{"product_id":"the-halter","title":"The Halter","description":"\u003cb\u003eCombining the inventive worldbuilding of Philip K. Dick and the elegiac longing of Raymond Chandler's \u003ci\u003eThe Long Goodbye\u003c\/i\u003e and for fans of \u003ci\u003eReady Player One\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRabbits\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Halter\u003c\/i\u003e by Darby McDevitt (lead writer for \u003ci\u003eAssassin's Creed 4: Black Flag\u003c\/i\u003e) is a debut sci-fi novel that fuses cyber-noir, psychological suspense, and high-concept speculation in a breakneck search for truth inside a utopian metaverse on the verge of collapse\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn a world where virtual addiction kills, Kennedy Stark is paid to pull the plug. A professional halter--part detective, part counselor--he trawls the world's darkest surrogate-reality feeds in search of the lost. When he isn't working, he's dreaming of a one-way ticket to Mars, where a new colony has been established as a hopeful alternative to an Earth in the early stages of climate collapse. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e One evening, after a botched rescue attempt, a mysterious client offers Kennedy a tantalizing new case: brilliant software engineer Delia Walsh, who Kennedy fell in love with years ago, has disappeared inside a surrogate reality project called The Forum. Entering under an assumed identity, Kennedy finds a simulation unlike any other. The Forum bills itself as a tool for cutting-edge scientific research and radical philosophical investigations, but the signs of its corruption are everywhere. As Kennedy investigates, he learns Delia had been working on a new simulation that could upend The Forum's primary purpose, and that even in this prurient playground for the super wealthy, the dangers are very real. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBrimming with black humor, hardboiled attitude, and a cast of endearing misfits lost in brittle fantasies, \u003ci\u003eThe Halter\u003c\/i\u003e introduces a charismatic detective and heralds a unique and assured new voice in sci-fi crime.","brand":"Diversion Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47990059040957,"sku":"BS-TC0-150887","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0771\/9767\/2637\/files\/9798895150887-HD.jpg?v=1786636984","url":"https:\/\/boundigo.com\/products\/the-halter","provider":"Boundigo Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}