Part of Series
Dying in virtual reality isn’t fun, but facing bullets from real-world criminal overlords is really the pits. In such a desperate scenario, their demand to render them a service in VR doesn’t sound like such a bad alternative. The problem is, the games played by spook agencies follow much harsher rules. For them, the absence of choice doesn’t sound like a good excuse – not if you end up in the grindstones of their undercover schemes. Still, it’s not as if I ever had a choice. That’s why the price tag for my freedom didn’t sound too excessive. All I had to do was log in, become a necromancer, shake the malefic hunters off my tail, pass the elimination test and locate one particular person. Which one? Why? And how was I supposed to do it? Wrong questions. Instead, I had only to ask one: why me? Why John Doe?
Author
Pavel Kornev is a popular Russian author whose writing crosses the boundaries of the sci fi thriller, fantasy adventure and steampunk. Genre mashing has long become his signature style. “His books are a page-turning mix of non-stop action and hard-boiled detective stories in the edgy atmosphere of steampunk noir. Far from being a knight on a white charger, Kornev’s typical protagonist is an everyday man with his fair share of flaws who puts his talents to good use. His heroes struggle to survive and win their places in the sun; but most importantly, they manage to preserve their humanity even in the direst of circumstances.” Pavel is a professional economist who spent years working for a large bank – until his first novel, The Ice, became an overnight bestseller, allowing him to quit his day job. He now writes full time.
