The Somebody People

A group of outcasts with extraordinary abilities must save a crumbling world from annihilation in this gripping follow-up to The Nobody People. Fahima Deeb changed everything seven years ago when she triggered the Pulse, imbuing millions of people with otherworldly gifts like flight, telekinesis, or superhuman strength. She thought that would herald the end of the hostilities between those with abilities and those without, but it instead highlighted a new problem: There is someone behind the scenes, able to influence and manipulate these newly empowered people into committing horrible acts against their will. Worse still, that shadowy figure is wearing the face of Fahima's oldest friend, Patrick Davenport. Fahima is horror-struck when she realizes that Patrick has built an army entirely under his control to wipe out all who oppose him. With nowhere to turn and few she can trust, Fahima must rely on uncertain allies: Carrie Norris, whose illusion of a normal life vanishes at Fahima's reappearance. Clay Weaver, a retired soldier fighting to keep his husband and son safe-and to keep Patrick from taking over his mind. And, finally, Emmeline Hirsch, adrift and untethered from her ability to travel through time. Together, they might be able to topple Patrick's shadowy regime . . . though it may spell destruction for the entire world.

Bob Proehl is the author of A Hundred Thousand Worlds, a Booklist best book of the year. He has worked as a bookseller and programming director for Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca, New York, a DJ, a record store owner, and a bartender. He was a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Fiction and a resident at the Saltonstall Arts Colony. His work has appeared on Salon, as part of the 33 1/3 book series, and in American Short Fiction.