A Dark Academia Technothriller

by

David Howlett

Black and white image of a woman with short hair wearing a sequined backless dress, sitting at a bar with a glass of champagne, by David Howlett

Set part in the nineties

“Soho, 1998. Mecca for London’s urbane and beautiful, 45 Dean Street its headquarters. Daniel Hawkesworth couldn’t take his eyes off those three words emblazoned across the iconic British racing green awning: The Groucho Club.

Finally, he had arrived.

Graced nightly by the rich, rakish, rock stars and royalty, it was everything he wanted from the world. This was where the shiny people were; where he belonged.

The only problem was he couldn’t quite remember how he’d got there, and was just seventeen years old.

But the woman on the door didn’t need to know that.”

Black and white image of a young Daniel Hawkesworth, standing outside the Groucho Club, by David Howlett

Part, present day

“Can you tell him–”

“What?”

“That you’ll be good.”

“What?”

“Promise him, Emily, for me!”

“Okay, okay!” said Emily, not knowing what this was - a test, perhaps? She looked at the bear. The bear looked back at her. He was wild; terrifying. But Emily could also see he loved her. She felt safe. She smiled.

“I promise I’ll be good.”

Close-up of a young woman's eye in black and white, with circuitry and tech glowing inside her iris, by David Howlett

The Genius Club is a story about what happens when a centuries old secret society’s secrets are downloaded into a sixteen year old.

“Exploring everything from identity to psychology, transhumanism to kinesics, The Genius Club is a break-neck dance into our not-too-distant tomorrow.”

Person holding a book titled 'The Genius Club' with an illustration of a woman and a bear in a suit on the cover, by David Howlett

Join Emily Harper – the world’s newest member of the world’s oldest secret organization – as she finds out how her name wound up on the guest list of the elusive ‘Genius Club’.