Homebound : a novel / Portia Elan.
Cincinnati, 1983. Becks is nineteen, blasting her Walkman and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle is dead. When she discovers the unfinished computer game he left behind, she pours her grief and anger into finishing it: one last collaboration to guide her out of loneliness. Berkeley, 2078. Dr. Tamar Portman is a brilliant scientist wrestling with her responsibility to humanity's precarious future--and to her mysterious creation. But when a project takes her out of academia and into the private sector, the ambitions of powerful people put everything at risk. The Atlantic, 2586. A jaded sea captain, Yesiko, will do whatever it takes to keep Babylon afloat and her fragile crew alive. Until she encounters the one compromise even she may be unwilling to make. And somewhere along the way, there is Chaya: a four-hundred-year-old automaton collecting stories and mining their own memories in a determined search for another life themself. All are bound together by a quest for community--and by a futuristic traveler on a solo mission through space. Front book flap.
It's 1983 and Becks can't wait to get the hell out of Cincinnati. She's nineteen, blasting her Walkman, and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle, the only person who understood her, is dead. But she has work to do: he left her a half-finished game to complete--one last collaboration to find her way out of loneliness. Little does she know, what Becks is making will echo far into the future and shape the lives of a scientist, a sentient automaton, and a flinty sea captain in ways she cannot imagine. All are bound together by their search for connection--and by a futuristic traveler on a mysterious mission through space.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781668201732
- ISBN: 1668201739
- Physical Description: 291 pages ; 24 cm.
- Edition: First Scribner hardcover edition.
- Publisher: New York, NY : Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2026.
- Copyright: ©2026
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- Subject:
- Teenage girls > Fiction.
Video games > Fiction.
Death > Fiction.
Grief > Fiction.
Interpersonal relations > Fiction.
Robots > Fiction.
Space and time > Fiction.
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Available copies
- 28 of 44 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
- 0 of 1 copy available at Onslow County Public Library.
Holds
- 8 current holds with 44 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swansboro Branch Library | FIC ELAN (Text) | 36015002739148 | Adult New Fiction | Checked out | 08/17/2026 |
Accessibility Features
Summary:
Cincinnati, 1983. Becks is nineteen, blasting her Walkman and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle is dead. When she discovers the unfinished computer game he left behind, she pours her grief and anger into finishing it: one last collaboration to guide her out of loneliness. Berkeley, 2078. Dr. Tamar Portman is a brilliant scientist wrestling with her responsibility to humanity's precarious future--and to her mysterious creation. But when a project takes her out of academia and into the private sector, the ambitions of powerful people put everything at risk. The Atlantic, 2586. A jaded sea captain, Yesiko, will do whatever it takes to keep Babylon afloat and her fragile crew alive. Until she encounters the one compromise even she may be unwilling to make. And somewhere along the way, there is Chaya: a four-hundred-year-old automaton collecting stories and mining their own memories in a determined search for another life themself. All are bound together by a quest for community--and by a futuristic traveler on a solo mission through space.
It's 1983 and Becks can't wait to get the hell out of Cincinnati. She's nineteen, blasting her Walkman, and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle, the only person who understood her, is dead. But she has work to do: he left her a half-finished game to complete--one last collaboration to find her way out of loneliness. Little does she know, what Becks is making will echo far into the future and shape the lives of a scientist, a sentient automaton, and a flinty sea captain in ways she cannot imagine. All are bound together by their search for connection--and by a futuristic traveler on a mysterious mission through space.
It's 1983 and Becks can't wait to get the hell out of Cincinnati. She's nineteen, blasting her Walkman, and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle, the only person who understood her, is dead. But she has work to do: he left her a half-finished game to complete--one last collaboration to find her way out of loneliness. Little does she know, what Becks is making will echo far into the future and shape the lives of a scientist, a sentient automaton, and a flinty sea captain in ways she cannot imagine. All are bound together by their search for connection--and by a futuristic traveler on a mysterious mission through space.
