It is the time of the Great Miasma, six generations after the collapse of a civilization no one can remember. A young spiritual seeker, desperate to escape her hardscrabble rural life, decides to transport herself up to the world of Light and Love so fervently praised by the wisdom channelers of her pioneer northern California society.

A grisly death experience catapults her to this marvelous realm, where Christina finds herself—much like the 12th century Flemish saint whose name she shares—returned to earth in a mortal body that cannot be destroyed. She can fly through the air, breathe underwater, heal from all injuries, even foresee the future. In the broken kingdoms and duchies of the western lands, however, these superpowers brand her as a freak, not a savior.

In this genre-warping fiction of the Gothic future, Christina’s violent, joyous journey to the world of Light and Love carries a dystopian would-be saint to a destination only a life on this earth could prepare her for—and a message to all who find themselves caught in the grip of a Great Miasma.

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About the author
Victoria Nelson is a writer of fiction, criticism, and memoir. Her books include the award-winning Gothicka and The Secret Life of Puppets, both published by Harvard University Press; two collections of stories, Wild California and A Bestiary of My Heart, a memoir, My Time in Hawaii; and On Writer’s Block. She edited the Robert Aickman collection Compulsory Games for New York Review Books. Neighbor George is her first novel.