Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Missing Signal” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Missing Signal

Seb Doubinsky (Goodreads Author)

3.94 · Rating details · 52 ratings · 21 reviews

Missing Signal―a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a government conspiracy? Agent Terrence Kovacs has worked for the New Petersburg Counter-Intel Department propagating fake UFO stories for so long that even he has a hard time separating fact from fiction. Especially when he’s approached by a beautiful woman named Vita, who claims she’s been sent from another planet to li ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 206 pages

Published August 28th 2018 by Meerkat Press

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Missing Signal, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about Missing Signal

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.94 ·

Rating details

· 52 ratings · 21 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Missing Signal

Jul 14, 2018 David Katzman rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Skillful, enjoyable writing, a surreal atmosphere, and an intriguing story. Yet it ends too abruptly without much resolution. This is really a short story posing as a novel. It's delightful, but the end felt strangled, as if this book could easily have been extended to a novel and instead, in the interest of leaving a "mystery" for the reader, is simple cut short with too few answers.

Missing Signal takes place in some slightly-off alternate reality. It's not too far off, perhaps slightly futuris ...more

flag 22 likes · Like · see review

May 29, 2018 Benoit Lelièvre rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Another daring, psychedelic experiment from professor Doubinsky.

Halfway into a 1970s thriller and an existential novel, Missing Signal is not really a novel about aliens. Oh no, sir. Nothing's that easy with Doubinsky. It's a metanovel about perception and control of information that breaks through the boundaries of simple narrative structure. It's one of these doubt-every-word-you-read kind of book and I'm always up for one of these. ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

May 20, 2018 T.E. Grau rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Aliens are among us. That's what the government wants us to think it doesn't want us to know. But, like everything else that passes for conspiracy and truth in the cold, gleaming City States, unraveling the obfuscation is just a card trick to keep us scrambling for ghosts, while the real work by the Powers That Be goes on. New Petersburg Counter-Intel Agent Terrace Kovacs knows this, and happily remains a cog in the machine, until the arrival of a strange woman into his duplicitous life makes hi ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Apr 13, 2018 Donald Armfield rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Missing Siginals is like a lost episode of the X-Files where certain pieces to an alien conspiracy leads to more questions, or the wrong questions are being asked. Throw a beautiful woman in the mix and plans on unraveling the mystery just leads to even more questions.

Doubinsky takes you through a fast paced Sci-Fi mystery of an alien conspiracy, Planet X, and a drug that alters vision, mind and body but misses the signal that has all the answers... or what is the answer?

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Jun 19, 2018 Linda Hepworth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“Missing Signal―a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a government conspiracy? Agent Terrence Kovacs has worked for the New Petersburg Counter-Intel Department propagating fake UFO stories for so long that even he has a hard time separating fact from fiction. Especially when he’s approached by the beautiful woman named Vita, who claims she’s been sent from another planet to liberate Earth.”

This blurb would not normally attract my attention because Sci-Fi is not a genre which appeals to me. Howeve “Missing Signal―a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a government conspiracy? Agent Terrence Kovacs has worked for the New Petersburg Counter-Intel Department propagating fake UFO stories for so long that even he has a hard time separating fact from fiction. Especially when he’s approached by the beautiful woman named Vita, who claims she’s been sent from another planet to liberate Earth.”

