Join our newsletter for 10% off at the Penguin Shop

A Planet Called Happy

Ellis appears to have it all – a great job, a loving girlfriend, and a loyal dog – yet each morning he wakes up feeling that something is missing. In a desperate quest for true happiness, he boards a luxury shuttle to Planet Happy, a hedonistic paradise where guests seek the elusive ‘Happiness X’, the trademarked secret to instant joy.

There, he encounters Nara, a VIP attendant with her own dreams of freedom, whose job is to ensure Ellis has the time of his life. But when an activist group disrupts their plans, Ellis and Nara embark on a thrilling adventure that challenges their understanding of happiness and the influence of corporate power.

Will they find what they’re searching for, or is there more to Planet Happy than what’s in the brochure?

-------

Praise for Riley August:

'Riley August is a major new voice in science fiction and I will read anything they write' Nadia El-Fassi

‘Raw, funny, and wise.' Julie Leong

Last Gifts is a quietly profound story about grief, purpose, and our place in the universe – told with a touch of humor, and a dash of adventure. Come for the cat, stay for the story.’ Sunyi Dean

A Planet Happy Called Happy really did make me happy. This book was a cosy, scathing takedown of AI and surveillance capitalism – an echo of the primal scream we all let out each time a chatbot asks how it can help us. Riley August just writes science fiction at its best.

Olivia Atwater, author of Half A Soul

About Riley August

Riley August is a speculative fiction writer, animal lover, nature walker and all-around nerd. When they aren't writing stories about lonely voyages through space, you can find them playing video games, the guitar or a myriad or TTRPGs. They live in Rhode Island with their cat and husband. The Last Gifts of the Universe is their debut novel.
Learn more
Details
  • Imprint: Del Rey
  • ISBN: 9781529934908
  • Length: 352 pages
  • Dimensions: 223mm x 32mm x 146mm
  • Weight: 464g
  • Price: £18.99

You might like...