Books by Michael a Occhionero

In the turn 2099, the world has become starkly divided between the progress-obsessed Metropolis, and the isolated, exploited outside. In the Metropolis, the Users have become entirely dependent on their ever-expanding grid. Sustained through Poplar Corp.'s updates, the technologically enhanced Users work in unison toward their final end, ALT•4•1- an update that will alter the User in ways unimaginable. However, after a lifetime building Poplar Corp. and the Metropolis from the ground up, Dr. Mulligan has had an epiphany. With Beall's help, Dr. Mulligan has rallied an organized pushback against the Users. The outsiders will not go down without a fight, even if they don't know exactly who, or what they are fighting against… Exploring humankind's relations with technology, ALT•4•1 is an inquisition into what it truly means to be human.

Marcus lives his life as if no future existed. Drugs and casual sex take up a lot of his time, until they lead the twenty three year old to nights spent on unfamiliar couches, and eventually to an improbable encounter with Franz, a fifty-something ex-boxer now living on welfare. The two become friends, and Franz's tales of past triumphs lure Marcus into a whole new high-stakes world. Compelled by the promise of effortless pleasure, Marcus doesn't see that Franz's desolate existence could become his own. Set in the vibrant metropolis of Montréal, Idle Hands is a gripping tale of youthful nihilism made for the 21st century.