The Devil's Dictionary

by Steven Kotler

Overview

New York Times bestselling author Steven Kotler's follow up to Last Tango in Cyberspace, a near-future thriller about the evolution of empathy in the tradition of William Gibson and Neal Stephenson.

Hard to say exactly when the human species fractured. Harder to say when this new talent arrived. But Lion Zorn, protagonist of Last Tango in Cyberspace, is the first of his kind—an empathy tracker, an emotional forecaster, with a felt sense for how culture evolves and the future arrives.

It’s also a useful skill in today’s competitive business market.

In The Devil’s Dictionary, when a routine em-tracking job goes sideways and em-trackers themselves start disappearing, Lion finds himself not knowing who to trust in a life and death race to uncover the truth. And when the trail leads to the world’s first mega-linkage, a continent-wide national park advertised as the best way to stave off environmental collapse, and exotic animals unlike any on Earth start showing up—Lion’s quest for truth becomes a fight for the survival of the species.

Packed with intrigue and heart-pounding action, marked by unforgettable characters and vivid storytelling, filled with science-based brilliance and cult comic touches, The Devil’s Dictionary is Steven Kotler at his thrilling science fiction best.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250202093
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/19/2022
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,075,568
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

STEVEN KOTLER is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and Founder and Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective. He is the author of over a dozen books, including The Art of Impossible, The Rise of Superman, Abundance, and Bold. His work has been translated into over 50 languages and appeared in over 100 publications, including the New York Times Magazine, Wall Street Journal, TIME, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes.

Editorial Reviews

07/05/2021

Kotler’s earnest hero Lion Zorn gets back to work (after 2019’s Last Tango in Cyberspace) in this action-packed but moralizing techno thriller in which billionaires fight to control the fate of the global ecosystem. Lion, an “empathy tracker” whose sensitivity to individual and social emotions makes him a valuable marketeering tool, is on the trail of two colleagues who vanished after telling him of a new empathy drug, Evo. The case leads Lion into the feud between Sir Richard (his former boss) and a charismatic self-help guru, Chang Zee. Both wealthy men have visions of remaking the world: Sir Richard with a series of restored wilderness “mega-linkages,” Zee by reengineering humanity from the genes up. As more people go missing, Lion has to penetrate Sir Richard’s project and piece together his past connections to Zee to solve the case. Kotler tends to lecture but never quite forgets to keep the plot boiling, whether Lion is dangling over the streets of Seattle or slaloming off cliffs in search of killer flying snakes. Readers with a fondness for nature will appreciate Lion and the sincerity of his quest. Agent: Paul Bresnick, Bresnick Weil Literary. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Filled with action and intrigue, Steven Kotler’s The Devil’s Dictionary is pure cyberpunk weirdness that both thrills and amazes." —Portland Book Review

"This fast-moving SF thriller pops with weirdness and imagination...an engrossing story that will make you both laugh and think. A richly lunatic tale of the future." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"This joyride never loses steam….Kotler puts together a top-notch cyberpunk novel with authority and flair.” —Booklist (starred review)

"[Action-packed]...Readers with a fondness for nature will appreciate Lion and the sincerity of his quest." —Publishers Weekly

“It’s an exceptionally powerful read, with great dialogue; and, despite the tension, I still laughed out loud in multiple places. The premise of an emotion-based near-future sci-fi is also new and exciting. A clear favourite of the year for me.” —Libri Draconis

Praise for Last Tango in Cyberspace:

"Like a cyberpunk version of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, combining associative thought, coincidences, randomness, philosophy, and a case of social outcasts into a very peculiar, yet very immersive, reading experience. It combines the paranoia of Philip K. Dick with the social consciousness of Octavia Butler and the cagey forecasting of Robert J. Sawyer....A marvelously unique novel." —San Francisco Book Review (four stars)

"Both thriller and sf, the latest from Kotler is sure to please....A fascinating read. Highly recommend." —Library Journal (starred review)

"This near-future technothriller is a breezy around-the-world romp for ex-journalist and “empathy-tracker” Lion Zorn.... a fun story with plenty of SF media references for fans to enjoy." —Publishers Weekly

"Kotler crafts an intriguing blend of detective story and social critique.... [He] creates a vivid picture of near-future earth... readers who dig in will find a story that is, at its core, an insightful view on how empathy can connect us to each other and to the living beings that share this planet." —Booklist

"Astounding! I love any book that teaches me about the future and Kotler’s Last Tango is the best I’ve read in a very long time. Incredibly insightful, wildly entertaining, and nearly impossible to put down.” —Peter Diamandis, New York Times bestselling author

“Dazzling! A luminous, diamond-bright thriller of the near future. Sparkling with empathy, packed with wit, and overflowing with catch-your-breath insights into the human condition. I wish I’d written this myself.” —Ramez Naam, Philip K Dick Award-winning author

“With a sharp cyberpunk mind and an empaths’ soul, Last Tango gives us a believable near-future and a story you won’t be able to stop reading. I inhaled in one gulp. Bravo!” —R.U. Sirius, writer, editor, talk show host, musician, and co-founder of Mondo 2000

"Some books give you a peek into what the future may hold, but Last Tango holds you down, tapes your eyes open, and blasts the doors off. More fun than used to be legal in many states.” —Joshua Klein, Hacker, Host of National Geographic’s The Link, Author, and Consultant

"A hardboiled tour-de-force, Kotler’s Last Tango blends sparkling prose, compelling characters, and underline-able insights into a gritty sci-fi epic that balances at the precipice of light and dark.” —Neil Strauss, nine-time New York Times bestselling author

From the Publisher

★ 2022-01-26
This fast-moving SF thriller—a follow-up to Last Tango in Cyberspace (2019)—pops with weirdness and imagination.

In the near future, society sees a clash between two camps: Humans First and Empathy for All. A human named Lion is an em-tracker, meaning he can empathize with the entire animal kingdom and emit pheromones that permit all species of animals to do the same. Because of a project called the Devil’s Dictionary, “em-trackers feel for all people, of course, but they also feel for plants, animals, and ecosystems.” The em-trackers compare those believing in human dominance to the White supremacists who spout “Redneck cracker Nazi bullshit.” Those benighted folk are influenced by an evil project called Pandora II. Not surprisingly, drugs play a big role in em-tracking. For example, there is Evo, which makes you trip evolution, allowing you to groove with every species that has ever existed. The Devil’s Dictionary is “an AI-version of the DNA typewriter,” meaning humans can change animals’ nature. Thus lions and tigers and bears snarf up their veggies and cuddle with bunnies. Tigers eat grass. Snakes fly, and so do Ubers. A woman is fluent in seven bird languages. Humans can satisfy their carnivorous cravings by eating cultured beef grown from stem cells. There are robo-catfish and psychotic polar bear robots that wouldn’t hurt a fly. But not everything goes as expected; for example, imperfectly engineered snakes grow old, die, and rot after they've barely hatched. The descriptions rival what you’ll find in Coleridge’s Xanadu or Herbert’s Dune. A dude nicknamed Five Spikes has spiked hair dyed Chernobyl yellow. And try to picture hair that looks like nuclear waste. Special bacteria grow snowflakes the size of quarters. Aside from being funny, the book raises interesting questions. How far should we take genetic engineering? What will we humans be able to do someday, and should we do it? Should we tinker with life itself just because we can? It’s an engrossing story that will make you both laugh and think.

A richly lunatic tale of the future.

Kirkus Reviews