When it comes to teaching people a little something about humanity at large, the science fiction genre manages to enlighten our minds time and again. From Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” to Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” this type of literature offers an intimate commentary on both human nature and our modern world. Thanks to the works of these writers and the success of iconic films like the Star Wars, sci-fi has become apart of the mainstream. Because of that, it’s now a genre regarded for its sweeping visions of where we’re headed as a society. And Tal M. Klein’s book, The Punch Escrow, a thrilling story about a future society where teleportation has run amok, is no exception

The Punch Escrow tackles life in the 22nd century (2147 to be exact), where current problems such as pollution and diseases are managed by a plethora of technological advances. One such advancement is teleportation, a concept first popularized by Star Trek. Now, the world’s premier mode of transportation, teleportation simplifies much of human life. However, like most advances, teleportation is abused by human beings, and comes with a dark side that Klein brilliantly unfolds in the plot of The Punch Escrow. The protagonist, Joel Byram, is an AI specialist who finds himself on the receiving end of bad news. While teleporting, he’s somehow been duplicated, making him a target of both the establishment who controls the cutting edge transporting technology and his evil doppelganger.

The author, Tal M. Klein, was born in Israel, grew up in New York, and currently lives in Detroit with his wife and two daughters. When she was five years old, his daughter Iris wrote a book called “I’m a Bunch of Dinosaurs” that went on to become one of the most successful children’s book projects on Kickstarter ―something that Tal explained to Iris by telling her, “your book made lots of kids happy.” Iris then suggested he write a book “that makes lots of grownups happy?” Tal mulled this over and eventually wrote his first novel, The Punch Escrow. It won the Inkshares Geek & Sundry Hard Science Fiction publishing contest, and was the first book published on the Geek & Sundry imprint.

Klein also used technology to his advantage by crowdfunding the money to publish The Punch Escrow. Outside of the critical acclaim and rave reviews, The Punch Escrow has drawn, its most important reviews from the audience that funded its initial run. Soif you’re a sci-fi fan looking for something new to sink your teeth into, consider The Punch Escrow. It was dubbed the “next Ready Player One,” by former Warner Brothers President Greg Silverman, and is now in development as a film at Lionsgate.

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