Tor.com announced my debut novel today. It's called BATTLE OF THE LINGUIST MAGES, and I literally could not be more excited at the thought of seeing it out in the world.

From Tor.com:

Following last year’s incredible novella, Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You, we are delighted to announce the acquisition of two novels by Seattle-based playwright, Scotto Moore. His debut novel, Battle of the Linguist Mages will be published in hardcover, ebook and audio from Tordotcom Publishing in early Winter 2022, and followed by a second novel in 2023.

Here is some blurby goodness about the book itself:

In modern day Los Angeles, a SHADOWY CABAL led by the Governor of California develops the arcane art of COMBAT LINGUISTICS, using it to subvert society and plant the seeds of a future totalitarian empire.

The young gamer ISOBEL BAILIE - Queen of the medieval rave-themed VR game SPARKLE DUNGEON - may be the key to the cabal’s future success. Her prowess in the game makes her an ideal candidate to learn the secrets of POWER MORPHEMES: unnaturally dense units of meaning that warp perception when skillfully pronounced.

But Isobel’s reputation also makes her the target of a resistance movement led by SPELLCASTING ANARCHISTS, who have surreal and impressive magic of their own to teach her, and who may be the only thing stopping the cabal from unspeakable acts. California’s on the brink of a terrible transformation, and Isobel finds herself torn between power and idealism, with forty million lives at stake.

Time is short for Isobel to level up and choose a side - because the cabal has attracted MUCH BIGGER AND WEIRDER ENEMIES than the anarchist resistance, emerging from dark and vicious dimensions of reality and heading straight for planet Earth!

Who will survive the BATTLE OF THE LINGUIST MAGES?

A couple folks have read it already:

“It reads like Snow Crash had a dance-off with Gideon the Ninth, in a world where language isn't a virus from outer space, it's a goddamn alien invasion.” —Charles Stross

“Sparklepunk meets Snow Crash! One of those books that hits you with an amazing new idea every couple of pages, and it makes for a wild ride.” —Django Wexler

Long time followers of Scotto.org may be familiar with the plays DUEL OF THE LINGUIST MAGES and BALCONIES. I combined and remixed the characters and ideas from those plays into a brand new story, and then went completely wild and over-the-top with it from there. I'm super happy about the end result.