by John Scalzi
First published 2018
In the brutal, high-stakes world of Hilketa, players control robot "threeps" in a violent battle to sever their opponents' heads. When a star athlete drops dead on the field, FBI agents Chris Shane and Leslie Vann must determine if it's an accident or murder. Their investigation plunges them into the cutthroat, no-holds-barred competition, where fortunes are made and players will stop at nothing to win.
Genres: science-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigation, murder-mystery
Setting: Hilketa
Period: 21st-century
429 pages · Library Binding · Thorndike Press Large Print
Content warnings: graphic-violence