Scales - FINALIST FOR THE PHILIP K. DICK AWARD 2026

An electrifying thriller about species re-engineering run amok, Scales is a great, fast-paced read perfect for fans of Jurassic Park.

FINALIST FOR THE PHILIP K. DICK AWARD 2026

Eddie Boka’s first combat mission is a success... until he’s overwhelmed by a raging compulsion and eats an enemy soldier! His cannibalism threatens to derail the plans of Blayvine Industries, whose secret project has genetically enhanced Eddie and three other prototypes with reptilian DNA. The corporation needs Eddie’s urges brought under control before it can introduce its dino-humans to the world and begin selling armies of them.

Facing a deadline for the big media unveiling, the corporation hires unorthodox therapist Adelaide “Addi” LaTour to treat Eddie’s cannibalism. Disparagingly known as the Electrobitch, Addi uses shock collars and severe behavioral conditioning to overcome compulsions. Eddie is revolted by her methods and the two of them clash... violently.

But she overcomes his resistance and he learns self-control, leading to the dino-humans’ successful public unveiling. Things soon fall apart, however. A retrovert – a vicious saurian predator – escapes its enclosure and goes on a lethal rampage. Worse chaos erupts when Eddie and Addi, in violation of the rules, start an affair, triggering a devastating chain of events that threatens to bring down the entire project...