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.” Something strange has landed in an isolated region of Alberta. Hovering east of the Rockies is a massive black spaceship. Its only apparent interest? Eating coal. It leaves everything and everyone else alone, with no attempts to communicate. It just sends drones to grind away at thin seams of coal in the side of a deep river valley. But it does give the locals an attraction to boast about and boost their tourism rates. Where did it come from, why is it here, and why does it like coal so much? It’s the Canadian government’s job to take control and find out. They’ll hire a team of top professionals to figure out what is happening so that the politicians can get back to their real work: squabbling over provincial and federal jurisdictions. It comes as a total surprise to Franklin Hattori, a Canadian cultural anthropologist on the edge of a mental breakdown, when he’s called to join the investigation team. The reason for his inclusion seems as transparent as that ebony ink blot in the sky, but he’s not one to turn down an opportunity of a lifetime. Soon, Hattori finds himself working side by side with a chemist from a nearby university, an astrophysicist–astronaut who’s recently returned from space, an aggressive military liaison officer from National Defence staff, a perplexed local farmer, 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. Will this hodgepodge team learn more about the mysterious visitors, about the strange province where they are working, or about themselves?

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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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