BOOK REVIEW

Pulitzer-nominated war and national security correspondent Sid Balman , Jr . --currently a writer-in-residence at Sul Ross State University--is releasing a harrowing follow up to his award-winning novels 7th Flag and Murmuration . The third and final book in the series , Algorithms , will be published on August 1st , 2023 , with Spark Press .

The final novel in the acclaimed 7th flag trilogy thrusts readers 30 years into a dystopic future of regional fiefdoms , marauding scavengers , and the quest for ultimate power . The story deals with the algorithms of everything , secretly pilfered from an undersea Internet cable , stored on hard drives , and implanted in the last surviving blue whale . The iconic and unlikely heroine of the American West , Ademar Zarkan , now a 70-year-old woman , leads the Free People of West Texas in an alliance with Native Americans and the indigenous people of northern Mexico to retrieve the hard drives . Zarkan must rescue her clairvoyant granddaughter from the radicalized Sisterhood and its merciless leader , Mother . Haunting and prophetic , Algorithms is a story of the violent extremism , resilience , family , and above all , the interconnectedness of humankind and the natural world .

Though Algorithms is the final book in the 7th Flag trilogy , Balman wrote each novel to stand alone . Readers can begin with any of the novels . 7th Flag enters the world during World War II , and the trilogy ends 30 years in the future . The trilogy ranges all over the world , but it is set largely in Far West Texas .

What would happen if the pressures on the modern world — the ravages of climate change , wealth disparity , racial injustice , political extremism and open violence — were to boil over ? How will humanity find its way into the future if civilization can ’ t hold the line ?

Balman explores what he has termed the “ Terra-Algorithm ,” which he describes as the connection between humankind and the natural world . He argues that the place of humanity in its environment is what has allowed indigenous peoples to survive for millennia . This concept will be key for humanity ’ s survival in a post-apocalyptic world , and that there is reason for optimism because of it — humankind cannot extricate itself from our ecological niche , even when we act as a destructive force in our environment , and these connections will ultimately be the key to our survival .

As a journalist , Balman has covered wars in the Persian Gulf , Somalia , Bosnia Herzegovina , and Kosovo , and has traveled extensively with two American presidents and four secretaries of state on overseas diplomatic missions . After leaving daily journalism , he helped found a news syndicate first focused on the interests of women and girls , served as the communications chief for the largest consortium of US International Development organizations , led two progressive campaigning companies , and launched a new division at a large international development firm centered on violent radicalism and other security issues on behalf of governments . In addition to his current position as writer-in-residence at Sul Ross State University , Balman remains a working journalist and magazine contributor . A fourth-generation Texan , as well as a climber , surfer , paddler , and benefactor to Smith College , Balman lives in Alpine , Texas . He has two children and a dog .

Front Street Books will host Sid Balman , Jr . for a reading from Algorithms on July 27 , 2023 , at 6 p . m . You can find out more about him at www . sidbalman . com . �