Appleseed

by Matt Bell

Overview

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK · A PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER BEST OF THE YEAR

“Woven together out of the strands of myth, science fiction, and ecological warning, Matt Bell’s Appleseed is as urgent as it is audacious.” —Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize finalist and national bestselling author of Get in Trouble

A “breathtaking novel of ideas unlike anything you’ve ever read” (Esquire) from Young Lions Fiction Award–finalist Matt Bell, a breakout book that explores climate change, manifest destiny, humanity’s unchecked exploitation of natural resources, and the small but powerful magic contained within every single apple. 

In eighteenth-century Ohio, two brothers travel into the wooded frontier, planting apple orchards from which they plan to profit in the years to come. As they remake the wilderness in their own image, planning for a future of settlement and civilization, the long-held bonds and secrets between the two will be tested, fractured and broken—and possibly healed.

Fifty years from now, in the second half of the twenty-first century, climate change has ravaged the Earth. Having invested early in genetic engineering and food science, one company now owns all the world’s resources. But a growing resistance is working to redistribute both land and power—and in a pivotal moment for the future of humanity, one of the company’s original founders will return to headquarters, intending to destroy what he helped build.

A thousand years in the future, North America is covered by a massive sheet of ice. One lonely sentient being inhabits a tech station on top of the glacier—and in a daring and seemingly impossible quest, sets out to follow a homing beacon across the continent in the hopes of discovering the last remnant of civilization.

Hugely ambitious in scope and theme, Appleseed is the breakout novel from a writer “as self-assured as he is audacious” (NPR) who “may well have invented the pulse-pounding novel of ideas” (Jess Walter). Part speculative epic, part tech thriller, part reinvented fairy tale, Appleseed is an unforgettable meditation on climate change; corporate, civic, and familial responsibility; manifest destiny; and the myths and legends that sustain us all. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063040144
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	07/13/2021
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	540,486
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.90(d)

About the Author

Matt Bell is the author of the novels Scrapper and In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods, as well as the short story collection A Tree or a Person or a Wall, a non-fiction book about the classic video game Baldur's Gate II, and several other titles. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Tin House, Conjunctions, Fairy Tale Review, American Short Fiction, and many other publications. A native of Michigan, he teaches creative writing at Arizona State University.

Editorial Reviews

04/19/2021

Bell (In the House upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods) delivers a stirring take on climate change, complicity, and human connection. In separate narratives set centuries apart, three characters struggle to remain true to themselves in hostile worlds. In 18th-century Ohio, Chapman, a faun, wanders the wilderness with his human brother, planting apple trees that will feed future settlers and may someday grow the fruit Chapman hopes will make him fully human. In a postapocalyptic late 21st-century North America, a man named John confronts his role in the creation of the corporation that controls the world’s food supply, and plots to tear down the system. A thousand years from now, in an icy wasteland, humanoid C follows the directive of his previous iterations: find enough biomass beneath an endless glacier to regenerate life. An accident surfaces long-forgotten instructions, leading C across the ice to what may be humanity’s last stronghold. While each character’s situation appears bleak, the voices in this powerful tale continually seek something beyond the imperfection of human stewardship, as when John contemplates his complicity: “there’s no crime in being born into a harmful story but surely there’s sin in not trying to escape.” This is an excellent addition to the climate apocalypse subgenre, and the way it grapples with humanity’s dramatic influence on the planet feels fresh and bracing. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"An ambitious, time-bending take on climate change." — New York Times

"Appleseed is a work of incandescent imagination, at once an eco-horror story about human greed and a regenerative new myth. I loved the soaring possibilities seeded throughout this wild novel, which pushes its readers to imagine 'new ways of dwelling' in and with non-human nature. Bell's book is a chrysalis inside of which I could feel my mind changing, preparing for new flights."  — Karen Russell, author of Orange World

“Rambunctious....made me think of Jeff VanderMeer and his Area X trilogy, chilling the spine while engaging the heart. Then too, Appleseed’s pervading concern for forest ecology recalled Richard Powers and his phenomenal tree-text, ‘The Overstory.’ Comparisons like that raise problems—the two older authors are miles apart—but they drive home my point: that Matt Bell has brought off a novel as exciting as any in recent years.” — Boston Globe

“A gripping meditation on manifest destiny and humanity's relationship to this endangered planet, making for a breathtaking novel of ideas unlike anything you've ever read.”
— Esquire

"Provocative....You can take Mr. Bell’s book as warning or vision of hope, as myth or blueprint for the future. Either way, it’s everything sci-fi should be." — Wall Street Journal

