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Golden State

Written by: Ben Winters
Narrated by: Kiff VandenHeuvel
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Publisher's Summary

From award-winning New York Times best-selling novelist Ben H. Winters comes a mind-bending novel set in a world governed by absolute truth, where lies are as dangerous as murder.

In a strange alternate society that values law and truth above all else, Laszlo Ratesic is a 19-year veteran of the Speculative Service. He lives in the Golden State, a nation standing where California once did, a place where like-minded Americans retreated after the erosion of truth and the spread of lies made public life and governance impossible.

In the Golden State, knowingly contradicting the truth is the greatest crime - and stopping those crimes is Laz's job. In its service, he is one of the few individuals permitted to harbor untruths, to "speculate" on what might have happened.

But the Golden State is less a paradise than its name might suggest. To monitor, verify, and enforce the truth requires a veritable panopticon of surveillance and recording. And when those in control of the facts twist them for nefarious means, the Speculators are the only ones with the power to fight back.

©2019 Ben Winters (P)2019 Hachette Audio
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What the critics say

"This near-future thriller by Edgar winner Winters is likely to provoke discussion." (Publishers Weekly)

"Thought-provoking, genre-bending...Winters seems to have a real affection for unusually compelling premises.... He certainly knows how to bring those premises to life in a way that keeps readers flipping pages.... What's especially intriguing about the book is the way Winters dispenses information, dropping a hint here, a key sentence there, and letting us figure out what happened in the past that led to a society in which the punishment for telling a lie could be exile.... Another fine novel from a writer whose imagination knows no bounds." (Booklist)

"A skillful and swift-moving concoction.... For those who like their dystopias with a dash of humor. No lie." (Kirkus Reviews)

What listeners say about Golden State

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