[Home](https://charlespetrie.com/) / Novelist # Dark Texas: the novel. A winter storm takes down the Texas grid and it doesn't come back. Four ordinary people, and an analyst who knows why it failed. His first novel, published February 10, 2026 by Stoney Creek Publishing. Everything on this page is from the publisher's page; nothing is added. Cover art: Stoney Creek Publishing, from the publisher's page. ## About the book A brutal winter storm pushes Texas to the brink in Dark Texas, a gripping near-future thriller about power loss, resilience, and survival. Through the stories of four ordinary Texans, Charles Petrie, Jr. explores what happens when modern systems fail and community becomes the last line of defense. Inspired by real events, this is a tense, timely novel for readers drawn to disaster fiction with heart and realism. The publisher's page follows Mac, a retired teacher; Laurie, a yoga teacher; Jake, a newly widowed father; and Chas, a power company analyst, through a cascading infrastructure failure during a historic winter storm inspired by the events of February 2021. - Author Charles Petrie, Jr. - Publisher Stoney Creek Publishing - Published February 10, 2026 - Genre Science fiction (near-future thriller) - Formats Paperback and ebook - Pages 314, 5.5 x 8.5 in - ISBN Paperback 978-1-965766-38-5Ebook 978-1-965766-39-2 ## Where to buy it The links the publisher lists. No affiliate codes; prices are not stated on the publisher's page, so none are shown here. [Stoney Creek Publishing](https://stoneycreekpublishing.com/books/dark-texas/)[Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1965766382/)[Barnes & Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-texas-charles-j-petrie/1148808505?ean=9781965766385)[Texas A&M University Press](https://www.tamupress.com/book/9781965766385/dark-texas/)[Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/dark-texas-charles-j-petrie/e8e33a6152d77723?ean=9781965766385) ## Praise, as quoted by the publisher Petrie's novel conjures a future that almost was and still could be when bad weather and bad policy collide. Robert Mace Terrifyingly plausible. Terrifically entertaining. Frances Silversmith A chilling reminder of civility's dependence on fragile foundations. Georg Rute ## The author, in his publisher's words Charles J Petrie, Jr. holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UT Austin and is retired from Stanford University where he was an Associate Professor and Senior Research Scientist. He built an off-grid home in Texas and worked at Burning Man, retiring as airport manager. Dark Texas is his first novel. Author bio from the publisher's page. His own [bio on this site](https://charlespetrie.com/biography/) gives the Stanford title as Consulting Associate Professor and Senior Research Scientist. Author photo: Stoney Creek Publishing. ## Why a grid novel from him is no surprise He spent his research life on what happens when a system's assumptions fail and the dependencies have to be re-examined: truth maintenance at MCC, coordination of distributed engineers at Stanford, and a 2010 paper arguing that the future of the Internet is coordination. He also, by his own account, spent ten years living off the grid on solar power. Dark Texas takes the same question, what fails when the power fails, and tells it through four people. [His ideas](https://charlespetrie.com/ideas/), [his timeline](https://charlespetrie.com/biography/). --- An independent fan and tribute site celebrating the work of Charles Petrie. Not affiliated with, or the official site of, Dr. Petrie, Stanford University, the IEEE, or Burning Man Project. Dr. Petrie has seen this site and kindly approves, though it remains an independent, unofficial tribute. His own pages remain at www-cdr.stanford.edu/~petrie.