by Warren Ellis
First published 2011
The detective moves through a world where information flows like fog and every surface watches back. Technology has transformed the urban landscape into something that breathes data, where surveillance systems track movements and digital traces reveal more than footprints ever could. The case pulls the protagonist deeper into networks of power that stretch through corporate towers and government corridors. Each clue leads to another layer of deception, where those who control information control reality itself. The detective must solve crimes while navigating a system designed to observe and manipulate. Truth becomes a moving target in a place where lies embed themselves in the infrastructure itself. This is detection work stripped of romance, set in cities that have become machines for watching their inhabitants. The story examines what happens when corruption finds perfect tools in the technology meant to protect us.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, crime, thriller, detective, 21st-century
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption, deception, investigation, mystery
Setting: Cities
Period: 21st-Century
Paperback · BERG
Content warnings: violence