China Mountain Zhang

8vo, br. ed. 'I am Zhang, alone with my light, and in that light I think for a moment that I am free.' Imagine a world where Chinese Marxism has vanquished the values of capitalism and Lenin is the prophet of choice. A cybernetic world where the new charioteers are flyers, human-powered kites dancing in the skies over New York in a brief grab at glory. A world where the opulence of Beijing marks a new cultural imperialism, as wealthy urbanites flirt with interactive death in illegal speakeasies, and where Arctic research stations and communes on Mars are haunted by their own fragile dangers. A world of fear and hope, of global disaster and slow healing, where progress can only be found in the cracks of a crumbling hegemony. This is the world of Zhang. An anti-hero who's still finding his way, treading a path through a totalitarian order - a path that just might make a difference. Maureen F. McHugh was born in Loveland, Ohio, and educated at Ohio University and New York University. She taught in Chinafor a year, and her experiences there and in New York formed the basis of her first novel, China Mountain Zhang. She has lived in New York City, Shijiazhuang, China, and Austin, Texas. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California.