This blurb would not normally attract my attention because Sci-Fi is not a genre which appeals to me. However, having read several earlier publications from Meerkat Press (all outstanding), when offered the opportunity to read an ARC of this story I leapt at the opportunity. I knew I didn’t want to miss out on what could prove to be novel which would enjoyably widen my reading experience. Missing Signal has done just that – indeed, I’m delighted to have discovered an exciting new voice in Seb Doubinsky’s unusual novella. This is not a traditional Sci-Fi story but is one which offers a disturbing glimpse into a dystopian City-State future which reflects, albeit in an exaggerated way, so much of all that is disturbing in our 21st century world.
The labyrinthine network of false websites Terrence Kovacs creates as an agent in the counter-intelligence department – he has fifty-seven different aliases and is a master at reinventing himself – offer him some sense of satisfaction in his work but, at the same time, it also highlights his sense of loneliness and isolation. Even his name isn’t his own, so who is he really? Which of his experiences are fact, which fiction? The arrival of Vita complicates his life even more as his paranoia about whom he can trust becomes caught up in his need to believe in someone or something. Has she been sent by his superiors to test his loyalty or is she genuinely trying to help? Will a mind-altering, genetically-designed alien drug help or hinder his search for the truth?
This story is told in very short chapters, some of which are just a paragraph, or even a sentence, long, with none being longer than three pages. When I first started to read I wondered whether this style could possibly hold my attention; would I be convinced that a sentence could constitute a whole chapter? However, I very soon did become convinced because the quality of this author’s writing is such that he makes every single word count, nothing feels superfluous to the story-telling. In fact, it is the very sparseness of the writing which seems to give it such a thought-provoking power. The dystopian nature of the story, with its reflections of the all too easily recognisable horrors we see in today’s society, make this a book which I know will stay with me for a long time. Apart from the various themes which emerge in this story, I think that the nature of the writing-style would also make for some fascinating reading group discussions.
This is the seventh book in the “City-States Cycle” but can easily be read as a stand-alone story. I now feel highly motivated to seek out the earlier ones. If you enjoy creative stories with a difference, I hope that my enthusiasm will encourage you to seek out this author’s work for yourself.

My thanks to Nudge and Meerkat Press for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful and amazing book in exchange for an honest review. ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 19, 2018 Vincenzo Bilof rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

In this latest Dystopian offering from Seb Doubinsky, the intelligent, lyrical prose offer snapshots of a haunted, paranoid mind. Missing Signals eschews genre for another carefully-constructed story that serves as a photo-album arranged by a poet; each chapter is a small offering of words, and within the framework of a single page (or two), moments and reflections in the life of our paranoid protagonist draw us in to the fantastical (for the protagonist) arrangement of the plot.
I admire Doubin ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Aug 31, 2018 Paperback Paris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, melissa-ratcliff, 4-star-ratings

—The review below was authored by Paperback Paris Staff Writer, Melissa Ratcliff. Read more.

Described as a “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a government conspiracy”, the latest novel in the City-States series lives up to its description, as Seb Doubinsky creates a paradox of his own in Missing Signal . Part science fiction wonder, part psychological thriller, Missing Signal is an existential puzzle full of cryptic messages, saturated in anxiety and loneliness, as narrated by Terrence K ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 09, 2018 Alison C rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I received an ARC of Seb Doubinsky’s "Missing Signal" from Meerkat Press; I had never read him before and had no idea what to expect. It turns out that this is the latest in a cycle of “City State” novels set in a dystopian near-future world, possibly modeled on Europe. Terrence is a master spy in this world, with some 50+ identities and a job involving…. well, hard to say what it involves, but he’s very good at it. Until, that is, he is contacted by a mysterious and beautiful alien, who has a ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 29, 2018 Adam House rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Seb Doubinksy is one of those writers I love to read. He’s no-nonsense in his writing and hits all the points that make me happy as a reader. I haven’t read his library, but ‘Missing Signal’ reminded me to get on that, preferably sooner than later. He’s the closest thing to a modern Philip Dick as we’re ever going to have, but wholly original in the craft.

Missing Signal is a story about Terrence Kovacs, who works as a disinformation agent, and how he deals with life in a bubble, covered with tru Seb Doubinksy is one of those writers I love to read. He’s no-nonsense in his writing and hits all the points that make me happy as a reader. I haven’t read his library, but ‘Missing Signal’ reminded me to get on that, preferably sooner than later. He’s the closest thing to a modern Philip Dick as we’re ever going to have, but wholly original in the craft.

Missing Signal is a story about Terrence Kovacs, who works as a disinformation agent, and how he deals with life in a bubble, covered with truth and fiction. He’s been at the game so long he questions everything; paranoia is part of the norm for the simplest and mundane of daily tasks. For the big jobs, it’s a given. Then he meets Vita who makes him question everything, either out of love or his own desire to simply know the facts. But can he trust the facts as he sees them?

