Vicarious

By: Rhett C. Bruno

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Katherine McNamara

Award-winning performers Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Big Bang Theory, and Ready Player One audiobook) and Katherine McNamara (Shadowhunters, The Stand, CW’s Arrow) bring this mind-bending, deeply imagined sci-fi tale to life.

The real world is only where you breathe....

In High Earth, digital entertainment is everything. Shows. Virtual worlds. Simulations - there’s something for everybody in a city where working for a living has been rendered obsolete by technological advancements. Even a short walk outside to visit with others is no longer necessary. Just load into the network and you can be with anyone, anywhere.

For Asher Reinhart, nothing compares to Ignis; a live reality show that pushes human beings to their very extremes. As a volunteer director, Asher closely monitors the lives of those living on an interstellar ark, believing they're the last of humanity.

But when it's determined that the life of the show’s brightest star, Mission, must be put in danger to boost declining ratings, Asher is forced to choose: the show he loves or the woman whose existence has been the focus of his attention since the day he was born.

From number-one Audible best-selling author and Nebula Award nominee Rhett C. Bruno comes a story about the power of human connection. The Truman Show meets Ready Player One in a novel perfect for fans of Hugh Howey, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Michael Crichton.

©2021 Rhett C. Bruno (P)2021 Podium Audio

Critic reviews

"This perceptive take on the reality-TV-in-the-future premise deserves boffo ratings" (Kirkus Reviews)

"A truly unique sci-fi experience...Mission's story is both heartbreaking and triumphant, and the growth Asher shows from start to finish blew me away." (Nicholas Sansbury Smith, NYT best-selling author of Hell Divers)

“Vicarious is 2001: A Space Odyssey meets The Truman Show. A riveting take on man’s inhumanity to man". (Scott Sigler, number one New York Times best-selling Author of Earthcore)

Got me right away

From chapter one Vicarious hooked me, it’s an engrossing and immersive story with superb narration, really love the way male and female characters are portrayed and I’m already itching for more

Slightly predictable, but worth it!

As a big fan of Ready Player One & Two, I thought this was worth the listen. It was slightly predictable at times and has plenty of opportunities to unpack the characters further. Despite that, I enjoyed this one and would recommend to those readers/listeners who like the single volume novels. The summary of ‘Truman meets Ready Player One’ was spot on. You should listen!

Awesome World, not a great story

I was really excited for this one and was pretty intrigued at the start. But I reached a point when I realized I didn’t really care for the Mission character and therefore the rest of what happened didn’t matter. Which is such a bummer because this whole world is such a cool idea. I think Will is a great narrator and loved the sections he narrated but the female narrator drove me nuts. She has this husky whisper way of talking which became grating. I think is part of the reason I didn’t like Mission, I found her annoying.

Slow start, but once it picks up it hooks you in

I almost gave up on this book, the first three chapters really didn't keep my attention. Luckily I was listening while I worked so I kept trudging through. Once the fourth chapter hit it took off and I couldn't focus after. Great story, amazing characters, amazing naration, worth the read

immersive and unexpected

in reading this book I was immediately enthralled with the storyline. The narrators are so starkly different from one another and their cadences in the way that they present their characters. it makes you wonder how they are involved with one another and what the ending will entail. I rode the waves expecting and hoping for the perfect Hollywood ending. and without ruining anything it was nothing that I expected but everything was exactly as it should have been. The world was a strange mixture of raw carnality and high-tech corruption. I've read many sci-fi books and this one was different than all the rest. it was a wonderful read as I was doing data entry and I would suggest it to anybody who enjoys beautiful storytelling.