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Rich Shapero
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Balcony of Fog

What kind of perspective might we need to recognize, and accept, our irreconcilable desires for harmony and power?

In a storm-ravaged corner of post-nuclear America, Arden is left for dead after a brutal beating from his superior. On waking, he encounters Estra, a lost woman of mysterious origin, whom he smuggles into his cell. Desperate, and now in love, the two resolve to escape to the place from which Estra has come—the cloud realm.

Together, they ascend to the skies and make their home on a vacant cumulus, where Estra initiates Arden into the ways of the vaporous world. On the horizon looms a thunderhead, growing larger and more monstrous as it consumes the clouds in its path. The thunderhead is following them, and Estra knows and fears the man driving it.

As the hidden truths of Estra’s past emerge, Arden despairs, then—with Estra’s encouragement and guidance—determines to fight back.

Mixing the sublimity of fair-weather skies with the nightmarish violence of electric storms, Balcony of Fog illuminates the tension between the power of love and the love of power.

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About Balcony of Fog

A Q&A with Rich Shapero
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Q: Balcony of Fog begins in a post-nuclear world in which society is starkly stratified between those who have power and those who don’t. Arden is in the latter camp. He’s a “toiler.” Is this you?

RS: When I was a teenager, I worked on an assembly line at a missile factory and as a busboy in a restaurant. I left home when I was seventeen, and I was penniless. I managed to get a college education, but I entered the working world doing toiling jobs—digging ditches, running printing presses and so on. People have always struggled to improve their position in life, and they’ve always been sensitive to who is “above” them. I lived through that.


Q: The story takes us back to a tribal or primordial past.

RS: It does, although you could argue that our tribal past is so recent that it’s no reversion at all. For seven million years, going back to our pre-chimp ancestors, we lived in the wilds or in nomadic shelters. More recently, we graduated to lodges or villages. The city is a new thing.

The human mind has graduated. We can conceive of things that would be incomprehensible to our forebears. But we’re not designed to manage power effectively. Purposeful planning only happens smoothly when we shrink our numbers back to tribal size. A tribe with elders and a chief and a visionary or two can agree on change and affect a tribe’s fate. The leaders of most modern nations cannot. And the best corporations are run as dictatorships, where one person can overrule everyone else. Large numbers of people, each with a bit of power, can’t agree on anything. The expansion of mind beyond the limits of our control is, I think, the preeminent problem for our species.

I love the idea that we can see our inherited limitations mirrored in the natural world—in meteorological phenomena specifically.

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Balcony of Fog in the TooFar Media App

The multimedia version of Balcony of Fog combines Rich’s novel with illuminating videos.

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Acclaim for Balcony of Fog

“Powerful and complex.”
—Library Journal
“Shapero displays an impressive command of the unconscious.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A book to make you think. A fantasy of life and love, power and death . . . revenge and remorse.”
—Sue Hieber, Goodreads
“Imaginative and full of emotion . . . I saw a lot of quite deep symbolism and allegory that were quite meaningful.”
—Mike Opferman, Goodreads
“This book defies description . . . The writing is excellent, and the world built is unlike anything I’ve ever read.”
—Terry, Goodreads
“Takes the reader along for a passionate ride . . . I couldn’t put it down.”
—Michael Parkes, Goodreads
“A very interesting book! I love the descriptions and unique story.”
—Alexandria, Goodreads
“Great imagery and scene description . . . truly a different story, unlike anything else I’ve read.”
—Jae Park, Goodreads
“Definitely a different read than I’m used to . . . the writing was imaginative, colorful. A safer alternative to hallucinogens.”
—Dave, Goodreads
“Loved the plot contrast and the character descriptive build throughout.”
—Daniel, Goodreads
“An intriguing adventure.”
—Joel Timmons, Goodreads
“The imagination of the author is incredible! I think it would make an outstanding movie.”
—Noose, Goodreads
“Just finished it. I loved it and hope there’s a sequel because it’s really good.”
—Shawn Maple, Goodreads
“The imagery and imagination throughout are overwhelming. Don’t be surprised if you can’t put the book down or keep reading and re-reading.”
—Debra Oehlberg, Goodreads
“A romantic fantasy that goes way beyond the deepest next level in this fictional universe.”
—Donna Foster, Goodreads
“I really like how different it was from anything I’ve ever read!”
—Sarah Anderson-Pagal, Goodreads
“Really great storytelling. Balcony of Fog is . . . available on the app stores, which is where this experience really shines.”
—Jaredh, Apple App Store
“Characters are so well developed that the reader can’t help but churn with emotion as each page is turned and another layer is revealed.”
—baerskat, Apple App Store
“Grabbed and held my attention right away . . . a truly beautiful story.”
—Joanne Bilodeau, Apple App Store
“Rich Shapero writes like a poet, weaving imagery, allegory, and allusion to create lush adventures into other worlds.”
—Erin Granat, Goodreads
“Equal parts chilling and intriguing. The world [Shapero] creates is fascinating, but the real win here is the writing.”
—Erika, Goodreads

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Balcony of Fog combines novel and videos to create a provocative story for the eyes, ears, and imagination.

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Rich Shapero

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Titles

  • Dreams of Delphine
  • The Slide That Buried Rightful
  • Dissolve
  • Island Fruit Remedy
  • Balcony of Fog
  • Rin, Tongue and Dorner
  • Arms from the Sea
  • The Hope We Seek
  • Too Far
  • Wild Animus

Download App

  • Apple App Store
  • Google Play Store
© 2023 Rich Shapero. All rights reserved
Rich Shapero is an author, writer, and musician whose novels are available in hardcover, as ebooks (on Amazon Kindle, Apple Books and Google Books), and in the TooFar Media app for iOS and Android (on the Apple App Store and Google Play). His titles include Dreams of Delphine, The Slide That Buried Rightful, Dissolve, Island Fruit Remedy, Balcony of Fog, Rin, Tongue and Dorner, Arms from the Sea, The Hope We Seek, Too Far, and Wild Animus. Use this site to learn more about Rich Shapero and his work.
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