As part of The Whale Museum’s Author Talk Series, Kenneth G. Bennett presents his latest novel “Exodus 2022” on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 6:30 p.m.

Bainbridge Island writer Ken Bennett’s Exodus 2022 is a dystopian sci-fi look at a world gone mad. Joe Stanton is in agony. Out of his mind over the death of his young daughter. Unable to contain his grief, Joe loses control in public, screaming his daughter’s name and causing a huge scene at a hotel on San Juan Island in Washington State.

But Joe Stanton doesn’t have a daughter. Never did. And when the authorities arrive they blame the 28-year-old’s outburst on drugs.

What they don’t yet know is that others up and down the Pacific coast-from the Bering Sea to the Puget Sound-are suffering identical, always fatal mental breakdowns. With the help of his girlfriend, Joe struggles to unravel the meaning of the hallucination destroying his mind. As the couple begins to perceive its significance-and Joe’s role in a looming global calamity-they must also outwit a billionaire weapons contractor bent on exploiting Joe’s newfound understanding of the cosmos, and outlast the time bomb ticking in Joe’s brain.

“Deft storytelling and a riptide of action propel this cataclysmic narrative…”  Kirkus Reviews. Bennett is also the author of the young adult novels, “The Gaia Wars and battle for Cascadia.”

A wilderness enthusiast who loves backpacking, skiing and kayaking, he enjoys mysteries, science fiction, action adventure stories and, most especially, novels that explore the relationship between humans and the wild. He lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and son and two hyperactive Australian Shepherds.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 378-4710 ext. 30.