The Swarming Stage is different—a dystopian science fiction novel that is also a deeply engaging crime novel, and a love story as well. Where did it all come from? I’m posting set of notes about the novel today that goes some way towards telling the story of the book. I was a kid in southern California. I saw a lot of big bug science fiction movies and one time I read “A Canticle for Leibowitz”. Dystopia is not just in our heads anymore.