"The reason you’ve never read a book like Appleseed is that there’s never been a book like Appleseed. The scary thing, though, is this is a world you might recognize. This premise, this content, this form, this language—only Matt Bell could have given us this novel." — Stephen Graham Jones, author of The Only Good Indians

"A meditative thriller with an ethical heart." — NPR.org

"Woven together out of the strands of myth, science fiction, and ecological warning, Matt Bell’s Appleseed is as urgent as it is audacious." 
— Kelly Link, Get in Trouble

“There’s a particular thrill reading a book that has such certainty of vision, one that guides every page and allows us to truly picture the connections between our past and our future. We see the naturalist’s mind placed in the realm of the imagination as a way to try to grasp what’s happening to our planet right now. It’s a beautiful tribute to what fiction can do, and these characters and their visceral struggles will remain with me for a long time.”  — Aimee Bender, author of The Butterfly Lampshade

“[An] ambitious speculative epic and striking take on climate change.”

— USA Today, Summer’s Hottest Books

"Myth meets science; fable confronts existential crisis. In its bountiful prose, gleeful genre-hopping, and the sheer scope of its storytelling, Appleseed points toward hopeful futures for literature—and the planet." —  Sam J. Miller, Nebula-Award-winning author of Blackfish City

 "Matt Bell's Appleseed expands in the most entrancing manner to encompass everything from the hidden hoofs of fauns to the pending doom of the planet. What a sui generis feat of imagination and scope this novel is."  — Idra Novey, author of Those Who Knew

“Bell’s terrifying yet deeply humane novel of ideas is both an awesome work of imagination and a stirring ecological call-to-arms—a reminder of what the best genre-bending books can achieve.” — Literary Hub

"Appleseed incorporates myth, sci-fi, and satire into its dazzling high-wire act....Bell executes a kind of literary daredevilry, making carefully controlled storytelling feel treacherous and delightful." — Philadelphia Inquirer

"Appleseed plays on the dystopian climate disaster genre, deftly weaving threads from Greek mythology, magical realism, and America’s settler-colonial folklore to create the parallel universe its characters inhabit. ... Unpredictable to the last page, Appleseed ties these disparate narratives together with a rich network of symbolism and sharp prose." — Los Angeles Review of Books

"Enormously ambitious...Bell not only radically shifts tone between [the] three timelines, he confidently hops genres as well." — Locus

"Employs myth, magic and science to give a damning account of the narrative of American exceptionalism and the relentless post-conquest exploitation of this country’s vast natural resources....formally ambitious but still deeply humane....Bell has achieved something special here... timely, prescient and true." — New York Times Book Review

“Rich and complex… This is a terrifying, beautiful book…Bell has given us an urgent vision of a possible future, and a story that could lead us onto a better path if we just pay attention.” — Tor.com

"Raises challenging questions about interconnection, complicity and ecological stewardship...Appleseed's mix of hard sci-fi, folkloric elements and ethical issues make it appealing for Neal Stephenson fans and readers who long to safeguard the wild....Daringly imagined." — Shelf Awareness

"Part tech thriller and part reimagined legend, Appleseed is a thought-provoking and mysterious read that explores climate change, manifest destiny, and corporate versus family responsibility. One of those books where every time you try to put it down, you inevitably say, 'Okay, just one more chapter.'" — Fort Worth Magazine

"Gorgeous and weird...vivid, sharp, and sensual." — Philadelphia Inquirer

From the Publisher

A gripping meditation on manifest destiny and humanity's relationship to this endangered planet, making for a breathtaking novel of ideas unlike anything you've ever read.”

Esquire

"Woven together out of the strands of myth, science fiction, and ecological warning, Matt Bell’s Appleseed is as urgent as it is audacious." 

Kelly Link

Rambunctious....made me think of Jeff VanderMeer and his Area X trilogy, chilling the spine while engaging the heart. Then too, Appleseed’s pervading concern for forest ecology recalled Richard Powers and his phenomenal tree-text, ‘The Overstory.’ Comparisons like that raise problems—the two older authors are miles apart—but they drive home my point: that Matt Bell has brought off a novel as exciting as any in recent years.

Boston Globe

"An ambitious, time-bending take on climate change."

New York Times

"Provocative....You can take Mr. Bell’s book as warning or vision of hope, as myth or blueprint for the future. Either way, it’s everything sci-fi should be."

