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Joshua Mertz’s Universe of Writings.
Machine Dreams
A dark dystopian thriller
in the cyberpunk tradition.
The book that started it all. Joshua's first novel. Inspired by William Gibson's cyberpunk subgenre and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, among other influences, Machine Dreams is a fevered exploration of a dystopian future dominated by multinational corporate powers that increasingly marginalize the mass of humanity.
Set in the hyper-dense fray of the San Frangeles megalopolis, this action-packed thriller pits Anson Hockney, a street shark with a knack for hiding and retrieving valuable information, against the corporations bent on control of a stunning new biotech development.
Paid handsomely to hide an aging technocrat's boy toy, Anson finds himself swept up into something he didn't bargain for—and recovering something vital he'd forgotten he lost.
Out of print since shortly after its release in 2001, Machine Dreams now makes its triumphant return to the world of fiction with this reprint based on the original digital files.
On its debut, Library Journal said,
"This fast-paced high-tech novel set in the near future belongs in most s-f collections."
ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards gave it
1st Place in Science Fiction.
Read the first few pages (.pdf)