From award-winning, New York Times bestselling novelist Ben H. Winters comes a mind-bending novel set in a world governed by absolute truth, where lies are as dangerous as murder.
In a strange alternate society that values law and truth above all else, Laszlo Ratesic is a nineteen-year veteran of the Speculative Service. He lives in the Golden State, a nation standing where California once did, a place where like-minded Americans retreated after the erosion of truth and the spread of lies made public life and governance impossible.
In the Golden State, knowingly contradicting the truth is the greatest crime -- and stopping those crimes is Laz's job. In its service, he is one of the few individuals permitted to harbor untruths, to "speculate" on what might have happened.
But the Golden State is less of a paradise than its name might suggest. To monitor, verify, and enforce the truth requires a veritable panopticon of surveillance and recording. And when those in control of the facts twist them for nefarious means, the Speculators are the only ones with the power to fight back.
Download and start listening now!
"Once again, Ben H. Winters creates a world cleverly skewed a few crucial degrees from our own. . . . Winters is well aware of the tropes of dystopian noir, and it is fun to watch him mix and match them to good effect. . . . The detective plot works well, but it is in its questioning of the nature of truth and falsehood that the novel excels. . . . Smart, intricate and propulsive, Golden State is proof that Winters deserves our continued attention as one of crime fiction's most inventive practitioners."
— San Francisco Chronicle
“The engaging detective story…melds elements of noir, cop procedurals, political thrillers, and speculative sci-fi…[in] a fascinating examination that takes fidelity and correctness down a freaky Orwellian path.”
— USA Today“Winters has a knack for creating appealing detective fictions that skew reality in thought-provoking ways.”
— Washington Post“An entertaining new take on the venerable genre-blending of noir and science fiction.”
— Los Angeles Review of Books“Winters always finds a way to get at a larger truth about our present even as he plays games with what we consider to be an acceptable form of reality, and his new work is sure to delight in the science fiction and crime worlds.”
— Literary Hub“A skillful and swift-moving concoction…For those who like their dystopias with a dash of humor. No lie.”
— Kirkus Reviews“Thought-provoking, genre-bending…[and] keeps readers flipping pages.”
— Booklist“Kiff VandenHeuvel’s nuanced narration elevates this dystopian thriller, drawing listeners into Winters’s futuristic vision of California…This inventive tale of disillusionment is sure to intrigue listeners.”
— AudioFile“Golden State grabs notions of disinformation and literalism and brilliantly turns them on their head to see what falls from their pockets.”
— James Sallis, author of Drive, the ineffable language of public life performs a subtle kind of trick, marking out what makes a particular imagined universe different and — simultaneously, paradoxically — rendering it utterly, often chillingly, familiar.
— New York TimesAt a time in the real world when everybody seems to own their version of the truth and phrases like "alternative facts" are used to cover falsehoods, Golden State is, no lie, a fascinating examination that takes fidelity and correctness down a freaky Orwellian path.
— USA TodayWinters has a knack for creating appealing detective fictions that skew reality in thought-provoking ways, producing a hybrid of the familiar and the uncanny. . . . As you read, you feel your perception of the world slipping and warping. Winters brilliantly imagines the quotidian manifestations of a truth-obsessed culture.
— Washington PostMr. Winters has won major awards in both the mystery and speculative-fiction genres. The brain-teasing Golden State exists in a space where those two forms coexist. As a consequence, a sympathetic reader's imaginings may persist long after the book's puzzles have been solved.
— Wall Street JournalNothing speaks to the power of a weapon like it inspiring a work of speculative fiction, and Ben H. Winter's Golden State is the dystopian take on the new tool of war du jour: lies.
— Paste Magazine, 'One of the Best Books of January'In Golden State, Winters has fashioned a wry commentary on our current era of fake news.
— The Guardian [UK]An entertaining new take on the venerable genre-blending of noir and science fiction.
— The Los Angeles Review of BooksLike any good dystopian yarn,Golden State shows . . . how any organization or government can warp good intentions into truly harmful ones.
— The VergeAn entertaining, unpredictable read."—Financial Times
A perfectly poised ontological-thriller-comedy-dystopian-allegorical-page-turner, yet with tenderly real characters in its chewy center, this turned out to be just the thing I was looking for.
— Jonathan LethemNot many writers would take on Orwell, Ray Bradbury, the nature of truth, and the current administration all at a blow. Big shoes to fill--and they fit Ben H. Winters just fine. Golden State grabs notions of disinformation and literalism and brilliantly turns them on their head to see what falls from their pockets.
— James Sallis, author of DriveGolden State is a prescient, devastating commentary on humanity's disintegrating attachment to reality and truth, expertly told through the prism of a police-procedural, dystopian nightmare. Winters has written a 1984 for the 21st century. Not just a thrilling book, but an important one.
— Blake Crouch, author of Dark Matter'Golden State' is science fiction at its finest, a propulsive narrative filled with complex ideas that are expressed by engaging characters who occupy a rich and detailed world."—The Maine Edge
an ambitious and frighteningly timely novel.
— The Nerd Daily"Golden State is a gripping and brainy page-turner. . . . Winters is especially good at keeping his readers off-balance. Not even his biggest fans will see some of the twists and turns he's built into this, his best book yet.
— Library Journal, starred reviewThought-provoking, genre-bending . . . Winters seems to have a real affection for unusually compelling premises. Another fine novel from a writer whose imagination knows no bounds.
— BooklistA skillful and swift-moving concoction . . . For those who like their dystopias with a dash of humor. No lie.
— KirkusWinters is an expert at combining social commentary with gripping mystery plots, and the novel never slows down enough to be accused of didacticism. With rich characters, frequent twists and tense set pieces, Winters always nails the hardboiled basics.
— Shelf Awareness, starred reviewsThis near-future thriller by Edgar winner Winters is likely to provoke discussion.
— Publishers WeeklyAnother fine novel from a writer whose imagination knows no bounds.
— BooklistBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Ben H. Winters is the author of World of Trouble, the concluding book in the Last Policeman trilogy. The second book, Countdown City, was an NPR Best Book of 2013 and the winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for Distinguished Science Fiction. The Last Policeman was the recipient of the 2012 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.
Kiff VandenHeuvel, voice talent and audiobook narrator, is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is an alumni of the Second City comedy theater. He is an accomplished improviser and sketch comedy director, and he teaches voice-over, improv, and directing at Second City Hollywood. He has appeared in hundreds of television and radio commercials and is well known in the video game community as the voice of Zachary Hale Comstock in Bioshock: Infinite.