{"product_id":"the-halter","title":"The Halter","description":"\u003cb\u003eCombining the inventive worldbuilding of Philip K. Dick and the elegiac longing of Raymond Chandler's \u003ci\u003eThe Long Goodbye\u003c\/i\u003e and for fans of \u003ci\u003eReady Player One\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRabbits\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Halter\u003c\/i\u003e by Darby McDevitt (lead writer for \u003ci\u003eAssassin's Creed 4: Black Flag\u003c\/i\u003e) is a debut sci-fi novel that fuses cyber-noir, psychological suspense, and high-concept speculation in a breakneck search for truth inside a utopian metaverse on the verge of collapse\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn a world where virtual addiction kills, Kennedy Stark is paid to pull the plug. A professional halter--part detective, part counselor--he trawls the world's darkest surrogate-reality feeds in search of the lost. When he isn't working, he's dreaming of a one-way ticket to Mars, where a new colony has been established as a hopeful alternative to an Earth in the early stages of climate collapse. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e One evening, after a botched rescue attempt, a mysterious client offers Kennedy a tantalizing new case: brilliant software engineer Delia Walsh, who Kennedy fell in love with years ago, has disappeared inside a surrogate reality project called The Forum. Entering under an assumed identity, Kennedy finds a simulation unlike any other. The Forum bills itself as a tool for cutting-edge scientific research and radical philosophical investigations, but the signs of its corruption are everywhere. As Kennedy investigates, he learns Delia had been working on a new simulation that could upend The Forum's primary purpose, and that even in this prurient playground for the super wealthy, the dangers are very real. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBrimming with black humor, hardboiled attitude, and a cast of endearing misfits lost in brittle fantasies, \u003ci\u003eThe Halter\u003c\/i\u003e introduces a charismatic detective and heralds a unique and assured new voice in sci-fi crime.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-13: 9798895150887\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: McDevitt, Darby\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Diversion Books\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Diversion Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Feb 2026)","offer_id":46081799323845,"sku":"9798895150887","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9798895150887.jpg?v=1776049554","url":"https:\/\/www.inveni.store\/products\/the-halter","provider":"Inveni","version":"1.0","type":"link"}