“Somebody’s telling lies in here,” he pronounces, “and it’s making it hard to eat.” It’s Ratesic’s special skill, shared by only a few, to be able to ferret out lies as they’re being hatched, in this case by a kid who’s been stealing his mom’s pills and takes it on the lam, to Ratesic’s joy, since “it’s the part I like: pure law enforcement, my feet in the boots and the boots on the ground, me breathing heavy and charging after a liar.“ Alas, even in the independent nation called Golden State, there are those who would adorn and adjust the truth, even when it comes close to Ratesic-say, in the matter of the deceased brother for whom he continues to mourn. Laszlo Ratesic is just tucking into his chicken and waffles as Winters’ yarn opens, but then he, a noted “speculator” in the employ of the Speculative Service, happens to catch the tail end of a prevarication. “Any assault on reality, any infusion of falsehood in the air can’t be countenanced, no matter the source.” Lying weakens trust, which damages society. 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.Tell a fib, a whopper, a confabulation in California, and, promises Winters ( The Last Policeman, 2013, etc.), you’ll wind up in a heap of trouble. To monitor, verify, and enforce the truth requires a veritable panopticon of surveillance and recording. In its service, he is one of the few individuals permitted to harbor untruths, to "speculate" on what might have happened.īut the Golden State is less of a paradise than its name might suggest. In the Golden State, knowingly contradicting the truth is the greatest crime - and stopping those crimes is Laz's job. 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 a strange alternate society that values law and truth above all else, Laszlo Ratesic is a nineteen-year veteran of the Speculative Service. Winters comes a mind-bending novel set in a world governed by absolute truth, where lies are as dangerous as murder. From award-winning, New York Times bestselling novelist Ben H.
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