TRANSITION - Book Release
Book Three of the Narrator Cycle
Ahem, *taps microphone*, clears throat.
God why are the lights so bright up here? Are they trying to blind me?
HELLO! WELCOME WELCOME!
Please, enough applause. Please, please. I’m blushing (is distinctly not blushing).
Friends, I have news.
TRANSITION: Book Three of the Narrator Cycle
Are you so sure you’re the painter, and not the painting?
Micah has a hangover, a looming deadline, and a very opinionated rat following him around the orbital station. No one else can see it—which is definitely not ideal.
Outside, the wealthy are fleeing Earth on seed ships. Inside, Micah’s team has days to perfect their gene-editing tech, or be left behind. On top of that, Micah’s unsure if reality is taking an extended vacation, or if his brain has finally short-circuited.
Equal parts absurdly funny, sharp-edged, and human, Transition explores the events that started The Narrator Cycle. Long before Nicholas, Dorothy, and Charon, there was Micah, a dying earth, a talkative rat, and a question—is reality such a fixed thing?
RELEASE DATE: MARCH 31, 2026 TODAY
WHAT IS IT: A semi-standalone prequel novella that takes place long before the events of Transference.
WHY IS IT: I don’t know man, why is anything? Because I love Micah and wanted to write another story with him, I guess.
WHO IS IT: How do I even answer this? It’s you, it’s me, it’s humanity, man. And it’s none of us, too. It’s also specifically Micah and a talking rat named Bambi.
HOW IS IT: Transition is a full-throated nihilistic laugh against the void. It’s comedy as a defense mechanism. It will make you laugh so hard you cry, and make you cry so hard you laugh.
Available wide in print and ebook.
QUESTIONS YOU DIDN’T ASK BUT I WILL ANSWER
Why is a prequel novella also Book Three?
Transition was written as a stand-alone prequel and alternative entry point to the series, but is also informed by the story of Transference and Transcendence. If you’ve read the primary duology, you’ll pick up on nuance that a newcomer won’t. If you haven’t, I promise you’ll still have a good time.
Is there a suggested reading order?
Negative. I think it’s a kick-ass story in whatever direction you choose. I mean, it might be weird if you actually read all the books line-for-line backwards. I can’t promise there aren’t like, secret satanic rights or something that come out if you do.
YOU SAID IT WAS A DUOLOGY.
Alright, that’s not a question. Yes, but I also always said there were four books in the Narrator Cycle. I am on record in at least one place saying that. And it’s really all about that primary duology. Everything was always about that.
SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There’s a lot that goes into making a book. I’d like to thank my wife Angie for refusing to let me be done writing Micah. A huge thank you to Emil Ottoman for editing. Beyond making me belly laugh with his emails, every time I work with him he pushes my writing. Thanks to Colleen Reimer, without your keen eyes proofreading my manuscripts I would have been thrown out as hot garbage so much more frequently. And of course, thank you to Barış Şehri for working with me on another book cover design, being a joy to work with, and just an all-around quality human. Thank you to all my early readers, and specifically Beth, S.J., Phil, and Haley who continue to read my bullshit and give me feedback. Thank you to those who I’ve strong-armed into doing ARC reads.
I appreciate you all more than you can know.
NICE THINGS PEOPLE HAVE SAID
“…Micah is now one of the best characters I've read in a long time. The wit, the scenes with Shi and the commentary from his invisible companion were hilarious." - Hanna Delaney
“I loved Transition from the first sentence.” - Phil M.
“…Patterson delivers on cerebral twists and high-concept mindfuckery that I came to expect after reading Transference. It leaves you not only questioning your own existence with some of the concepts explored, but also with goosebumps from the healthy dose of cosmic horror mixed in.” - Ian Barr
“Transition is equal parts philosophical and humorous—a worthy addition to Ian Patterson’s enigmatic Narrator’s Cycle, confronting us with complicated questions about our right to existence and the rising cost of it.” - France Pinzon • literary speck
“It’s not often a character stays with you long after finishing the last page, but Micah is one of those people.” - KM Kelly
“It's short, but no less impactful for that.” - Walt Shuler
“I’m not kidding. The level of pretentious verbal acrobatics in Transition is off the charts when comparing to what came before it, which in itself is not a bad thing — I had to control my Substack-induced kneejerk reaction that pushed me to select and “restack”, like, every third sentence before realizing I’m on Kindle.” - M. Majeris
“There’s humour, and elements of the bizarre (a talking rat, for instance), but also sharp social commentary and vivid characterisation. Patterson’s writing is very tactile, and it pulls me in every time.” - Katharine Kapodistria
“But damn what an absolute treasure of a book. So entertaining but relatable and poignant, with a side of existential dread.” - Happy Nielsen
“Micah’s raw, self-destructive spiral through a decaying orbital station is unflinching and often grim, yet Ian's prose, dark humor, and unflinching honesty kept me turning pages.” - Derek James Kritzberg
“…an incredibly heart-felt, and mind bending journey to the very nature of perception. 10/10, keep an eye out for this one.” - M.P. Fitzgerald
“The psychedelia-space-horror hits hard. Also, AI techno-Taoism is cool as shit…
You make madness gripping.” - Alex ShifmanOthers? There are probably others I’m missing. People are saying nice things.
END TRANSMISSION
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Happy launch day my dude!
Congratulations!!! 🥳 🎉