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Drive A
"The author impresses with his gift for invention . . . It’s Philip K. Dick for the TikTok generation—timely and terrifying."--Kirkus
In the near-future world of Drive A, people can sell up to 49% of themselves in IPOs to cover expenses like tuition, medical insurance and housing payments—all of which have become largely unaffordable for the middle and working classes. Cable Rostenfarm did so when he was twelve to escape a deteriorating, nightmarish public school system, and now works as an analyst for a human capital hedge fund, Navarium, that buys and short sells other people. His first activist assignment is Traeger Logan, a disillusioned livestreaming star, who went public himself to avoid a medical bankruptcy, and who recently had a high rise jumping suicide attempt thwarted by a proactive group of his fans. Cable and his colleagues are tasked with rehabilitating Traeger, growing his subscriber base and increasing shareholder value. Cable’s high sincerity and trustworthiness scores are initially instrumental in convincing Traeger to go along with the make over. However, when they start falling, and Traeger’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Cable realizes there might be deeper pockets than his own on the other side of the trade.
In the near-future world of Drive A, people can sell up to 49% of themselves in IPOs to cover expenses like tuition, medical insurance and housing payments—all of which have become largely unaffordable for the middle and working classes. Cable Rostenfarm did so when he was twelve to escape a deteriorating, nightmarish public school system, and now works as an analyst for a human capital hedge fund, Navarium, that buys and short sells other people. His first activist assignment is Traeger Logan, a disillusioned livestreaming star, who went public himself to avoid a medical bankruptcy, and who recently had a high rise jumping suicide attempt thwarted by a proactive group of his fans. Cable and his colleagues are tasked with rehabilitating Traeger, growing his subscriber base and increasing shareholder value. Cable’s high sincerity and trustworthiness scores are initially instrumental in convincing Traeger to go along with the make over. However, when they start falling, and Traeger’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Cable realizes there might be deeper pockets than his own on the other side of the trade.
584 pages, Paperback
Published May 28, 2023
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January 7, 2026
This is almost certainly the best self-published novel I've ever read. Some parts are a little clunky, but mostly, it's like Edith Wharton for the mid-21st century. Graves understands San Francisco better than it understands itself.
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