About
Donald Wasylyk writes literary science fiction set at the breaking point where infrastructure has run wild, institutional logic has become law, and the social contract has changed irrevocably. And yet, humanity still finds a way.
Currently, he is completing the first novel of a speculative fiction trilogy and is seeking literary representation to bring it to market. By day, he's the Technology Solutions Lead at Mercer Bucks Technology in the Greater Philadelphia region, building and stress testing non-fictional systems and infrastructure.
Current Project
- Title
- The Synthetic Pastoral
- Genre
- Literary Science Fiction
- Word Count
- ~115,000
- Status
- Complete manuscript
- Comparable Titles
- The Water Knife (Paolo Bacigalupi), Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel) and the Southern Reach series (Jeff VanderMeer)
In a fractured Delaware valley, where corpocracies, universities, and fringe communities cling to fragments of old technology, an impossible theft draws together an unlikely alliance: a down-on-his-luck mercenary commander, a compromised institutional fixer, and a pair of resourceful siblings with nothing left to lose.
Beyond the Hundred, the High Roads are untamed and haunted by data pathologies. The rivers are choked with toxic algae.
And something new and feral is awakening in the watershed.
The author is actively seeking literary representation for this complete manuscript; inquiries are welcome via his LinkedIn profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the manuscript complete?
Yes. The manuscript described above is complete and has been through multiple rounds of revision.
What genre is it, and what are the comps?
The Synthetic Pastoral is literary science fiction. It blends the grounded, systems-driven institutional world-building of Paolo Bacigalupi's The Water Knife with the elegiac structure of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven and the ecological strangeness of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach series.
Is this a debut?
Yes, this is the author's debut novel.
How can I stay updated on this project?
Sign up using the newsletter form below to receive updates as the manuscript moves toward publication.
Is this the first book in a series?
Yes. This is the first of a planned trilogy and is written to stand on its own. The second and third books are currently in development.
