Denise S. Robbins

THE UNMAPPING: Debut novel out now!

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There is no flash of light, no crumbling, no quaking. Each person in New York wakes up on an unfamiliar block after the buildings all switch positions overnight. The power grid has snapped, thousands of residents are missing, and the Empire State Building is on Coney Island—for now. The next night, it happens again.

Esme Green and Arjun Varma work for the city of New York’s emergency management team and are tasked with managing the disaster response for “The Unmapping.” As Esme tries to wade through the bureaucratic nightmare of an endlessly shuffling city, she’s distracted by the ongoing search for her missing fiancé. Meanwhile, Arjun focuses on the ground-level rescue of disoriented New Yorkers, hoping to become the hero the city needs.

A story about life in a state of emergency, climate change, and the nature of reality.

PRAISE FOR THE UNMAPPING


“It deserves to be the Novel of the Summer for 2025” – Sam Matey for The Weekly Anthropocene

“A wildly entertaining excavation of climate change, politics and human nature amid disaster.” – Caroline Leavitt for People Magazine

“What a powerful way to get at the essential fact of our time—that the world we’ve always known is now shifting around us, and we must come together to confront that reality.” – Bill McKibben, author of THE END OF NATURE

“The Unmapping is a timely and original novel that reads like a satisfying 21st century rendering of The Twilight Zone. Fans of China Mieville will delight in this quickly paced narrative that is unafraid to tackle the most pressing issues of our time. Robbins has a dazzling imagination matched by sparkling prose and a nose for plot. A great read.”- Nickolas Butler, internationally bestselling author of SHOTGUN LOVESONGS and A FORTY YEAR KISS

“Bold, inventive, and genre-defying, The Unmapping is a thrilling exploration of human nature, survival and the unknown forces that shape our world. At once surreal and eerily prescient, the book deftly conjures the disorientation of a city upended and rearranged by a mysterious phenomenon, and the fragility of the systems that underpin our lives. I was in Robbins’s thrall from page one.” – Nada Alic, author of BAD THOUGHTS

“An extremely pacy, suspenseful cli-fi novel that—in its central conceit—finds an apt, hard-hitting metaphor for the uncanny and disorienting reality of our times, and follows through on it with courage.” – Caoilinn Hughes, author of THE ALTERNATIVES

“The Unmapping is a madcap adventure—a big concept novel with a lot of heart—and most importantly, it’s great fun.” — Bud Smith, author

“The Unmapping is a deeply imaginative novel about the Anthropocene: the impermanence of our cities, the ubiquitousness of emergency, and the hope that can still be found in the grassroots. How will the world look when all our homes leave us—and how will we rebuild when we wake up and find them gone? A jolting debut from a veteran climate activist with much to offer the world of fiction.” – Johannes Lichtman, National Book Foundation 5 Under 35-winning author of SUCH GOOD WORK and CALLING UKRAINE

“What a fun, mind-bending read! In the vein of Peng Shepherd, The Unmapping gives the reader an utterly original concept, a multi-layered speculative puzzle, and a plot that unfolds at breakneck speed. In a world where we’re all feeling a bit lost, I’m glad I found The Unmapping.” —Mark Cecil, author of BUNYAN AND HENRY; OR, THE BEAUTIFUL DESTINY

“A tour de force, The Unmapping is an allegory for this moment of disorientation, when climate change, predatory capitalism and hubristic technology have left us unsure of our place and path. Yet Robbins weaves a thread of warm humanity through the book, hinting at how we may find our way again.” – Marcia Bjornerud, author of TURNING TO STONE and TIMEFULNESS

“The Unmapping is a wildly imaginative and thought-provoking novel that feels urgently, almost painfully, relevant. Yet it radiates a constant warmth, a testament to Robbins’s unique voice. This novel will make you think, but it will also make you dream.” – David Yoo, author of THE CHOKE ARTIST

“The Unmapping is an ambitious and masterful exploration into the apogee and folly of human endeavor, and our inexorable talent for delusion. Robbins’ themes and storytelling speaks to my adult fears and anxieties the way Stephen King did in my youth. In The Unmapping, nothing is safe. Not the characters, not their perceptions and beliefs, not even the ground beneath their feet.” – Alan ten-Hoeve, author of NOTES FROM A WOOD-PANELED BASEMENT and editor at Farewell Transmission Lit

“Robbins has crafted a resolute thrill ride, with a tender heart, that depicts an unravelling world frighteningly like our own.” – Max Hipp, author of WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU OPENS YOUR HEART

Notable Press Coverage
#2 on People Magazine’s “Most-Anticipated Summer Books 2025”
Madison Magazine’s Book of the Month for June 2025
Yale Climate Connections: “Climate Fiction That Will Haunt You”
The Weekly Anthropocene Book Review: The Unmapping by Denise S. Robbins
“Denise S. Robbins on states of emergency in her debut novel “The Unmapping””: Interview with WORT FM
“Madison author’s speculative debut novel engages with a climate crisis”: Interview with Cap Times
“All Over the Map: Denise S. Robbins’s The Unmapping and New Cartographies of the Novel” – Grand Hotel Abyss

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