While I was traveling over the past month, a couple of astute fans contacted me after discovering a Breaking the World Easter egg dating all the way back to 2015.

Maurice Broaddus and I were co-editing an urban fantasy anthology, Streets of Shadows, at the time. I was working with a terrific Australian artist, Rhys Griffiths, on the wraparound cover. When Rhys pitched the idea of a rundown movie theater, I couldn’t resist having a little fun.

I directed Rhys to include Maurice’s first novel, King Maker, on the marquee alongside an unpublished first novel I was writing at the time. Maurice likened the move to a baseball player calling his shot. Three years later, that wrap-around cover sports both our first novels, which never fails to make me smile.

And, yeah, that’s us on the cover too. Maurice with his sword and me backing him up with a gun.

Read an excerpt of Breaking the World, check out the fantastic reviews, and consider picking up a copy of the book from:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Over the past two months, Breaking the World has picked up some phenomenal reviews and more than a few cool pictures. Many thanks to the reviewers, book groups, and fans that went out of their way to tag me in their Twitter and Instagram feeds. I’ve loved reading your reviews and seeing the book in the wild!

Check out a few “glamour shots” of Breaking the World. And if you haven’t already, think about picking up the book, now available everywhere from

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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How did I end up writing a novel about David Koresh and the Branch Davidians? Go behind the scenes for the insane, true story behind the book. “My Road Trip with David Koresh” is available in the April issue of Apex Magazine. Grab a paper copy on Amazon or read it on the Apex Magazine website for free.

Many thanks to Indy Reads Bookstore, Nine Irish Brothers, and Apex Publications for hosting the book signing and after party. I had a few drinks with everyone, gave away some cool swag, talked about the insane story behind the book, and then signed copies for almost two hours. Thanks to everyone that came out and made it such a special night. Here are a few fun pics the event:

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Twenty-five years ago today, the fifty-one-day standoff between the Branch Davidians and the FBI came to an end. I spent two years of my life researching, writing, rewriting, and polishing a book set during the standoff.

There are plenty of excellent nonfiction books about Waco, but none of them give you a feel for what it was like to be trapped in that horrible situation. I wanted to write a book that humanized the participants, a book that could question (as I do) the actions of both the church and our government.

Today, it’s a book you can read. It’s the end of launch day, and I’m gathering up all the crazy goodness for you in one spot.

The early critical response to the book has been phenomenal. Check out the early reviews here:

http://www.jerrygordon.net/2018/04/breaking-the-world-early-reviews/

John Scalzi was cool enough to let me steal his website and talk about “The Big Idea” behind Breaking the World:

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2018/04/19/the-big-idea-jerry-gordon/

The always awesome Mary Robinette Kowal let me borrow her website to talk about one of my “Favorite Bits” writing the book, strong female characters:

http://www.jerrygordon.net/2018/04/breaking-the-world-early-reviews/

I sat down with Andrea Johnson for a relatively spoiler-free interview about the book, the 25th anniversary of Waco, and the lessons of the standoff that are still important today:

https://littleredreviewer.wordpress.com/2018/04/19/interview-with-jerry-gordon-author-of-breaking-the-world/

And I wrote a long-form essay about the crazy, real life story behind the book, “My Road Trip with David Koresh” that was published in Apex Magazine. You can snag a copy here:

https://www.apexbookcompany.com/collections/apex-magazine-all/products/apex-magazine-issue-107/

You can read an excerpt of the book:

https://read.barnesandnoble.com/book/breaking-the-world/

Better yet, pick up a copy:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Judgement day is here. It’s the 25th anniversary of the standoff in Waco, and my debut novel, Breaking the World, is now available in stores. With the book now available, I thought I’d corral the early reviews in one spot. The response to the book has been phenomenal. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Check out the reviews below, read an excerpt of the book, and consider picking up a copy from:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

An absorbing blend of history and narrative fiction which elevates the Waco tragedy into an unforgettable exploration of society, faith, and truth. Breaking the World by Jerry Gordon is a compelling novel that thunders, and challenges, from page one. The characters are genuine, the struggles throughout are powerful, balanced, and thoughtful. The novel’s conclusion and Gordon’s ideas within do what great fiction often hopes to — defies and then transcends what we thought we knew.

— Geoffrey Girard, Bram Stoker Award-Nominated Author of Project Cain and Truthers

The things we do to each other are more awful than any haunted house, ghoul, or demon could ever be, and in BREAKING THE WORLD, Jerry Gordon delivers an unflinching look at real-life horror. This novel will gnaw its way through your skull, burrow into your brain, and mess with you in the best way possible. It’s a pitch-black tale of moral ambiguity, with sympathetic characters facing a home-grown apocalypse of twisted faith, fire, and madness. It’s one of the strongest horror debuts in recent memory, which not only entertains but provides penetrating insight into a dark chapter of American history. This is horror done right.

— Tim Waggoner, Bram Stoker Award-Winning Author of Like Death and Some Kind of Monster

If Breaking the World had solely been about life within the Branch Davidian compound during the FBI standoff, I would have been perfectly content with this book. Gordon, however, ups the ante considerable… What Gordon does here is ballsy, of the big brassy kind, and I have to applaud him. It’s a move that I’m fairly certain will land Breaking the World as one of my best reads of 2018, and I’ll be thinking about this work for a good long while. Few books have jolted me or left me clamoring for a follow-up quite like this.

— Michael Patrick Hicks, High Feever Books

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