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Unreality #8
Maze: The Hunt for Freddy Bills
There is no escape. There never was.
Freddy Bills is retired. Back in the day, he was fishing people out of unreality tanks and pulling needles from their heads. That was when it was against the law. Now everyone is doing it, including him. In fact, he dreamstitches unrealities for droppers to ride. He's one of the best. His plans were to fade into retirement, just him and his dog.
That was before someone from his past appeared.
A string of clues leads him to dig up a past long buried and forgotten. As evidence mounts, he learns the truth about the Maze and it’s true purpose. There’s no escaping his past or future. He was destined to solve the Maze.
He just has to figure out why.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 13, 2019
About the author
Tony Bertauski
76 books773 followersGet my books FREE. Tell me where to send them at http://bertauski.com
He grew up in the Midwest where the land is flat and the corn is tall. The winters are bleak and cold. He hated winters.
He always wanted to write. But writing was hard. And he wasn’t very disciplined. The cold had nothing to do with that, but it didn’t help. That changed in grad school.
After several attempts at a proposal, his major advisor was losing money on red ink and advised him to figure it out. Somehow, he did.
After grad school, he and his wife and two very little children moved to the South in Charleston, South Carolina where the winters are spring and the summers are a sauna (cliche but dead on accurate). That’s when he started teaching and writing articles for trade magazines. He eventually published two textbooks on landscape design. He then transitioned to writing a column for the Post and Courier. They were all great gigs, but they weren’t fiction.
That was a few years later.
His daughter started reading before she could read, pretending she knew the words in books she propped on her lap. His son was a different story. In an attempt to change that, he began writing a story with him. They made up a character, gave him a name, and something to do. As with much of parenting, it did not go as planned. But the character got stuck in his head.
He wanted out.
A few years later, Socket Greeny was born. It was a science fiction trilogy that was gritty and thoughtful. That was 2005.
He has been practicing Zen since he was 23 years old. A daily meditator, he wants to instill something meaningful in his stories that appeals to a young adult crowd as well as adult. Think Hunger Games. He hadn’t planned to write fiction, didn’t even know if he had anymore stories in him after Socket Greeny.
Turns out he did.
He grew up in the Midwest where the land is flat and the corn is tall. The winters are bleak and cold. He hated winters.
He always wanted to write. But writing was hard. And he wasn’t very disciplined. The cold had nothing to do with that, but it didn’t help. That changed in grad school.
After several attempts at a proposal, his major advisor was losing money on red ink and advised him to figure it out. Somehow, he did.
After grad school, he and his wife and two very little children moved to the South in Charleston, South Carolina where the winters are spring and the summers are a sauna (cliche but dead on accurate). That’s when he started teaching and writing articles for trade magazines. He eventually published two textbooks on landscape design. He then transitioned to writing a column for the Post and Courier. They were all great gigs, but they weren’t fiction.
That was a few years later.
His daughter started reading before she could read, pretending she knew the words in books she propped on her lap. His son was a different story. In an attempt to change that, he began writing a story with him. They made up a character, gave him a name, and something to do. As with much of parenting, it did not go as planned. But the character got stuck in his head.
He wanted out.
A few years later, Socket Greeny was born. It was a science fiction trilogy that was gritty and thoughtful. That was 2005.
He has been practicing Zen since he was 23 years old. A daily meditator, he wants to instill something meaningful in his stories that appeals to a young adult crowd as well as adult. Think Hunger Games. He hadn’t planned to write fiction, didn’t even know if he had anymore stories in him after Socket Greeny.
Turns out he did.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 11, 2020
Ha ha ha! I thought I had this one sussed out after getting lost halfway through. I was right in one respect, only to have my basis for this totally blown away by yet another twist of the plot. If you are familiar with Tony Bertauski, you know that you need your A game when you read his books, but get fully immersed in his complex worlds and layers of plots. SO, book 2 of the Maze Trilogy - Thank you to the author for my ARC for this review - much appreciated...
The events from book 1 are 50 years in the past, and Freddy Bills is a little more jaded and about to get thrown into a complex investigation into illegal practices involving reality jumping, World creation and a whole heap of mind spinning events that will fry your brain. I love that other series are starting to merge into this one - Foreverland appeared in book one, and the Halfskin series comes into play now too. There is so much to take in, you have to read it to appreciate the sheer scale of imagination involved. Add to this the descriptive elements of some cityscapes (a hybrid blend of 'Metropolis' by Fritz Lang and 'The Wall' by Pink Floyd, and your own creativity kicks in to confuse you even more. You will be certain that the narrative is in the real world, only to then discover that it is a dream, within a dream, within a fictional reality. The psychological aspect of what is real is addressed to great effect throughout this book and is very well thought out. I actually distracted myself several times by comparing the narrative to metaphors for events in the past and present and lost track completely of where I was. A series worth every second of your time that you won't just read, you will experience it too.
