Micah Nathan
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From Wikipedia:
Micah Nathan is an American author of novels, short fiction, essays, and video games. His debut novel, Gods of Aberdeen, was published in 2005 by Simon & Schuster to critical acclaim, with the Hollywood Reporter describing it as “Soaked with gothic mood and spiked with sharp dialogue, it’s Dead Poets Society via Stephen King.”
Nathan’s second novel, Losing Graceland, published by Penguin/Random House in 2011, also received similar acclaim, called "a blend of the slapstick and the slapdash, the ironic and the painfully sincere…a wild road trip, a yarn spiced with plenty of humor and romance” by the Washington Post.
In 2013 Nathan released Jack the Bastard and Other Stories, a novella and short story collection, praised by the Chicago Tribune for “pushing the boundaries of storytelling.” The book featured illustrations by Phil Noto, Michael Allred, Trad Moore, and others. Fat Possum Records published an accompanying soundtrack, with tracks by Townes Van Zandt, R.L. Burnside, and Charlie Feathers.
Nathan is a contributor to Vanity Fair, where he has written about art, travel, and culture. His work has appeared in The Paris Review, Kinfolk, The Best American Mystery Stories, Commonweal, Der Spiegel, and other publications.
In 2010 Nathan was awarded Boston University’s Saul Bellow Prize for Fiction. He has won an Associated Press Award, DIAGRAM’s Innovative Fiction Award, a prestigious D&AD “Wood Pencil” for his work as a fiction editor, and was a finalist for the Tobias Wolff Award. As a narrative designer, Nathan’s video games have sold over 100 million units and his Shadowgun (Madfinger Games) won Unity’s Game of the Year.
Nathan is lecturer emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He currently teaches world-building and video game narrative design at Boston College.
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Gods of Aberdeen (Simon & Schuster)
Losing Graceland (Penguin/Random House) -
Vanity Fair
The Paris Review
Kinfolk
Little White Lies
Eclectica
Boston Globe Magazine
etc. -
From Sea to Stormy Sea (Simon & Schuster)
Best American Mystery Stories (Mariner Books) -
Shadowgun (as head writer and narrative director)
Unkilled (as writer)
Dead Trigger (as head writer)
Consortium9 (as co-founder and Chief Narrative Officer)
Several AA games, a few AAA games (ghostwriter) -
Jack the Bastard and Other Stories (One Peace Books)
LEMON Magazine -
Bellingham Review
Glimmer Train
The Gettysburg Review
Best American Mystery Stories
DIAGRAM Magazine -
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GODS OF ABERDEEN:
“Soaked with gothic mood and spiked with sharp dialogue, it’s Dead Poets Society via Stephen King.” - Chris Barsanti, The Hollywood Reporter
“A malevolently thrilling coming-of-ager wrapped in a philosophical detective tale.” - Kirkus Reviews
“…[a] remarkable first novel…impossible to put down…Gods of Aberdeen may be basically a coming-of-age story (including sexual awakenings), but it is much more than that. It also is a murder mystery and an intriguing account of a bizarre quest for the secret of eternal life. As an author, Nathan’s off to a brilliant start….” - Al Hutchinson, The Tampa Tribune
“…think Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, with a little magic thrown in…Nathan perfectly captures the angst and pretension of adolescents… ” - Publishers Weekly
“A perfectly proportioned gothic mystery, with all the necessary ingredients in its dark depths…” - Elle
“Highly recommended…one of the year’s best debuts.” - Italian GQ
“…this year’s strongest entry into the hallowed-halls-of-learning field…Nathan’s eye for detail can be subtly spectacular, his humor eloquently wicked…Nathan [is] an extremely gifted young writer…” - Chuck Thompson, Spirit Magazine
“First time author Micah Nathan tells a lost youth/teen angst & ennui story to the max here…A very nice effort, and I suspect more’s to come.” - Ken Jones, BookBitch
“If you’re looking for the same old plots, you’ll have to search elsewhere…a well-written, hold-your-breath story…” - Noir Magazine
“We may be witnessing the evolution of a new genre of fiction. [Call it] Gothic Tweed…Gods of Aberdeen more than makes the grade.” - Nicole Peradotto, The Buffalo News
“…[a] promising debut…” - Robert Wade, The San Diego Tribune
“America’s love affair with higher learning continues.” - Booklist
“…a scary coming-of-age yarn…plenty of sexual intrigue, buried secrets, and dark deeds.” - Buffalo Spree
LOSING GRACELAND:
“Nathan presents the reader with several fantastic characters in this rollicking, adventurous tale. Readers will pore through this fast-paced, adrenaline-filled novel and eat up the fantastic dialogue that brings Elvis back to life in a new, deliciously lascivious way.” - Julie Hunt, Booklist
“…engaging…a blend of the slapstick and the slapdash, the ironic and the painfully sincere…a wild road trip, a yarn spiced with plenty of humor and romance….” – Michael Lindgren, The Washington Post
“Less about the hip-swiveling sex icon and more about friendship, Losing Graceland isn’t just a tall tale of another Elvis impersonator, but about life’s journey through bumps in the road….The road to Memphis is an interesting, if not endearing one, for the pair, who — gold rings and jumpsuit aside — find themselves to be surprisingly similar.” - Kelci Shipley, Marie Claire
“Thus begins the weirdest of buddy adventures, with feckless Ben playing first mate to the is-he-or-isn’t-he Elvis, a superannuated hillbilly with the unearthly self-possession of a Zen master. En route to points south, the adventurers tangle with a one-eyed pimp, a trio of roadhouse sirens, a backwoods soothsayer, and other low-rent variations on a Homeric theme…[with] antic originality [and] the near-magic realism of Elvis as a geriatric Ulysses….” - Amanda Heller, The Boston Globe
“…Ben has undreamed-of experiences on this strange journey….with quirky characters and homespun wisdom, this will appeal to fans of literary coming-of-age-stories.” - Cheryl Conway, Library Journal
“A highly entertaining and rambunctiously readable second novel.” - Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News
“Micah Nathan’s first novel, Gods of Aberdeen, was a critically acclaimed story of adolescent angst. His follow-up, Losing Graceland, mines similar thematic territory as it follows another central male character, Ben Fish, on a wild and weird road trip….a fun, fast read for Presley devotees and coming-of-age fiction fans alike.” - Lizza Connor Bowen, Book Page
“A novel of lost souls and a lost America . . . the idea of Elvis Presley hiding in plain sight as an Elvis impersonator is a stroke of genius. Losing Graceland is pure entertainment.” - Tottenville Review
“…a rambunctious coming-of-age tale…” - Colette Bancroft, St. Petersburg Times