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War is over and peace reigns. Families aren’t allowed anymore, nor any kind of tribe; emotional detachment guarantees enduring peace. Indifference and disconnection are acts of patriotism. This could all work—except, as loner and rebel Miriam discovers, where real people are involved. And where the powers that be have something much more sinister in the works.

You Feel It Just Below the Ribs carves out a dystopian realm of chilling indifference and aching humanness. It’s not clear what’s real, who’s honest—even whether you can trust what you’re reading on the page. Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson’s first novel together draws on their shared worlds of written and audio fiction. As co-creator of the hugely successful book and podcast Welcome to Night Vale, Jeffrey Cranor knows the delicious immersion of the senses made possible by intricately detailed, fully fleshed alternative worlds. Janina Matthewson’s lauded novel Of Things Gone Astray celebrated the sudden oddness of an everyday world with the disappearance of just one thing.

You Feel It Just Below the Ribs is their first novel together—a tale of rebellion against a backdrop of emotional death. What better guide to this world of false security and adventure than the award-winning sci-fi novelist and fellow dystopian mastermind, Cory Doctorow? A fan-favorite at Kepler's, our readers love Doctorow's richly crafted worlds from novels like Attack Surface, Walkaway and Homeland.

Join Kepler's online as we welcome three incredible talents in the realm of literature and alternate reality.

Photos of Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson by Jamie Drew.