Bloodbusters

WINNER OF THE 2015 URANIA AWARD

What if taxes were paid by citizens through blood withdrawals? What if tax evasion was a crime punishable with imprisonment and enforced by the Bloodbusters? What if donating blood was an illegal procedure?

In a grotesque Rome, Bloodbuster Alan Costa falls in love with Anissa Malesano, a compulsive donor for an underworld organization called Robin Blood, who gives her blood to anyone in need. As a web of deceit and treachery spread wide around Alan, he begins to wonder if he can trust his colleagues or even his own boss. When Anissa is jailed for tax evasion, Alan is faced with a choice that could cost him everything.

"Full of savage humour, Francesco Verso imagines a tax system in Italy based upon blood. Amazingly this has nothing to do with actual zombies (to bend a bit the word "actual"). Weirdly, BloodBusters is plausible and powerfully written, a high-spirited page-turner thanks to a great translation by Sally McCorry. Definitely this is the book to read after a holiday in Rome (though maybe not before). I shan't forget in a hurry Verso's Intravenous Revenue or the haemergency sirens and flashers of the taxbulance."
-- Ian Watson, author of the screen story for Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Francesco Verso (born in 1973 in Bologna) is one of the most popular and translated Italian Science Fiction writers and Editor of the book series Future Fiction. He has published: Antidoti umani, e-Doll (2008 Urania Award), Livido (Odissea Award and Italia Award, published in the USA by Apex Books and in China by Bofeng as Nexhuman), BloodBusters, (2015 Urania Award, published in the UK by Luna Press and in China by Bofeng Culture) and The Roamers (made of The Pulldogs and No/Mad/Land published in the UK by Flame Tree Press). His stories have appeared in Italian magazines, performed on stage (The Milky Way), and sold abroad in Europe, USA, India and China. Since 2014 he works as editor of Future Fiction, a multicultural project dedicated to scouting and publishing the best voices in contemporary Science Fiction from more than 40 countries and 14 languages, featuring authors such as Ian McDonald, Lavie Tidhar, Liu Cixin, Han Song, James Patrick Kelly, Chen Qiufan, Oliver Paquet and many others. When he's not travelling around the World to promote Solarpunk and Science Fiction in translation, he lives in Rome with his wife and daughter.