Wall Street Journal

"Employs myth, magic and science to give a damning account of the narrative of American exceptionalism and the relentless post-conquest exploitation of this country’s vast natural resources....formally ambitious but still deeply humane....Bell has achieved something special here... timely, prescient and true."

New York Times Book Review

"Part tech thriller and part reimagined legend, Appleseed is a thought-provoking and mysterious read that explores climate change, manifest destiny, and corporate versus family responsibility. One of those books where every time you try to put it down, you inevitably say, 'Okay, just one more chapter.'"

Fort Worth Magazine

"Myth meets science; fable confronts existential crisis. In its bountiful prose, gleeful genre-hopping, and the sheer scope of its storytelling, Appleseed points toward hopeful futures for literature—and the planet."

Sam J. Miller

"Raises challenging questions about interconnection, complicity and ecological stewardship...Appleseed's mix of hard sci-fi, folkloric elements and ethical issues make it appealing for Neal Stephenson fans and readers who long to safeguard the wild....Daringly imagined."

Shelf Awareness

"Appleseed plays on the dystopian climate disaster genre, deftly weaving threads from Greek mythology, magical realism, and America’s settler-colonial folklore to create the parallel universe its characters inhabit. ... Unpredictable to the last page, Appleseed ties these disparate narratives together with a rich network of symbolism and sharp prose."

Los Angeles Review of Books

For readers weary of literary fiction that dutifully obeys the laws of nature, here’s a story that stirs the Brothers Grimm and Salvador Dali with its claws . . . as gorgeous as it is devastating.

Washington Post on In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods

"A fearless and harrowing meditation on the ruination and transformation of cities and of people; but amid loss and destruction, Bell finds a strain of piercing hope. This is an extraordinary book."

Emily St. John Mandel

"This is a fiercely original book—at once intimate and epic, visceral and philosophical—that sent me scurrying for adjectives, for precedents, for cover. Matt Bell commands the page with bold, vigorous prose and may well have invented the pulse-pounding novel of ideas."

Jess Walter

It's hard to imagine a book more difficult to pull off, but Bell proves as self-assured as he is audacious . . . Bell's novel isn't just a joy to read, it's also one of the smartest meditations on the subjects of love, family and marriage in recent years . . . The novel is a monument to the uniqueness of every relationship, the possibility that love itself can make the world better, though of course it's never easy.

NPR on In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods

[An] ambitious speculative epic and striking take on climate change.”

USA Today

"A big, slinking, dangerous fairy tale, the kind with gleaming fangs and blood around the muzzle and a powerful heart you can hear thumping from miles away. The story's ferocity is matched by Matt Bell's glorious sentences: sinuous and darkly magical, they are taproots of the strange."

Lauren Groff on In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods

"A blood-soaked fable . . . With this debut novel, Matt Bell [reworks] myths, rituals and fictions into something that can hold his visceral, primal vision. In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods provides us with a new, unstable literary element, something scavenged from the old, something bright and wet and vital.

Globe and Mail (Toronto)

For readers weary of literary fiction that dutifully obeys the laws of nature, here’s a story that stirs the Brothers Grimm and Salvador Dali with its claws . . . as gorgeous as it is devastating.

null Washington Post on In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods

It's hard to imagine a book more difficult to pull off, but Bell proves as self-assured as he is audacious . . . Bell's novel isn't just a joy to read, it's also one of the smartest meditations on the subjects of love, family and marriage in recent years . . . The novel is a monument to the uniqueness of every relationship, the possibility that love itself can make the world better, though of course it's never easy.

null NPR on In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods

"Bell joins a class of genre-blind writers that include Karen Russell, China Miéville and Emily St. John Mandel." 

null Shelf Awareness on A Tree or A Person or A Wall

"A big, slinking, dangerous fairy tale, the kind with gleaming fangs and blood around the muzzle and a powerful heart you can hear thumping from miles away. The story's ferocity is matched by Matt Bell's glorious sentences: sinuous and darkly magical, they are taproots of the strange."

null Lauren Groff on In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods

07/01/2021

Bell's third novel presents itself as a breakout work: Pitched to epic scale and scope, it's a heady, metaphor-rich mash-up of fairy tale-fantasy, cli-fi, and postapocalyptic fiction. The novel is structured as three separate but entangled narratives. The first takes place at the turn of the 18th century and follows two brothers—one a man, one a faun—whose entrepreneurial pursuits find them planting apple trees across Ohio's still-wild lands. The second is set in a nightmarish near-future of the climate change-ravaged late 21st century, as an eco-terrorist "rewilder" returns to the genetic engineering monolith he helped create. The last story line is set a thousand years in the future, in a new North American ice age. The result reflects a fairly organic waypoint for Bell, combining both the mythology and dark fabulism of his first novel, In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods, and the more dystopic, mechanistic texture of his follow-up, Scrapper. While Bell's writing remains rich and surprising, too much feels derivative of similar works, and the twined threads are unequally successful and fail to pull together with much punch. VERDICT Loaded with ideas and often poignant in its ruminations, but also languorous and merely expository; there's certainly no denying Bell's ambition, but this work simply fails to take root.—Luke Gorham, Galesburg P.L., IL

