Absynthe
Inception meets Metropolis, by way of The Great Gatsby, in a deco-punk tale of unchecked technology, and the unforeseen costs of utopia.
The Great War has been over for years, and a brave new world forged. Technology has delivered the future promised at the turn of the century: automata provide, monorail trains flash between mega-cities, medicine is nothing short of magical.
Liam grew up poor, but now working for one of the richest families in Chicago, he reaps the benefits of his friendship with the family's son and heir. That's why he's at Club Artemis. It's a palace of art-deco delights and debauchery, filled to bursting with the rich and beautiful – and tonight they're all drinking one thing. Absynthe. The green liquor rumoured to cause hallucinations, madness, even death.
While the gilded youth sip the viridescent liquid, their brave new world is crumbling beneath its perfect surface. Their absynthe is no mere folly. Some it kills, others it transforms. But in Liam something different has taken place. A veil has lifted and he can see the world without its illusion – and it isn't the perfect world the government want the people to believe.
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Brendan Bellecourt
A pseudonym of Bradley P. Beaulieu.
Brendan Bellecourt began writing his first fantasy novel in college, but in the way of these things, it was set aside as life intervened. As time went on, though, Brendan realized that his love of writing and telling tales wasn't going to just slink quietly into the night. He has written nine novels, two collections and countless short stories since then. He also runs the highly successful science fiction and fantasy podcast, Speculate.