Wong (Paperback)

About the Book

Includes an excerpt from The circus infinite.

Book Synopsis

An intense and thoughtful time-hopping dystopian fantasy where three individuals, psychically linked through time, fight enslavement, exploitation, and environmental collapse. A great read for fans of Emily St. John Mandel.

In 2106, Maida Sun possesses the ability to see the entire history of any object she touches. When she starts a job with a cultural recovery project in San Francisco with other psions like her, she discovers a teacup that connects her with Li Nuan, a sex-traffificked girl in a 1906 Chinatown brothel, and with Nathan, a tech-designer and hedonist of 2006.

A chance encounter with a prominent political leader reveals to Maida his plan to contain everyone with psionic abilities, eliminate their personal autonomy, and use their skills for his own gain. Maida is left with no choice but to join a fight she doesn't feel prepared for, with flashes of the past, glimpses of the future and a band of fellow psions as her only tools. She must find a way to stop this agenda before it takes hold and destroys life as she knows it. Can the past give Maida the key to saving her future?

Review Quotes

"Khan Wong brings past and future into intimate conversation with this thought-provoking and ultimately hopeful novel, weaving together three very different lives across time. Down in the Sea of Angels is a poignant exploration of the resilience of compassion, humanity's (re)connection with the earth, and the bright beacon of community in dark times."
- Ren Hutchings, author of Under Fortunate Stars

"These vivid worlds will make your mind expand and maybe burst; these flawed wonderful characters will make your heart ache and maybe break."
- Sam J. Miller, Nebula-Award-winning author of Blackfish City

About the Author

Khan Wong has published poetry, played cello in an earnest folk-rock duo, and been an internationally known hula hoop teacher and performer. He's toured with a circus and produced circus arts shows in San Francisco, where he also worked as a grantmaker with a public sector arts funding agency. His debut novel, The Circus Infinite, was a finalist for the Lambda LGBTQ+ Speculative Fiction Award 2023 and long-listed for the BSFA Best Novel Award.