Volatile Memory

By Seth Haddon

This is How You Lose the Time War meets Ex Machina: Seth Haddon's science fiction debut, Volatile Memory, is a whirlwind novella of sapphic revenge in space.

"A gorgeously tender exploration of human connection in a post-human universe."--The Washington Post

An Amazon Editor's Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy Pick

A Most Anticipated Book: GoodReads Literary Hub BookRiot Words & Brush Strokes SheReads BookTrib Winter Is Coming We Are Bookish New Scientist

With nothing but a limping ship and an outdated mask to her name, Wylla needs a big pay day. When the alert goes out that a lucrative piece of tech lies hidden on a nearby planet, she calls on all the swiftness of her prey-animal instincts to beat other hunters to it.

What you found wasn't your ticket out--it was my corpse wearing an AI mask. When you touched the mask, you heard my voice. A consciousness spinning through metal and circuits, a bodiless mind, spun to life in the HAWK's temporary storage. I crystallized and realized: I was alive.

Masks aren't supposed to retain memory, much less identity, but the woman inside the MARK I HAWK is real, and she sees Wylla in a way no one ever has. Sees her, and doesn't find her wanting or unwhole.

Armed with military-grade tech and a lifetime of staying one step ahead of the hunters, Wylla and HAWK set off to get answers from the man who discarded HAWK once before: her ex-husband.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 125036468X
• ISBN13: 9781250364685
• Release Date: July 2025
• Publisher: Tordotcom
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 8.1"