The events from book 1 are 50 years in the past, and Freddy Bills is a little more jaded and about to get thrown into a complex investigation into illegal practices involving reality jumping, World creation and a whole heap of mind spinning events that will fry your brain. I love that other series are starting to merge into this one - Foreverland appeared in book one, and the Halfskin series comes into play now too. There is so much to take in, you have to read it to appreciate the sheer scale of imagination involved. Add to this the descriptive elements of some cityscapes (a hybrid blend of 'Metropolis' by Fritz Lang and 'The Wall' by Pink Floyd, and your own creativity kicks in to confuse you even more. You will be certain that the narrative is in the real world, only to then discover that it is a dream, within a dream, within a fictional reality. The psychological aspect of what is real is addressed to great effect throughout this book and is very well thought out. I actually distracted myself several times by comparing the narrative to metaphors for events in the past and present and lost track completely of where I was. A series worth every second of your time that you won't just read, you will experience it too.
March 13, 2019
Wow. That was. Wow. This book is as if Stephen King wrote Ready Player One. Horrifically fascinating. I was in able to put it down each chapter revealing a new twisted aspect to the story. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!
March 13, 2019
I received an ARC and the opinions and views are mine. There are numerous plot twists in this book. You have to figure out what is a dream and what is real. Right to the end it keeps you guessing. I was unable to put this book down. Definitely worth reading.
March 13, 2019
Totally loved this. You need to concentrate when reading as it is a complex, nuanced book like few others but it is so worth your time. Excellent characters weave thru a truly amazing world. This author (and his imagination) never disappoint !!
March 9, 2019
A wild ride of a novel with many twists and turns that left me guessing even up to the very end! The ending surprised me because I had thought I had everything figured out! Such an interesting and unsettling view of the future!
March 5, 2019
What an intriguing story. Have to figure out reality and fiction. Total full of action. Hoping there’s more.
February 20, 2019
Very trippy.An action packed page turner that will blow your mind.Very surreal.
March 14, 2019
I received an ARC and the opinions and views are mine. "Maybe this was a dream". There are many plot twists in this book. You have to discover what is a dream and what is real. Right to the end it keeps you guessing. A wonderful SciFi thriller. See what happens when unreality meets reality. I would recommend this book.
September 13, 2019
( Format : Audiobook )
"There is no escape."
An astonishing book, which takes the reader on acrobatic mental rides through time and - what? - place? Cyberspace? Dimension? Reality? Beliefs? Yup all of these at the very least. Confusing at first, stick with it: it is very much well worth it. To give further story information would destroy the exhilarating effect.
The text is dazzling, at times quite beautiful ('a gossamer thread connecting each one of them'), tactile (''Shadows turned dark and sticky'), or scary ('The hunger inhaled bowler hat after bowler hat'). The ideas behind the story will leave the reader pondering long after the book is concluded. It is a must read. The narration delivered by A.J.Carter is, in every way but one, superb. He reads as if he fully understands every part of the book as It is encountered, not an easy task always, and so assists the reader to understand, also. His speech is fluent, well paced, well intoned and his individual voicing of the several protagonists is exceptional. But there is a downturn in his voice which at least initially, makes the experience slightly depressing to the ear. This goes away after the earlier chapters, or becomes integrated into the listener's involvement (not sure which). Overall, a great performance, and only one repeating editing glitch noted.
Tony Bertauski is an innovative author with the writing ability to back his ideas to give an exciting and profoundly new look at life, as befits a superb science fiction writer. Recommended to everyone who cares to take a leap into their own minds and the familiarity of the unknown.
"There is no escape."
An astonishing book, which takes the reader on acrobatic mental rides through time and - what? - place? Cyberspace? Dimension? Reality? Beliefs? Yup all of these at the very least. Confusing at first, stick with it: it is very much well worth it. To give further story information would destroy the exhilarating effect.
The text is dazzling, at times quite beautiful ('a gossamer thread connecting each one of them'), tactile (''Shadows turned dark and sticky'), or scary ('The hunger inhaled bowler hat after bowler hat'). The ideas behind the story will leave the reader pondering long after the book is concluded. It is a must read. The narration delivered by A.J.Carter is, in every way but one, superb. He reads as if he fully understands every part of the book as It is encountered, not an easy task always, and so assists the reader to understand, also. His speech is fluent, well paced, well intoned and his individual voicing of the several protagonists is exceptional. But there is a downturn in his voice which at least initially, makes the experience slightly depressing to the ear. This goes away after the earlier chapters, or becomes integrated into the listener's involvement (not sure which). Overall, a great performance, and only one repeating editing glitch noted.
Tony Bertauski is an innovative author with the writing ability to back his ideas to give an exciting and profoundly new look at life, as befits a superb science fiction writer. Recommended to everyone who cares to take a leap into their own minds and the familiarity of the unknown.
