“Fajardo’s impressive debut reimagines The Great Gatsby as a cyberpunk thriller [and] expertly transfers the themes of exploitative capitalism, mysterious and possibly illegal wealth, and complicated desires haunted by loss and queerness to a dystopian setting. The result is an evocative and powerful reworking of an American classic.” 

—Publisher’s Weekly

“Beautiful, intelligent, timely, and so much fun, Fajardo’s darkly futuristic reimagining of The Great Gatsby is imbued with a powerful appreciation for humanity and all of its flaws, whilst also maintaining an electric sense of building dread. In true sci-fi fashion, moral questions hover around the characters like vultures, and absolutely nothing is as it seems. I could not look away. A phenomenal new talent has entered the SFF space.” 

—Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, Sunday Times Bestselling Author of The Principle of Moments

“Luring us in with glitz and glamor, neon and chrome, Fajardo dazzles readers with a stunning retelling of The Great Gatsby, peeling away the layers till all that remains is the painfully human, flawed story of a man caught in the unforgiving space between the harsh reality and the seductive lies of the American Dream—and how it destroys everything it touches.”

—K. M. Enright, Sunday Times Bestselling Author of Mistress of Lies

“Comprising a tech thriller, a speculative capitalist nightmare, and a cat-and-mouse noir against the backdrop of 2075-era New York City, K.M. Fajardo’s cyberpunk remix of Fitzgerald is effortlessly greater than the sum of its parts. A pillar of American literature becomes electrified and transmuted in this sensational debut.”

—Jinwoo Chong, author of Flux

“Local Heavens is the heady, sultry cyberpunk retelling of The Great Gatsby you didn’t know you needed. Fajardo’s writing is deliciously decadent and aching, both true to the spirit of the original while offering a fresh, startling spin on the carelessness of immense wealth and the people who get chewed up and spit out along the way to make it. This is a gorgeous book. Keep your eye on this debut!”

—Yume Kitasei, author of The Deep Sky and Saltcrop

“An ambitious, sizzling modern remake of Fitzgerald’s classic that takes us to new heights and emotions. With unique twists and turns that are both fun and sombre, Fajardo brings new and necessary questions about the future we are hurtling toward.”

—Shubnum Khan, author of The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years

“Local Heavens turns anew the timeless considerations of ambition, dreams, desire, and consequence in an astutely imagined and richly inventive cyberpunk reality. Full of gorgeous prose and narrative depth, this book was an absolute delight to read.”

—Christina Li, author of The Manor of Dreams

“Fajardo has built a dazzlingly unique world that is still as close to the Roaring Twenties as it is to our own times, and she has breathed new life into this classic tale about ambition and the American Dream.”

—Victor Manibo, author of The Sleepless and Escape Velocity

“Local Heavens is deeply true to Fitzgerald’s themes and texture, transmuting the classic into a sultry, haunting exploration of the American Dream through the lens of one of the most common and underrepresented Americans—the diaspora Filipino. A high-tech, high-stakes melodrama of identity, intrigue, sexuality, power, and legacy. Fajardo draws out, with care and passion, the nigh-Shakespearean romance at the heart of Gatsby in the traditional, tragic sense of the genre. A shrewd, futuristic dismantling of the hyper-capitalist empire of our past and present.”

—Maya Gittelman, Ignyte-nominated writer and critic

“K. M. Fajardo’s retelling brings a fresh, futuristic perspective to a beloved story, adding depth, dreaming and dystopia all at once. A wonderful intersection of nostalgia and speculation.”

—Christy Anne Jones, author of Theodora’s Tea Shop