Zed

2020 | Crime | Mystery | Science Fiction/Fantasy

A blistering, Satirical Novel about life under a global media and tech corporation that knows exactly what we think, what we want, and what we do- before we do
Mega-corporation Beetle and its infallible predictive algorithm have already guided society to be the best, most blissful and productive version of itself. Now about those minor glitches you may have heard of...no to mention this mysterious anomaly called "Zed".
Self-aniointed guru of the digital age, Guy Matthias, CEO of Beetle, is one of the world's most powerful and influential figures. Untaxed and unregulated, his multinational empire operates far beyond the control of any government or law. Guy's controlled world is thrown into a perfect storm of unpredictability when a National Anti-Terrorism and Security Office agent starts investigating the unforeseen death of a lowly Beetle employee. Suddenly, Guy's wife want to leave him because of his serial infidelites, and his children want nothing to do with him. Beetle's all-powerful algorithm along with its entire catalog of self-driving cars, phones, and AI assistants are growing more and more unstable, leading to more troublesome deaths, which are probing difficult to cover up. despite Betle's owning the free press (and the journalists), malicious rumors are starting to grow, as is the ominous presence of the disruptive hacker known as Gogol. And Guy still needs to close his game-changeing deal with China, before he is stabbed in the back.
Dazzlingly original and darkly comic, Zed asks profound questions about who we are, what we owe to one another, and what makes us human. It describes our monet-- the truth and the artifice--perfectly. Kavenna is a prophet who has seen deeply into the present-- and thrown back her head and laughed.

Joanna Kavenna (Author)