For Immediate Release - December, 2015

Drone Dogs: a tale of technology in the hands of idiots

As drone sales soar, novelist Claude Walker probes the chilling, zany results

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA - A half-million drones will be sold this holiday season, a new high. Everyone’s droning, from TV crews and realtors to the snoopy neighbor kid and (soon) pizza parlors.

On the horizon? Drones will be a popular tool for gang-bangers, “drone-peepers”, burglars, taggers, tweens and opposition researchers. That’s the premise of Drone Dogs, the sixth novel by Chicago writer Claude Walker.

Late 2017. Clouds are clogged with drones which deliver tacos, tasers or terror. Due to the hit reality show Drone-O-LimpX, droning is part of daily life. “Dronies” are a popular form of selfie. “Groundhog Drones” which shadow the user are a fashion-must. “SkySkripters” use paraffin to pen aerial missives. Food deliverers, tree-trimmers and dog-walkers are replaced. We love our drones.

But when a drone graphically kills a beloved giraffe, public sentiment shifts. “Big Drone” battles do-gooders such as SAFE (“Skies Are For Everyone”), who would ban armed drones and impose drone taxes. Epic rumbles rage in the Halls of Congress and Skies of Chicago.

Drone Dogs is a parable about technology in the hands of idiots and a call for honest public debate about new technologies. Political satire fused with magical realism, Drone Dogs is a cautionary tale which both applauds and dreads the growth of drone technology.

Author of novels about the Eastland Disaster, the Seminoles, world baseball, campaigns and quakes, Walker was inducted into the Society of Midland Authors in 2003. A former Chicago cabbie, Walker has spent decades in politics, including serving as Senior Writer for the Illinois Governor. He’s a top TripAdvisor contributor, with 86,000 reads.

Drone Dogs may be purchased on the author’s website www.claudiowalker.com. ($10.95; ISBN 978-1-4917-8175-3, iUniverse.com).

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