The Carbon Eaters
by Mark Lisac

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“Unbelievable,” Painter said. “Is this place for real?” Reinhold replied, “Totally believable. You haven’t been here long enough to understand the local thought process.” A massive black space ship is hovering over a thinly populated region of southern Alberta. Its only apparent interest? Eating coal. It makes no attempts to communicate and leaves people alone. It just sends drones to grind away at thin seams of coal in the side of a deep river valley. The federal government sends several top experts to figure out what is happening. Franklin Hattori, a cultural anthropologist on the edge of a mental breakdown, is surprised when he’s called to join the expedition. The reason for his inclusion is initially as transparent to him as that ship that looks like an ebony ink blot in the sky, but he’s not one to turn down an opportunity of a lifetime. Soon, he finds himself on a team with a chemist, a National Defence liaison officer, a recently returned astronaut, a political troubleshooter still coping with trauma suffered in Lisac’s earlier novel Where the Bodies Lie, and an Ottawa lawyer whom Hattori knows well. After they start to investigate, the ambiguity of their situation quickly sinks in. Will they learn more about the mysterious visitors, about the strange province where they have been sent to work, or about themselves? It’s magic realism, and a nuanced, tragi-comic satire.

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Praise for Image Decay: “Lisac proves to be a dab hand at conveying weighty themes lightly.” — Alberta Views magazine Praise for Red Hill Creek: “Love this book! The author’s style reminds me of Steinbeck!” — Goodreads reviewer “A gripping read.” — Goodreads reviewer

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Mark Lisac is a former journalist who has lived in Alberta since 1978 and covered local stories and politics for thirty-five years. He has written widely in both fiction and non-fiction. His book Alberta Politics Uncovered won the Writers Guild of Alberta’s award for non-fiction in 2005. His debut novel, Where the Bodies Lie, was shortlisted as a finalist by Crime Writers of Canada for its best-first-novel award in 2017. Now, in The Carbon Eaters, he paints a resonant image of Alberta politics and culture with nuance and humour. Lisac lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife. To learn more about his writing or get in touch, you can visit his website, www.marklisac.ca.

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