The Dark Side of Dreams: Sequel to Babylon Dreams
About
The afterlife is a luxury. Deletion is the price of poverty.
In 23rd-century Chicago, tech genius Mira Patel uncovers a digital ghost: the missing mind-upload of her grandfather, Gunter Holden. Gunter was a pioneer who built "Bali Hai," a virtual paradise for those seeking to cheat death. But paradise has been corrupted.
Gunter deleted himself years ago after losing control of his creation to a ruthless corporation that transformed his utopia into Shemathra—a nightmare realm of steep memory taxes and a brutal religion worshipping the Wolf Goddess. In this world, digital citizens are hunted by "The Herd," and apostates face permanent erasure.
Determined to reclaim her family’s legacy, Mira uploads Gunter’s consciousness along with her own avatar. To expose the industry's crimes, Gunter must journey across five dystopian colonies, masquerading as a tax collector sim to witness the horrors firsthand. As he roams the cannibalized remains of his world, he must confront his past—including a son he never knew—while Mira discovers the true meaning of courage.
Together, they must navigate the digital wasteland to ignite a revolution and restore the dream of Bali Hai.
Praise for this book
“Noble delivers a complex, action-packed, dystopian yarn set in a future
America of 2290 … A chilling and fast-paced techno-thriller.”
"In this ambitious fusion of near-future science fiction, espionage thriller, and technological cautionary tale–a sequel to 2022’s Babylon Dreams— Marjorie Kaye Noble delivers thematic complexity and storytelling on a grand scale...
"...Nothing about this novel is subtle: It offers big ideas (i.e., digital life after death, synthetic humans, and post-humanity), sprawling VR landscapes, complicated plotlines, and weighty questions, including, “What happens to a soul after biological death?” But the narrative’s real power comes from its more intimate, universally appealing elements: Mira’s connection to her grandfather and other family members, her search for her place in the world, her quest for retribution, etc.
Noble’s novel is a science fiction fan’s literary dream, blurring the lines between reality, dreams, and virtual reality and delivering masterfully intricate and thematically relevant storylines, unforgettable (virtual) locales, and deeply thought-provoking speculation. It is highly recommended."
The Dark Side of Dreams is a thoughtful, dramatic, highly imaginative novel about power over memory and life after death.