NINE

A dark, wholly original YA debut about one boy's refusal to fit in to a society where everyone has nine lives.

In an alternate world startlingly close to our own, humans have nine lives and they can't wait to burn straight through them. As you shed lives, you shed your awkward phases; one death is equal to one physical and mental upgrade. Not only is it a thrill to die, but when you wake up, you've come one step closer to the person you dream of becoming. Julian's friends are obsessed with the idea of burning lives, but Julian is determined to stay on his first for as long as possible. His mother, the ultimate cautionary tale, burned through her first eight in just a few years, and Julian has no intention of succumbing to the debilitating Rebirth Sickness that she inflicted on herself.

But thanks to the government's death incentives aimed at controlling overpopulation, Julian realizes that he's going to have to burn at some point. And when he does, he not only sees what all the fuss is about dying but he also spots suspicious gaps in the system that may explain exactly why his mother went so far down the rabbit hole years ago. Along with a group of student extremists, Julian sets out to find answers. If they're right about their hunch, they may just expose the greatest conspiracy ever unleashed on the world. He has just eight more lives to uncover the truth.

Zach Hines is 32 years old, and for the past ten years, he was a journalist and columnist in Hong Kong, where he ran one of the city's largest magazine publishing companies. He is currently based in Los Angeles, where he is at Circle of Confusion (the producers responsible for The Walking Dead). He writes for film, television, comic books and video games. His credits include the horror miniseries GRACE for HBO (silver award for Best Screenplay at the Asian TV Awards); a college-age horror movie called CAPTURE (release in late 2016) produced by the creator of The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman, and Circle of Confusion; and an as-yet-unannounced new television show from Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, which is produced by Circle of Confusion. Zach has also written for the adventure video game company Telltale Games, various films produced by DMG Entertainment, and Hong Kong kung fu director, Stephen Chow. He also writes about video games and pop culture for Engadget and Kill Screen.