Library Journal

2021-05-19
An epic novel about saving the planet that blends science fiction, mythology, and techno-thriller.

The third novel by Bell considers the Earth’s fragility from three perspectives. One thread, set in the late 1700s, follows Nathaniel and Chapman, two half brothers planting apple trees across Ohio. A second is set in the near-ish future as global warming has become irreversible except for a massive corporation’s plan to cool the Earth by clouding the lower atmosphere. The third is set in a far-future ice age as a cyborg heads to Black Mountain, near what was once Las Vegas, on a quest to “reset” the Earth. That’s all ambitious enough in itself, but Bell adds a lot of symbolic freight to underscore the interconnectedness of humans and nature. Chapman, for instance, is a faun, capable of shifting from human form to that of a hooved satyrlike creature; the cyborg, C-433 (named for how many times it has regenerated itself), is a glitchy mix of humanoid and tree. In the near-future narrative, the Earth-cooling effort is led by megacorporation Earthtrust, which has purchased the western half of the United States and filled the east with indentured-servitude farms built on the biomass it’s hoarded. That section of the novel is the weakest and most rote, featuring Earthtrust’s leader and her former lover–turned-revolutionary engaging in potted debates about climate ethics. Still, Bell is gifted with the kind of imagination that avoids predictable apocalyptic fiction; you root for C-433 to succeed as a person, even if it’s not quite a person. Bell cleverly combines the novel’s plot threads in the book's late stages, and despite the elliptical structure, his central message hits home: The world as we know it is past saving if we need a monopolist to save it.

A flawed but admirably big-thinking attempt to make readers rethink climate and climate fiction.

Kirkus Reviews

"The reason you’ve never read a book like Appleseed is that there’s never been a book like Appleseed. The scary thing, though, is this is a world you might recognize. This premise, this content, this form, this language—only Matt Bell could have given us this novel."

Stephen Graham Jones

"Appleseed is a work of incandescent imagination, at once an eco-horror story about human greed and a regenerative new myth. I loved the soaring possibilities seeded throughout this wild novel, which pushes its readers to imagine 'new ways of dwelling' in and with non-human nature. Bell's book is a chrysalis inside of which I could feel my mind changing, preparing for new flights." 

Karen Russell

"Provocative....You can take Mr. Bell’s book as warning or vision of hope, as myth or blueprint for the future. Either way, it’s everything sci-fi should be."

Wall Street Journal

"A meditative thriller with an ethical heart."

NPR.org

There’s a particular thrill reading a book that has such certainty of vision, one that guides every page and allows us to truly picture the connections between our past and our future. We see the naturalist’s mind placed in the realm of the imagination as a way to try to grasp what’s happening to our planet right now. It’s a beautiful tribute to what fiction can do, and these characters and their visceral struggles will remain with me for a long time.” 

Aimee Bender

"Enormously ambitious...Bell not only radically shifts tone between [the] three timelines, he confidently hops genres as well."

Locus

"Matt Bell's Appleseed expands in the most entrancing manner to encompass everything from the hidden hoofs of fauns to the pending doom of the planet. What a sui generis feat of imagination and scope this novel is." 

Idra Novey

"Appleseed incorporates myth, sci-fi, and satire into its dazzling high-wire act....Bell executes a kind of literary daredevilry, making carefully controlled storytelling feel treacherous and delightful."

Philadelphia Inquirer

Rich and complex… This is a terrifying, beautiful book…Bell has given us an urgent vision of a possible future, and a story that could lead us onto a better path if we just pay attention.

Tor.com

Bell’s terrifying yet deeply humane novel of ideas is both an awesome work of imagination and a stirring ecological call-to-arms—a reminder of what the best genre-bending books can achieve.

Literary Hub

"Myth meets science; fable confronts existential crisis. In its bountiful prose, gleeful genre-hopping, and the sheer scope of its storytelling, Appleseed points toward hopeful futures for literature—and the planet."

 Sam J. Miller