Invasive (37 page)

T
his story contains
bugs
and
science,
and I tried getting those two things right (even though I know I'm getting it all mostly wrong), and I have to thank some folks who helped me do it: Gwen Pearson and the rest of the Purdue University Bug Barn, Bert Hölldobler and Edward Wilson (seriously, go read
Journey to the Ants,
it's rad), and Alex Wild (whose macro ant photography is elegant and beautiful).

Thanks, too, to the other writers who joined me on the Bug Barn expedition: Max Gladstone, Stephen Blackmoore, Delilah S. Dawson.

Also, thanks to my agent, Stacia Decker, and to the great folks at Harper for helping to put into your hands a book covered in ants—thanks Kate Nintzel, Margaux Weisman, David Pomerico, Caro Perny.

I guess I should also thank the carpenter ants for invading my shed while I wrote this book. I'll assume they're fans. Also, sorry to the few I squished. Your sacrifice will be remembered.

CHUCK WENDIG
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of the Miriam Black thrillers (which begin with
Blackbirds
) and numerous other works across books, comics, games, and more. A finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and the cowriter of the Emmy-nominated digital narrative
Collapsus,
he is also known for his popular blog, terribleminds.com. He lives in Pennsylvania with his family.

@ChuckWendig

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.

THE MIRIAM BLACK SERIES

Blackbirds

Mockingbird

The Cormorant

Thunderbird

THE HEARTLAND SERIES

Under the Empyrean Sky

Blightborn

The Harvest

OTHER NOVELS

The Blue Blazes

Double Dead

Unclean Spirits

Atlanta Burns

Star Wars: Aftermath

Zeroes

NONFICTION

The Kick-Ass Writer

Cover design by Owen Corrigan

Cover illustration © David Sweeney / Getty Images

Ant illustrations on title page © by Stephania Hill/Shutterstock, Inc.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

INVASIVE
. Copyright © 2016 by Chuck Wendig. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Harper Voyager and design are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers LLC.

FIRST EDITION

ISBN 978-0-06-235157-9

EPub Edition August 2016 ISBN 9780062351609

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