A bittersweet science fiction novel for fans of Becky Chambers and Ted Chiang’s Arrival that contemplates civilization, determinism, and friendship as a scientist is forced to decide whether to intervene and help a dying species.
THE LAST DAYS OF GOOD PEOPLE
by A.T. Sayre
JAB Books, February 2025
(via JABberwocky)
On a small corner of a doomed world, where the capricious laws of nature can’t be reversed, a civilization arrives at the end of its days.
Warin is one of a small team charting the demise of the last few inhabitants of Retti 4, a distant planet in the throes of an extinction-level virus. It’s not Warin’s job to intervene in natural evolution or to question the whims of a cruel universe. He is only to observe and report. Until Warin actually steps foot on Retti 4.
Not the primitive species Warin believed them to be, the rettys are an industrious and ethical lot working together in a close-knit farming village. Lacking the human traits of fear, suspicion, and aggression, they are welcoming, curious, and eager to share their traditions—even in the shadow of a tragedy that they, and Warin, are powerless to stop.
As they embrace Warin into their fold, his compassion grows. So does his own self-discovery. For Warin, far away from Earth, comes a deeper understanding of friendship, civilization, and the true meaning of humanity. And above all, the peace and profound strength it takes to accept the inevitable.
A.T. Sayre has been writing in some form or other ever since he was ten years old. From plays to poems, teleplays to comic books, he has tried his hand at pretty much every medium imaginable. His work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Haven Speculative, Aurealis, Andromeda Spaceways, and StarShipSofa. His first short story collection, Signals in The Static, was published in May 2024 by Lethe Press.

Adults can behave badly too…



Today, Shazam is one of the most iconic and widely used apps in the world, with a brand name so recognizable that it has become a verb. But what few people know is that it was invented before smartphones existed. Chris dreamed up Shazam in 1999, when people were still buying CDs and carrying around portable CD players with wired headsets. There was no Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and certainly no App Store. The closest thing to streaming music was the illegal sharing of digital files on platforms like Napster. There was no Facebook, Instagram, or even Myspace. Chris’s idea, that anyone, anywhere, could use their phone to identify a song playing in the background, sounded like science fiction. More than 100 experts told him it couldn’t be done, but Chris refused to give up. Instead, he assembled a dream team of brilliant minds—engineers, scientists, and business thinkers—who shared his vision (after some persuasion). United by a shared sense of purpose and determination, they set out to build the impossible from scratch. Together, they would develop the technology that would power the world’s first AI-driven consumer tool, years before anyone had even heard the word “app.” What followed was an eighteen-year odyssey marked by near-bankruptcy, groundbreaking innovation, sabotage, fierce competition with behemoths like Google and Sony, and bitter internal battles among team members. Through every setback and betrayal, Chris never gave up on his vision, and he continued to fight to keep Shazam on course. In the end, the idea that no one thought could work became a global phenomenon. This is more than a tech success story. It’s a deeply human, often emotional narrative about vision, grit, and the power of believing in the impossible.