Glasshouse

by Charles Stross

First published 2006

Robin opens his eyes in a medical clinic with his memories wiped clean. Someone wants him dead, though he cannot remember why. The twenty-seventh century sprawls around him, a world where people travel between stars through teleportation gates and wars rage through digital networks that rewrite human personalities. The recent civil war has ended, leaving Robin demobilized and vulnerable. His past self knew something dangerous, something worth killing for. A relentless hunter tracks him across worlds. Robin needs somewhere to disappear. He finds the Glasshouse, an experimental community that recreates ancient human culture from before technological acceleration. Participants receive new identities and live anonymous lives within its walls. The setup seems perfect for a fugitive posthuman. But the Glasshouse traps its residents inside. Robin must submit to the experimenters who control every aspect of life within. His own fractured mind becomes another enemy as he undergoes changes more radical than memory loss.

Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, adventure, thriller

Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: amnesia, fugitive, mind-control

Setting: Glasshouse

Period: 27th Century

335 pages · Hardcover · Ace Hardcover

Content warnings: violence

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