Return to Jason Sanford's dark sci-fi world with a newly-edited version, including an additional short story and afterword. Sink back into the dangers and thrills of the plague birds, and refresh yourself before the sequel comes out this October!
This novel releases on June 30th, 2026, but you can grab your copy now from our Apex catalog with a special preorder discount of 30% off both the paperback and ebook editions.
For booksellers and reviewers, information for ordering ARCs or wholesale copies for your bookstore can be found below.
DESCRIPTION: Plague Birds: The Red Day Edition by Jason Sanford
Finalist for the Nebula and Philip K. Dick Award!
Return to Jason Sanford's dark sci-fi world in Plague Birds: The Red Day Edition, newly-edited and with a new short story, "Little Fathers of Darkness," originally published in Robotic Ambitions: Tales of Mechanical Sentience.
Glowing red lines split their faces. Shock-red hair and clothes warn people to flee their approach. They are plague birds, the powerful merging of humans and artificial intelligences who serve as judges and executioners after the collapse of civilization. And the plague birds' judgment is swift and deadly, as Crista discovered as a child when she watched one kill her mother.
In a world of gene-modded humans constantly watched over by benevolent AIs, everyone hates and fears the plague birds. But to save her father and home village, Crista becomes the very creature she fears the most. And her first task as a plague bird is hunting down an ancient group of murderers wielding magic-like powers.
As Crista and her AI symbiote travel farther from home than she ever imagined, they are plunged into a strange world where she judges wrongdoers, befriends other outcasts, and uncovers an extremely personal conspiracy that threatens the lives of millions.
Plague Birds is a genre-bending mix of science fiction and dark fantasy and the epic story of a young woman who becomes one of the future's most hated creatures, with a killer AI bonded to her very blood.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jason Sanford is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer who’s also a passionate advocate for fellow authors, creators, and fans, in particular through reporting in his Genre Grapevine column (for which he's been a finalist multiple times for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer). He’s also published dozens of stories in magazines such as Asimov’s Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, Interzone, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies along with appearances in various “year’s best” anthologies and The New Voices of Science Fiction. His first novel Plague Birds was a finalist for both the 2022 Nebula Award and the 2022 Philip K. Dick Award. Born and raised in the American South, Jason’s previous experience includes work as an archaeologist, journalist and a Peace Corps Volunteer. His website is www.jasonsanford.com.
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REVIEWERS:
Are you a reviewer who would like ARC of this title? Please email Darian Bianco at darian@apexbookcompany.com for more info!
BOOKSELLERS:
Interested in ordering copies for your store?
Contact our distributor at IPG orders: orders@ipgbooks.com
ISBN: 9781955765992
MSRP paperback: $19.95
MSRP ebook: $9.99
Page Count: 366
Trim: 9 x 6
Rights: U.S. & Canada
Distributor: Independent Publishers Group
