First published 2015
Nicholas Slopen sits in a locked psychiatric ward, claiming to be a failed husband and impoverished Samuel Johnson scholar. The problem is that Nicholas Slopen died months ago. Nothing can convince this man to abandon his story or reveal his true identity. What starts as a mystery involving forged letters attributed to the eighteenth century writer Samuel Johnson expands into something far more sinister. A Silicon Valley mogul has joined forces with Russian allies to weaponize a dark remnant of Soviet science called the Malevin Procedure. As the conspiracy unfolds, the boundaries between authentic identity and elaborate deception blur beyond recognition. The case forces everyone involved to confront fundamental questions about what makes a person real and whether human consciousness can be transferred, copied, or stolen.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, mystery, psychological-thriller, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, identity-crisis, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Russia, Silicon Valley
Period: 18th Century, 21st Century
304 pages · Paperback · Picador
Content warnings: medical-trauma