The Fermi is Earth’s first faster-than-light capable spaceship. It’s also its last. The moment the Fermi's engines engage, it unleashes a shockwave that vaporises entire planets, entire solar systems, in its wake.
Fermi’s Progress is a sequence of four novellas by Chris Farnel about the Fermi, a ship cobbled together from obsolete cold war tech and cutting edge mad science, bouncing around the galaxy leaving a trail of obliterated planets in its wake. Each novella, released every three months, sees the Fermi arrive at a mysterious new world, encounter bizarre new alien cultures, and blow them up.
Today we launch not one, but three different ways to get your hands on Chris Farnell's brilliant new science fiction adventure series that Nate Crowley, author of Notes from Small Planets, describes as:
"Simultaneously a tribute to the classic TV SF 'planet of the week' format and a very literal demolition job of the same - and so smart that it's never afraid to be silly. Brilliant stuff."
Scarlet Ferret is stocking the entire amazing and hilarious series! We have:
- the first book, Dyson's Fear, for you to read today,
- the second book, Descartesmageddon, to pre-order before its launch next month, and
- a new Season Pass that gives you all 4 books in the series as they're released, plus each books extras, for the price of only three books!
Fermi's Progress: Dyson's Fear
Dyson's Fear is the first book in the Fermi's Progress series.
Published in January 2021, Dyson's Fear is fresh, fun SF with a dark conceit, dangerous thought experiments, thrilling action adventures, and lots of wit and warmth.
The moment the Fermi's engines engage, it unleashes a shockwave that vaporises entire planets, entire solar systems.
Fermi’s crew, the last surviving members of the human race, now find themselves circling an ancient Dyson sphere in a distant corner of the galaxy, where they must explore a city of ships and negotiate with a vast, lonely AI for their survival.
But that isn’t their only problem. Because the Fermi’s engines are powering up again…
This book got me hooked! It delivers hard science fiction, pathos, beautifully dark comedy, a dig at every lazy sci-fi trope in existence, plenty of laughs, and is simply a must-read.
You know what you're getting into from the clever book titles. The humour is Jonathan Swift meets Red Dwarf. And the science is terrifyingly accurate... unfortunately!
Read the sample of Dyson's Fear to get an idea of the tone and humour, and a taste of the brilliant, fast-paced writing.
Dyson's Fear Extras
Chris has produced some fantastic free digital extras to include with your special edition ebook.
A Brief Guide to the Civilisations of the World
These notes were given to initiates of the fleet's hospitality corps, those tasked with meeting and establishing relations with new cultures as the fleet sailed within reach of them.Preliminary sketches of the Fermi
Initial sketches the cover artist created of the Fermi, including the so-far only side-on look at the ship.
Fermi's Progress: Descartesmageddon
Descartesmageddon is the second book in the Fermi's Progress series, and you can pre-order it today!
Launching on the 15th of April, ensure you get your ebook and all extras delivered to your inbox the moment it's released.
The Fermi's faster-than-light engines have destroyed the Earth, and an alien Dyson sphere, and its crew still have no idea how to switch it off. What's worse, as they reach a planet of sentient fungus, their supplies are already running low.
But this world has its own problems. People have been losing their souls, with the survivors huddling together in abandoned shopping malls as society falls apart. And when the Fermi's crew arrive they will discover something that will challenge their very idea of what it is to be human.
Read the sample of Descartesmageddon
Pre-Order Descartesmageddon today!
Next Books
- Book 3 is released on the 15th of July
- Book 4 is released on the 15th of October
Fermi's Progress Season Pass
Enjoy the complete collection of Chris Farnell's 4-part satirical homage to science fiction.
The Season Pass gives you all four books as they're released, for the price of three.
Andrew Skinner, author of Steel Frame, describes Fermi's Progress as:
"Clever and strange, genre-bending and darkly funny, it’ll take you on a ride between myriad times and places, Fermi’s Paradox observed through the lens of interstellar call-centres like it was the grim spawn of The Dark Forest and Hitchhiker’s Guide, or the fleshy junction of Alien, Embassytown, and Office Space."
Fermi's Progress is fantastic! It's as if Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Iain M. Banks collaborated on a series. And if that doesn't pique your interest, here's a review of Dyson's Fear from the ever-dependable The Eloquent Page:
"Dyson’s Fear is a solidly entertaining slice of science fiction that I thoroughly enjoyed. Turns out it was the perfect way to begin my 2021 reading."
Buy the Fermi's Progress Season Pass today!
Find out more
Fermi's Progress: Dyson's Fear
The Fermi is Earth’s first faster-than-light capable spaceship. It’s also its last. The moment the Fermi's engines engage, it unleashes a shockwave that vaporises entire planets, entire solar systems.
£2.99
Includes DRM-Free ePub & MOBI ebooks for all devices, including Kindle.
Chris Farnell
I was hatched from a vat in 2002 when I immediately went to study English Literature with Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. On graduating in 2005 I received my first book deal for the YA science fiction novel, Mark II.
I’ve written for the National Science Museum, Wired magazine, Warner Bros Studios, Den of Geek and many, many other places. I’ve also given talks and run writing workshops for schools, adult education and fan conventions, including Nine Worlds 2015 where I somehow persuaded a room of 50 people to write an entire novella within an hour and 15 minutes.
