Description: "From multiple award-winning author Daryl Gregory comes a madcap adventure following two friends on a cross-country bus tour through the mind-boggling glitches in their simulated world as they grapple with love, family, secrets, and the very nature of reality in a simulation"--
Brief description: Daryl Gregory is the award-winning author of numerous novels, including Revelator, Afterparty, and Spoonbenders, a Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award finalist. His novella We Are All Completely Fine won the World Fantasy Award and the Shirley Jackson Award. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington.
Review Quotes: "Road movie, group cast, all charming. Starts funny and stays that way, even after they fly off a cliff and crash hard into existential angst caused by severe ontological challenges. The soulfulness is hilarious, and vice versa (very important). Is this our America right now, seen with cosmic x-ray vision? Is it a Daryl Gregory novel? Same thing."--Kim Stanley Robinson, author of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winning Mars trilogy
"An addictive thriller packed with winning characters and big, brilliant ideas. Don't miss it."--Lev Grossman, New York Times bestselling author of The Bright Sword and The Magicians trilogy "Daryl Gregory takes a classic "what if?" thought experiment--the same one that undergirds The Matrix and other high-concept sci-fi extravaganzas--and treats it with groundedness, nuance and literary sophistication. The result is a deeply absorbing novel of cross-country adventure about real, recognizable people...the irony being that they're not real people at all. What absolute fun."--Ben H. Winters, Edgar-award winning author of The Last Policeman Trilogy "When We Were Real goes far beyond the usual SF novels of living in a simulation. Its poignant, appealing, boisterous characters know they are simulations, and as they get on with their complicated digital lives, they--and we--explore what it means to be real, to be human, to be alive. A must-read by one of science fiction's most versatile and talented authors."--Nancy Kress, winner of six Nebulas, two Hugos, a Sturgeon, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award "A novel filled with characters so heartfelt and true to life that you forget they are products of a simulation... even if they can't. When We Were Real sets a new gold standard for big-idea science fiction."--Jack Skillingstead, author of The Chaos Function "The best thing Daryl Gregory has ever written. A riveting page-turner that delves into the biggest questions of the universe and still tackles the mysteries of the human heart."--Christopher Farnsworth, author of Flashmob and Buried Secrets "Daryl Gregory dispatches a captivating cast of characters on a pilgrimage through a vivid landscape, and you keep turning the pages to see where they'll go. He's managed a remarkable feat--When We Were Real is spirited, fun to read, with plenty of dark humor, yet asks big existential questions that keep you thinking long after you've finished the book."--Mark Tompkins, author of The Last Days of Magic "It's a testament to Gregory's skill at character development that the people in this novel, and not the bizarre phenomena they're observing, are the most fascinating part. This is a marvel. Big-hearted, generous, and beautifully written." --Kirkus Reviews (starred) "[A] deeply philosophical road trip novel... Gregory bats the existential issues back and forth, offering no easy answers... The result is a heady and entertaining treat."--Publishers Weekly "This novel is a fine accomplishment for Gregory-- an intellectual, enriching and emotionally resonant read."--BookPage "Entertaining... delightfully nihilistic." --Wall Street Journal"A five-star adventure by an author at the peak of his craft." --Booklist "Hilarious and heartfelt." --Library Journal