Author Mason Coile to Publish Posthumous Novel “Exiles — ”See the Cover (Exclusive)

Andrew Pyper, the late author who wrote under the pseudonym Mason Coile, will posthumously publish his final novel this fall.

PEOPLE can exclusively share the cove of Exiles, written by the bestselling Canadian novelist, who died on Jan. 3 at age 56. The novel comes out from G.P. Putnam’s Sons this fall.

The novel follows an astronaut crew assigned to launch the first colony on Mars. When they arrive on the planet, they realize a team of robots was sent to destroy the base, and are forming an alliance amongst themselves.

The astronauts are forced to question themselves, and the rise of artificial intelligence, in the book described as a locked-room mystery blending horror and science fiction.

"I was drawn to Exiles because, within my lifetime, a human possibility went from unthinkable to unstoppable: the human colonization of Mars,” the author told PEOPLE in a statement before his death.

“I wondered about the isolation of such a journey and, if successful, the sacrifices of spending the rest of your life on an alien planet. What kind of people would compete and volunteer for such a project? Why? What skills would be deemed useful/harmful in their selection? What secrets do you keep from yourself at home that might be revealed on a distant world? Not to mention the problems of being so far from home.”

“It was not lost on me in the process of this book that writing is not too different from landing space travel: our imaginations open wide, the past returns in unexpected ways, and no matter where we are, we remain fundamentally alone, peopled only by versions of ourselves, for the whole ride,” Coile continued.

The author died from cancer complications, surrounded by his family at home, according to his obituary. Throughout his career, Coile published over 10 novels, including William, The Lost Girls and The Only Child, and was awarded prestigious accolades like the International Thriller Writers Award and the Arthur Ellis Award.

The writer’s agent, Kirby Kim, told PEOPLE in a statement that the Coile “had the rare ability to be able to both scare the lights out of you and move you emotionally.”

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“Andrew was an inventive, surprising and profoundly collaborative writer, who clearly loved telling stories,” said Daphne Durham, Executive Editor at G.P Putnam’s Sons. “Everyone loved working with him because he was such a pro, but he was also a delightful, warm, funny person.”

Exiles will be published on Sept. 16, 2025 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.

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