March 14, 2019
This is the 2nd book in the post-apocalyptic, dystopia series called The Maze and it is one of the most disturbing books I have ever read! It has left me reeling and still not knowing what is real and what is a dream in this life we are living. It portrays a terrifying reality where people are living out one another’s dreams and where drones, empty plastic shells are living imbued with the life energy of those who lived before they were created and these empty shells work and obey orders relayed to them without question! They show no emotions at all and if any one of them did something considered out of line it was immediately discarded and melted down into its basic component of plastic to be re-used. Scary, as it depicts a future where citizens are so alienated from their reality that they are ready to accept everything and obey unconditionally! Many citizens today already live alienated lives, believing all they are shown by the media and told by their Governments, working like zombies till their dying day. Is this a future we are looking at in our own reality? Wow Tony Bertauski you managed to leave me dumbfounded with this novel which I am sure readers who are more in the know re the sci-fi genre will appreciate and understand and read more into than I am sure I could!
April 10, 2020
I called Maze: The Waking Of Grey Grimm, the first book in this series, a ‘Mind Bending Tale That Asks What Is Real?’ and I could say the same for The Hunt For Freddy Bills. The difference with this book though is the questioning of not only what is real but what is life, what is belief, and essentially what makes us who we are? The story starts off feeling a little confusing but is worth the pay-off when it all comes together. I’ll not say any more on the story as it’s a complex tale that could be ruined by revealing any of the plot. Tony Bertauski's writing is imaginative, creating vivid images with beautiful phrasing that altogether makes for a wonderfully entertaining story. I enjoyed this book as much as the first, which left me wanting more of it’s world, so naturally this second instalment has left me feeling the same way. Let’s hope Mr Bertauski has another in the works soon.
March 14, 2019
The Hunt For Freddy Bills is the second novel in Tony Bertauski's series about the Maze. Just like the first book, it is necessary to forget all preconceptions about who is who, just what they are doing and why, and even whether they are even real. This does, of course, mean that it is not an easy read, but because it is brilliantly thought out and executed (something Mr Bertauski excels at), it claims your attention and keeps you on your toes. Plot twists abound and you are kept guessing. Definitely recommended for fans of technological sci-fi.
I received an ARC review copy from the writer and this is my own honest opinion.
I received an ARC review copy from the writer and this is my own honest opinion.
June 21, 2022
I liked book 2, but I didn't think it was as good as book one. Book 2 started out strong and I settled down to enjoy it as much as book 1, but the switching back and forth between the points of view of the various characters got very convoluted, and because of that the story lost some of its impact. I do think it was a fascinating story, but it wasn't as good as the first one. A. J. Carter's narration was good, and he kept my attention. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.
January 28, 2020
I was given this Audible book for free and am reviewing it. I listened to book 1 first and to be honest was lost throughout most of book, this is the continuation. Though I finally understood the storyline I still kept getting lost as the narrative changed from character to character. found the basic idea behind story interesting and wish I understood it better. I think this is quite a Deep Though type of book with much to think on.
May 1, 2019
Worth reading
I first went down Bertauski's particular rabbit hole with Maze: The Waking of Grey Grimm. At once I knew I would have to read everything he ever wrote. I'm well on my way.
I particularly enjoy Bertauski's quest to figure out what is real, what is dream. I very much enjoy the Zen of his books. I find myself a better person after reading any of his books.
I first went down Bertauski's particular rabbit hole with Maze: The Waking of Grey Grimm. At once I knew I would have to read everything he ever wrote. I'm well on my way.
I particularly enjoy Bertauski's quest to figure out what is real, what is dream. I very much enjoy the Zen of his books. I find myself a better person after reading any of his books.
August 1, 2019
Once again Bertauski has enchanted me. What I love best about his novels is they aren't predictable and the stories are truly unique and well-written.
This story kept me reading til the sun came up and I regretted having to put it down. The main character is complex an the layers were fun to witness being unravelled.
This story kept me reading til the sun came up and I regretted having to put it down. The main character is complex an the layers were fun to witness being unravelled.
August 4, 2019
My review is based on the audiobook. It is hard to explain the mind trip this book takes you on - trust me you need to read it yourself. It is hard to distinguish where reality/unreality/dream occur through out. The twists and turns are ones you don't see coming. I am very intrigued to read more from this Author.
January 19, 2020
"On what a web we weave......"
Read Maze:... In 2 days. Couldn't stop. Hurry, Tony. I need more. Scared to close my eyes for a nap. Will I awaken, and if so , Where?
Thanks for the trip.
Read Maze:... In 2 days. Couldn't stop. Hurry, Tony. I need more. Scared to close my eyes for a nap. Will I awaken, and if so , Where?
Thanks for the trip.
July 29, 2019
Another great book!
I've read all of Tony's unreality books and loved them all. Foreverland to the Halfskins, the whole saga is interconnected and a great read.
I've read all of Tony's unreality books and loved them all. Foreverland to the Halfskins, the whole saga is interconnected and a great read.
November 3, 2020
I found this story a bit confusing. Did not flow as well as book 1. Although still a good read.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews