THINK THIS IS REALITY? THINK AGAINโฆ
An impossible evil is invading everyday life. Itโs ancient, it's deadly and it comes from a virtual world. Now the boundaries between reality and fiction start dissolving in horrifying ways โฆ ending up with murder.
The Faith Police have a prime suspect: Lona Luminos, professional hardarse, translator to the international Mob, synthetically modified human and new recruit at creepy St Cadogโs Methodist College. Her job โ translating ancient Celtic myths โ should have been a gentle working holiday. But her predecessor isnโt just on sick leave, sheโs been detained for โspiritual reprogrammingโ. This place is less of an ivory tower than a chamber of horrors.
Itโs 2071, a world recovering from the โFaith Warsโ; religion is compulsory, and everyone in digitally monitored. So Lona, and her spiritually dodgy friends, must tread carefully in their desperate bid to solve the crime and prevent more mayhem.
Tracking down the real murderer, and unravelling the mysteries of St Cadogโs, makes Lona take a long hard look at her companions โ and forces her to confront her own troubled past. Everyone at this gothic Welsh college has dark secrets. Even Lona. And especially her synthetic pet wolf, Dodo.
Synthetic takes a darkly humorous look at religion and the magical quality of stories. A tense science fiction crime fantasy, it also questions what it means to be human in an increasingly digital world.
Fans of Neal Stephenson, Scarlett Thomas and William Gibson will enjoy Syntheticโs blend of quirky humour and dark sci-fi fantasy.