Six distinct narratives, each written in a different voice and set in a different time and place, are arranged so that echoes between them imply moral and causal connections across eras.

Set before and after a fictional, devastating influenza pandemic, the book traces several connected people — including actors who tour small settlements — as they navigate loss, survival, and the persistence of art.

An ancient, nonhuman presence aims to return to strength by manipulating human agents; decades later ordinary people in a rural community become entangled with that returning force.

Two contrasting societies — one organized around communal, anarchist principles and the other structured by more conventional hierarchy and market relations — come into contact.

Set in the near future, the novel traces efforts around an institutional body created under international agreements whose mandate is to secure the rights of future generations.

Set in a near-future theocratic state, the narrative follows a woman assigned to a mandated reproductive role within tightly policed households.

A scholarly novice and his mentor arrive at an isolated medieval monastery where a string of mysterious deaths presents a locked-circle investigation.

Set across the span of a single year, the novel follows multiple interlinked characters and institutions as environmental degradation and pollution escalate in the United States.

Set in a future ruined city overrun by biotechnology, the story follows a scavenger named Rachel who collects genetic experiments and discarded engineered organisms. The city is dominated by a massive engineered grizzly, and Rachel discovers an unusual sea-anemone–like creature she names Borne.

A landscape deity—an old hill-god—narrates events around a contested succession and a prince trying to reclaim his position with the help of a loyal retainer. In this world many gods exist in animal or landmark form and are bound to make their statements come true, even at great cost.

An elite human soldier raised in an isolated outpost sets out believing Earth was destroyed by an external enemy; as she pursues vengeance, she discovers that the story she's been taught about Earth's fate is misleading and must decide what to do with that new truth.

Set across expansive technological futures, the novel follows the emergence and journeys of intelligences—biological, engineered, and fully virtual—grappling with identity, survival, and exploration.