The story is heavy on conspiracy theory. Doubinsky does an amazing job of keeping the reader just as “questioning” as our protagonist is. There are many short chapters within the book, some as short as a sentence, or two; a paragraph here and there, or two; etc. But this worked wonderfully for me. I have no idea if this was intentional or not but the short chapters gave me a real feel of dipping into a secret world, bits at a time, deeper and deeper, into a growing conspiracy. Slowly learning more and more, bit by bit. Have you ever had a late-night YouTube spiral? The kind where you start out watching a tutorial on fixing an air conditioner (or some other task that needs to be done around the home) and before you realise it it’s two hours later and you have somehow moved to footage of Bigfoot, to supposed ghosts ‘caught on tape” to home-video of UFOs hovering in the sky. Well this is that type of feeling those short chapters gave me, which made for a captivating and real page-turner of a book. The ending (which I won’t spoil) also aided the theme of conspiracy well, ending in a way for the readers to ask questions (the sure-sign of every great reading experience) and possibly question themselves—the joys of falling so far down the rabbit-hole. Between this, a superbly realised world, and believable characters, I was hooked.

5 out of 5 stars, easily.
...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2018 Jona added it · review of another edition

I started this book with some trepidation because science fiction is not usually a genre I read. But, when I started reading it, I realized it's a compelling read, and I could easily identify with the characters and lives.
The books is divided into short chapters, which detail the lives of Agent Terrence Kovaks and his work as a counter-intelligence agent. He has many aliases and mainly debunks UFO stories by propagating fake news about them. Once day, he attends a conference and meets a skeptica ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 17, 2018 J.S. Breukelaar rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Sebastien Doubinsky’s *Missing Signal* is the latest installment in the City-State cycle and it is dystopian fiction at its most pared down and wondrous. Doubisnky’s prose is lean and hearteningly human in the most inhuman of contexts. Like many of Doubinsky's protagonists, Agent Kovacs is flawed hero unable to escape his tarnished past no matter how fast he hurtles toward a shiny new future. Immersive and unputdownable noir sf from a writer at the top of his game. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 09, 2019 Eugen Bacon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Seb Doubinsky's Missing Signal is covertly a dystopian novel that is visibly (in its ending) part of a series. One need not have read any of the City-States series to find immersion in this newest instalment whose crisp chapters cartwheel you in an incredible odyssey that gets wilder and weirder as it possesses you.

Together with a loneliness that is real as touch, but is also a ‘beautiful emptiness’, Terrence Kovacs is a man attuned with himself, self-aware in his deficits... Missing Signal is ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 14, 2018 Crimson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book. It was a fast, but interesting read. It was surreal, but worth the investment. I really liked the pace and the character of Terrance.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 27, 2018 Shelby rated it liked it · review of another edition

Not much in to existential science fiction. I'm sure there are those who find that appealing. I am not one. This was sort of like reading the movie Solaris, either version. Saw both. Didn't like them either. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 14, 2018 Jessica rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, less-than-300, blog

This was an odd, short read. Full review to come.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 21, 2018 Maurizio Codogno rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf

[Disclaimer: I received an Advance Review Copy] This novel is set up in a possible future world where real and fake news fiercely compete: the main character is indeed a counterinformation agent. The idea is developed well, only a bit hurried at the end, which was not obvious at all given the theme. What I did not like was the "stream of consciousness" bits: most chapters were just a few lines long and I did not manage to get an overall idea of the relation of these parts with the main plot. It ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 14, 2018 cheese rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-2018

