Elly Bangs

Author   •   Theorist   •   Mutant

My debut post-apocalyptic cyberpunk novel, Unity, is out now! I'm excited to share this story with the world.

"Evoking the perilous grittiness of Mad Max and the redemptive unification of Sense8, this absorbing science fiction debut by breakout author Elly Bangs is a dynamic voyage into a greater consciousness." -- From Tachyon Publications

"Chock-full of both big ideas and high-energy action, Bangs’s thrilling debut centers on a mad chase across a dystopian Earth... This gritty, thought-provoking cyberpunk adventure does the genre justice." -- Publisher's Weekly[ Full review ]

"[A] spectacular, wild ride. Not only is this novel exciting, but it’s also profoundly thoughtful, especially thinking about the intersection of technology and humanity, and the possible implications in our not-so-distant future. Very cool read."-- Lovely Bookshelf[ Full review ]

I have a new short story in Luminescent Machinations, an anthology from Neon Hemlock! It's titled Being Quicksilver. A lighthearted story about advanced combat cybernetics, with only a little body horror. My next short story will come out in early 2024, in Beneath Ceasless Skies.

Being Quicksilver
(Luminescent Machinations Anthology, August 2023) Unwitting conscripts into a new kind of war find themselves instead on a strangely joyous journey of self-discovery.

Space Pirate Queen of the Ten Billion Utopias
(Lightspeed, November 2021) A self-exile from our universe finds better worlds lie just an interdimensional trainhop away.

Deep Music
(Clarkesworld, January 2021) Between yesterday's heartbreak and tomorrow's brewing trouble, a well-dressed woman ekes out a living wrangling mysterious, cute little blobs of animate water.

Champions of Water War
(Glitter and Ashes Anthology, October 2020) When four contestants fight in deadly cage matches for access to water, a secret love affair starts a revolution.

The Liberation of Ghost City
(Fireside Quarterly, June 2020) Minutes before her execution, a visitor to a brutal penal colony offers strange transcendence to the inmates.

The Last Stellar Death Metal Opera
(Escape Pod, September 2019) In a deathless far future, a lone woman sets out to save the soul of humanity -- by dying spectacularly.

A Handful of Sky
(Beneath Ceaseless Skies, June 2019) In a world of magic-infused clothing where the well-dressed rule, an aging tailor sets out on a mission to sew the fabric of the sky.

The Curse of the Octopodes
(Daily Science Fiction, April 2019) When a man receives a dire warning from an octopus, utopian abundance is cast in a sinister light.

The Wordless Age
(Galaxy's Edge, January 2019) When all language is privatized and one must pay by the word in order to speak, a word broker sets out to find his estranged sister.

The Hyperheels Devour
(Geek Out! Anthology, December 2018) When a lovestruck scientist invents shoes that make the wearer shorter, a spatial mishap threatens to swallow the world.

At the Crossroads
(Bikes in Space Volume 5, October 2018) An interdimensional bicycle race becomes a new front in the eternal battle against Space Nazis.

Dandelion
(Clarkesworld, September 2018) An extrasolar artifact becomes a scientific legacy spanning three generations, with implications for the origins of life and the future of humankind.

Apotheosis
(Cockroach Conservatory, Volume 1, August 2018) When a dream-advertisement broadcasting machine runs amok, the scientist who created it makes a last-ditch effort to save the world from a sinister newborn god.

The Cool Kids
(Daily Science Fiction, April 2018) Life lessons are learned when a vampire begins to turn human again.

From An Interview with the Famed Roller Sara Zephyr Cain
(Bikes in Space Volume 2, May 2014) When the world collapses, a trans woman makes a living and a reputation as a bicycle adventurer.

This Must Be the Place
(Strange Horizons, February 2009) When a dejected corporate executive meets a nostalgic time traveler intent on spending the rest of his life in 1984, strange sparks fly.

My debut novel, Unity, is now available for purchase at your favorite local bookstore, or direct through Tachyon Publications!

“Imagine Neuromancer and Lilith’s Brood conceived a baby while listening to My Chemical Romance and then that baby was adopted by Ghost in the Shell and Blue Submarine no. 6. The baby’s name is Unity.”
—Meredith Russo, author of If I Were Your Girl

Evoking the perilous grittiness of Mad Max and the redemptive unification of Sense8, this absorbing science fiction debut by breakout author Elly Bangs is a dynamic voyage into a greater consciousness.

"Chock-full of both big ideas and high-energy action, Bangs’s thrilling debut centers on a mad chase across a dystopian Earth... This gritty, thought-provoking cyberpunk adventure does the genre justice." -- Publisher's Weekly [ Full review ]

Learn more and order your paper or ebook copy today via Tachyon Publications.

WRITINGS

The Matrix Gets a Dose of Its Own Medicine (Bustle Magazine, December 2021), an article about The Matrix Resurrections and how ot reckons with the cultural legacy of the original films.

Everything I Needed to Know About Being Trans I Learned on the Panamerican Highway (Taking the Lane #15, Fall 2018), about being trans, and riding a bicycle a very long way.

A Pocket Guide to Nuclear War Survival & Preparedness (PDF, 525 KB)

INTERVIEWS

Falling in Love with Collective Consciousness: An Interview with Elly Bangs by Arley Sorg, March 2021

Interview with Elly Bangs by Civilian Reader, January 2021

Interview: Elly Bangs, Author of UNITY by Nerds of a Feather, April 2021

Finding Your People: BlueInk Review Talks with Elly Bangs by Paul Goat Allen, April 2021

Elly Bangs is a queer trans woman who was raised in a new-age cult, had six wisdom teeth, and once rode her bicycle alone from Seattle to the Panama Canal. Her debut apocalyptic cyberpunk novel, Unity, came out in Spring 2021. Her short fiction has appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, Clarkesworld Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Escape Pod, Fireside Quarterly, and elsewhere. She's a SFWA member and a 2017 graduate of Clarion West. She lives in Seattle.

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Email me directly at EllyBangsAuthor@gmail.com