The Twisted Die: A Sci-Fi Noir Mystery Adventure

by Elliott Scott

Dodge lightning, battle an army of clones, or get held up at gunpoint by an octopus.Who says Neotopia is the only fun city on Earth?Hurled into the Federalist occupied city of Boonhole, Felix stumbles onto a body just as he decides to lay low. Unable to resist the case, he gets sucked into the murder of Crick Straits. A lowly clone among the hundreds of thousands of Derek copies being pumped out by the Federalists.Who cares about one measly clone?Apparently, a lot of people—most of them trigger-happy. Felix must navigate the treacherous landscape of Boonhole to solve the case and ignite a spark of truth in a city ready to blow.Can he uncover the truth before the shadowy forces lurking in Boonhole silence him forever?

536 pages, Paperback

Published April 12, 2024

About the author

Elliott Scott read Neuromancer when he was fourteen and has been hooked on Science Fiction and Cyberpunk ever since. Then mysteries like The Big Sleep found a permanent home in his brain.

He spends most of his days reading and rambling about the Singularity. When he can't find anyone to listen to him he writes. Terms of Service is his first full length novel, and he plans to write until the sun explodes or until there is no ink left to print on Earth--whichever comes first.

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Reviews

[TaniaRina · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Just another Derek’

Dereks = Borg or Stormtroopers?
A gaggle, a murder, an economy?
Don’t allow any crime – don’t fight each other.
Whiskey versus smoothie – why is that even a question?

Bio-ethics of cloning and/or duplication
‘Remove dangerous technology from circulation’ and put it to its intended use (e.g. seed cloning for agriculture)


Some sage advice from the author:
‘Don’t pi$$ in the General’s oatmeal.’
Tech to protect sex workers
Therapist or confession booth
‘ray gun-toting octopus’

Sometimes, the best payback is jalapeños.

Fave quote:
‘Lady, I’m so used to being over my head that I could design snorkels.’

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another action-packed, near-future, dystopian noir murder mystery solved by Felix (B)lasko, PI. This book functions perfectly well as a stand-alone, but there's a lot of references and nuance you won't get if you haven't read the previous books. The investigation in this story comes to a satisfying conclusion, while the back-story of Felix's father, the CoC, spooks, and Ayo is moved forward by one notch. Mr. Scott better keep on writing at this highly prolific rate, because we need to develop that whole story eventually! Felix is the same charming protagonist, though a bit more self-confident with some experience under his belt. No sooner does he crash land in Boonhole, he stumbles into a murder, and is immediately hired to investigate. That would seem unlikely, but it's hinted that the key players are not fooled by Felix's very thin alias of Blasko, and he is granted respect or at least consideration accordingly. He proceeds to charge into the investigation under full steam, generating more action in the first 25% of the book than most have in entirety. The characters he runs into are all really interesting and unique, with enough psychology thrown in with the action to make them likeable, even though more than a few of them try to kill him. A very fun and enjoyable read, and I'll be watching to find out what Felix gets into next!