Highly recommended. Wonderful language, fast-paced, and thought-provoking. One of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in some time. I’ll be reading more of Doubinsky’s work.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 05, 2018 Sarah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Actually probably more like 2.5. This was an... unusual book. It wasn't what I expected from the synopsis on the back. There were many parts that were thought-provoking with clever wording. And then there were others that felt choppy, rushed, and a bit unsure. Sometimes it seemed like the book was trying to be philosophical or experiment first and foremost, rather than prioritizing storytelling. But the story did definitely keep me intrigued, and since it was such a fast read, I can't say it was Actually probably more like 2.5. This was an... unusual book. It wasn't what I expected from the synopsis on the back. There were many parts that were thought-provoking with clever wording. And then there were others that felt choppy, rushed, and a bit unsure. Sometimes it seemed like the book was trying to be philosophical or experiment first and foremost, rather than prioritizing storytelling. But the story did definitely keep me intrigued, and since it was such a fast read, I can't say it wasn't worth picking up. Some of the more "adult" moments I could have honestly lived without. They didn't seem to add much to the story--at least, not in something this short. In that sense, a lot of the story didn't feel as "fleshed out" as it could be. I wanted a fast read, and that's what I got, but I would have enjoyed the story more if the author would have given the plot and characters some more time to breathe. In theory, I guess I liked the concept of this novel--a man who makes up UFO stories for the government meeting an alien--more than its execution. There were a ton of possibilities that didn't get explored, and I was kind of disappointed. I read in the author's bio that he has written other books, all taking place in the future. If this book is connected with those, then it might make sense why I had so many questions throughout it. And then the end... really didn't end. I love ambiguity, but I felt as though I needed something else to go on. Still, the idea was good and the story itself was one that kept me turning the pages, even if it wasn't exactly what I expected. I'm not sure I'd say that I'd recommend it, but I also wouldn't say I regret reading it. I'm glad I did, especially with the lines of reality constantly being blurred. It reminded me of some magic realism works I read in college--except with sci-fi. I was fascinated by that genre then, and seeing it employed with a conspiracy bend definitely kept my brain buzzing. In short: this is worth a read if you're interested, but don't expect it to conform to any traditional ideas of fiction. That's a positive in many ways, but in others, it's a bit jarring. In the end, it just comes down to personal taste. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 08, 2018 Nathalie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: coups-de-coeur

A new novel from Seb Doubinsky is always such a treat; no one writes exactly quite like him. I never know what to expect, and I am never, ever disappointed. Missing Signal is no exception. Through a series of short entries, we learn about the life of Terrence Kovacs, an agent who works for the Counter-Intel Department, propagating fake UFO stories and getting confused in his own reality.

Each entry is a beauty of its own and can almost be read just for itself:

"When Terrence was finished, he real ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 18, 2020 Jordan Nunes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This city states universe is so wild! I like the style for a summer read that one can start and finish in the same day. Now that the US Navy and Pentagon have released more info and video of UFOs it is no surprise the author has already visited the topic. Just because the book includes in Aliens I wouldn't immediately call it sci-fi, although it is, but it seems like a study of how authors write characters and how individuals create their personalities in their lives. It is weird to see these st ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 12, 2019 Jenny_acc rated it liked it · review of another edition

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Meerkat Press rated it it was amazing
Oct 18, 2018

Anne Søgaard rated it it was amazing
Oct 25, 2018

M.R. Tapia rated it really liked it
Feb 23, 2020

Robert rated it it was ok
Jun 05, 2020

Serge Cassini rated it it was amazing
Jul 06, 2019

Melissa Cheresnick rated it really liked it
Jan 02, 2019

Melissa Ratcliff rated it really liked it
Aug 06, 2018

Carol rated it it was amazing
Feb 13, 2019

Kate rated it liked it
Mar 25, 2019

« previous 1 2 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Goodreads Librari...: Change Book Cover to final	7	54	Oct 19, 2018 11:02AM
Join us for Facebook Book Launch!	1	1	Aug 28, 2018 07:15AM
ARCs available	1	3	Mar 11, 2018 05:10PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Science Fiction

6 users

Fiction

3 users

See top shelves…

About Seb Doubinsky

Seb Doubinsky

132 followers

I was born in Paris, in 1963, right in the middle of a western movie, of which my parents never saw the end. I have thereafter split my life between France and the USA, having spent most of my early childhood in Syracuse, and Seattle. After some studies, a lot of wandering and a few strange jobs, I have finally found myself teaching French literature in Denmark, where I have been living since 2007 ...more