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  But Krissy knows just how long each novel takes because she has to live with me while I’m writing them, and she sees pretty much every stage of the process. For this one, the process was—how to put it—more process-y than it’s been with others. She encouraged me, supported me, and loved me through it. She is the best of people, and every day I am reminded how stupendously, genuinely lucky I am that I get to be with her. I hope each of you in your life has someone like her in it.

  —John Scalzi

  12/20/17

  OTHER TOR BOOKS BY JOHN SCALZI

  Agent to the Stars

  The Android’s Dream

  Fuzzy Nation

  Redshirts

  Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded

  Lock In

  The Collapsing Empire

  The Old Man’s War Novels

  Old Man’s War

  The Ghost Brigades

  The Last Colony

  Zoe’s Tale

  The Human Division

  The End of All Things

  Edited by John Scalzi

  Metatropolis

  About the Author

  JOHN SCALZI is one of the most popular and acclaimed SF authors to emerge in the last decade. His massively successful debut, Old Man’s War, won him science fiction’s John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His New York Times bestsellers include The Last Colony; Fuzzy Nation; Redshirts, which won 2013’s Hugo Award for Best Novel; and Lock In. Material from his widely read blog, Whatever (whatever.scalzi.com), has also earned him two other Hugo Awards. He lives in Ohio with his wife and daughter. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  The Death of Duane Chapman

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Other Tor Books by John Scalzi

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  HEAD ON

  Copyright © 2018 by John Scalzi

  All rights reserved.

  Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

  A Tor Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-0-7653-8891-9 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-250-18892-2 (signed edition)

  ISBN 978-0-7653-8892-6 (ebook)

  eISBN 9780765388926

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].

  First Edition: April 2018