Welles Lang's Magic Box: A Promethean Tale of a Megalomaniacal Cinematic Auteur

by Randall Moore

“Moore has created an entrancing cautionary tale of what happens when technology outpaces society's ethical boundaries for it.” — Kirkus Reviews

All of Hollywood's top actors are dying for a role in the genius auteur, Welles Lang's latest production. Little do they know they may get their wish.
Imagine a completely immersive world of entertainment where the sets and the actors exist in three dimensions, beyond virtual reality without need for any other device other than your own eyes, not only sight and sound, but aromas and tactile senses as well. Welles Lang employs technology that allows him to record and playback the performance of a living actor, but not only the performance, the performer’s soul as well. He is driven mad by the side effect that makes him feel as though he is a God: death and control. Unsatisfied by the actors he’s absorbed into his machine he continues to kill and control, over and over. He can only be stopped by a corrupted Avatar that exists in both the corporeal and digital worlds.

315 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 30, 2017

About the author

Randall Moore makes Boise, Idaho, his home after living most of his life in Southern California.
He’s a rabid reader and lover of history and peppers his tales, when appropriate, with historical references and strives to make the details as historically accurate and pertinent as possible.
While he has extensive experience writing, whether it’s poetry, personal journals, newspaper articles, or advertising copywriting, he’s always had a soft spot in his heart for fiction. To that end, he began to pour all his energy into writing fiction in 2013. To this date, he has written 32 novels in varying degrees of completion. He’s self-published 17 and published another with Atmosphere Press.
For more information please visit his website at randallmoorefiction.com.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

In the somewhat near future, movies have advanced beyond 3-D into holograms. The best director with the best technology. He is making movies with even newer, better technology, but it seems to kill the actors recorded. The mob has financed the director as well.

Things start getting weird, as nobody seems to know who is dead or alive. Thought provoking.

[Randall Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Moore has created an entrancing cautionary tale of what happens when technology outpaces society's ethical boundaries for it.” — Kirkus Reviews

A fever dream turned nightmare that ultimately morphs into a tale of vengeance and justice.
Riffs on the hunger for fame and the infrastructure of the star-making industry abound. Researching the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel was a treat (search for images of the interior).
I really enjoyed writing detailed scenes from the movies my mad genius director created and was able to incorporate from recent studies, the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in one of the pictures among many of the other stories. Also high on my pleasure meter was my satire of news reporting and television debates; two issues I've returned to in subsequent novels.
If you stay with it through the end I think you'll find it to be a unique and enjoyable ride. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most fun I have had reading a sci-fi book in I don't know how long. It has everything. Hollywood, murders, madness, "living" avatars and more. It didn't produce any true belly laughs for me, but still there was so much humor in the story. Moore takes everything a couple steps farther, taking the characters over the edge. Very enjoyable read.

[Loretta Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wells Lang, the main character, is an ambitious man who operates a Hollywood production company. Wells desires complete power for himself, without any ethical consideration. To further his own goals, he murders actors and actresses at the height of their careers so they will be forever young and popular, and he can use them digitally in his films. He also works to eliminate people who stand in his way, other movie producers, etc. He starts thinking of himself as a godlike figure who can take over the body and souls of others. In presenting this character, the author makes use of science fiction (avatars and digital worlds), modern technology such as CGI, and elements of time travel and portals. Police detectives, Walker and Martin, began investigating him, and the book moves along in an exciting way, one filled with unexpected twists. Beneath an often playful tone, lies a theme very important to our modern-day society with its ever-widening possibilities that are capable of eliminating independent thought and action. Randall Moore has written a cleverly written and thought provoking novel that is well worth reading.

[Jake Dinwiddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent scifi brought down by some stylistic choices. The story is set 15 minutes into the future, but everyone speaks like they're in a Victorian melodrama, stopping just short of spouting 'thee s' and 'thou s.' Some might find that charming, not everything needs to be naturalistic, I guess.
Less charming are the rote procedurals of people opening car doors, stepping on gravel, walking to doors, turning door knobs, going through doorways, etc. Transitory fluff that should've been cut or given extra flourish to not contrast so hard with the dialogue.
This may be picky, and I didn't say anything about the plot, but it's hard to enjoy the journey when the road is so bumpy.
Still more books than I ever put out, though. So, good on you, Randall Moore.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gave up. The writing made me cringe.