The Marsco Dissident is the first of four speculative science fiction novels in The Marsco Saga.
It is set in a world ruled by a single megacorporation that emerged from the ashes of plagues and wars, when cyber-warfare rendered computer systems nearly inoperable. Now, Marsco commands Earth and its colonies throughout the solar system. Marsco owns all the cybernetics and keeps tight control over who operates computers, using microchips embedded in authorized fingertips.
The Marsco Dissident opens in 2092 with Marsco associates holding all power, with subsidiaries having some access, but with the vast majority of Earth's population poor and uneducated, condemned to virtual slavery. This dystopian world is unveiled through main characters Walter Miller, a disenchanted astroengineer for Marsco; his daughter Tessa, who unlike her father remains loyal to Marsco; and Anthony "Zot" Grizotti, whose relationship with Tessa is destroyed as he, too, begins questioning Marsco.
Resisting Marsco's tight control, antitechnology Luddites rally their violent hatred around religious fanaticism, while elsewhere in the solar system, defeated Continental Powers officers plot their return.
With elements of cyberpunk and military sci-fi woven into a richly complex worldview, The Marsco Dissident carries a sense of vivid inevitability that derives from current events.
About the Author: James A. Zarzana earned a BA in English from Saint Mary's College of California, an MA from Sacramento State University, and a PhD from the University of Notre Dame. In 1989, he joined the Southwest Minnesota State University English department, where he continues as a professor.
Zarzana's novel The Marsco Dissident is the first of four works of speculative fiction composing The Marsco Saga. Marsco Triumphant is slated for release in December 2014, The Sustainability Project in summer 2015, and The Ascendancy of Marsco in summer 2016. Drawing parallels to the Roman and British empires, the saga explores human conflict and abuse of power.
Zarzana is married to fellow Notre Dame graduate, professor, and poet Marianne Murphy Zarzana. Their daughter is also a Notre Dame graduate, educator, and writer. The author is an avid college football fan who enjoys cooking and loves dogs.
