Side Life
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Set in Seattle, Steve Toutonghi’s second novel, Side Life, is a dazzling, intriguing, and philosophical blend of literary science fiction—perfect for fans of Blake Crouch, Philip K. Dick and Ex Machina.
What if every possibility of every life were within your reach?
Vin, a down-on-his-luck young tech entrepreneur forced out of the software company he started, takes a job house-sitting an ultramodern Seattle mansion whose owner has gone missing. There he discovers a secret basement lab with an array of computers and three large, smooth caskets. Inside one he finds a woman in a state of suspended animation. There is also a dog-eared notebook filled with circuit diagrams, beautiful and intricate drawings of body parts, and pages of code.
When Vin decides to enter one of the caskets himself, his reality begins to unravel, and he finds himself on a terrifying journey that raises fundamental questions about reality, free will, and the meaning of a human life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Toutonghi's second novel (after Join) explores ideas of consciousness and parallel universes in ways that are intellectually engaging but emotionally detached. After Vin is ousted as CEO of the Seattle technology company he created, his father arranges for him to house-sit for enigmatic and reclusive genius Nerdean. The mystery of where Nerdean has gone and what she's doing rivets Vin. When he uncovers a lab in the house's sub-basement, he can't resist entering one of the three coffinlike "cr ches" he finds there. At first he thinks the cr che induces lucid dreaming, but when he climbs back out to find the world around him subtly changed, he realizes Nerdean's experiments have far-reaching consequences. He repeatedly jumps into the minds of others, controlling their actions in ethically questionable ways, and takes unabashed advantage of his reemergence into parallel worlds that suit him better than the one he originated in. Vin's self-centered behavior and attitude raise moral questions that often remain unanswered by the narrative. Other characters including a cat Vin callously stops feeding at one point serve primarily as props on his philosophical journey. This exploration of parallel worlds is a thrilling thought exercise, but Toutonghi's vision of the near future is alarmingly sapped of empathy.
