Beautiful Red
Please welcome Darusha Wehm to the site, with the new science fiction title Beautiful Red.
The future is boring. Technology has solved the world’s most pressing problems, leaving people with tedious work and mundane play. Jack is a Security Officer Class 5, which sounds important, but isn’t. However, her banal life as a cubicle worker by day and tinkerer by night is interrupted when she discovers that her employer’s computer system has been invaded.
Jack enlists the help of her only friends – her co-worker, Gilles and Adrian, an online friend she’s never met – to help her track down the source of the invasion. Her investigation leads her to a shadowy group called the Red, where Jack learns that not everyone lives a life of quiet servitude.
Even though she believes that the Red are responsible for a series of gruesome attacks, Jack begins to become attracted to their worldview. In her search for the people responsible for the attacks, she confronts the leaders of the group as well as her own burgeoning sense of self-awareness.
August 28th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Absolutely amazing … I’m gonna die though if more episodes aren’t released soon… I have listened to 1-5 three times now :/
September 6th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Great Storyline so far. Now I’m hooked, and waiting for more episodes.
Jon Schlueter
September 7th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
I love this book. Can’t wait for more episodes.
September 8th, 2007 at 5:23 am
Sorry this just didn’t catch my interest despite the interesting premise.
September 13th, 2007 at 7:08 am
Very enjoyable, I anxiously await the release of new chapters.
September 23rd, 2007 at 11:24 am
liked this from the beginning. the engineering’s pretty good, and darusha doesn’t put on the dreaded “prancing reader” phony persona that keeps me from listening to most podiobooks beyond a 30-second sample.
around episode 6 or 7, however, i started to dislike the story, not buying repeated trips to what i thought was a ludicrous, unexplained unreality where people could psycho-physically transport to other locations. well, write off another misfire to iPod distraction. trusting my gut, i took the trouble to review from episode 3 or so, careful to rewind if something (e.g., driving) kept me from listening well for a moment. oh, it’s a network 3D translator/simulator. um… carry on. neat concept. should’ve paid better attention. hadn’t even caught the node/door part early on.
since there are so many intercom conversations, it would be nice to have a more palatable effect (e.g., speaker EQ w/minimal reverb) instead of the brute force feedbacky delay. other than that, i’m digging this exceptional story/production. nice to have something that requires more careful listening. darusha, please continue with the understated approach; so much better that way.
October 8th, 2007 at 9:33 am
I had to give up in the first episode due to the “adult” language. Otherwise the premise of the story sounds good. Sorry, I read/listen to SF to escape reality, no need for foul language. Just tell the story. Some examples of great stories without foul language are: Brave Men Run, Ida, The Pocket and the Pendant (my first and favorite Podiobook), Roadworks and of course Noggle Stones. Let us escape from foul language we hear around us on a daily basis.
Byron Int
October 11th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Sorry, I read/listen to SF to escape reality, no need for foul language. Just tell the story.
one thing that really bothered me was that the author has jack paying for stuff. i’m so tired of paying for stuff. just burns me up when authors make people pay for things in stories where a flick of the wrist could remove the requirement and not harsh my mellow. don’t even get me started on gravity. or the word “inculcate”. hate that word. unlike you though, i wasn’t warned about the commerce part. so angry right now.
October 21st, 2007 at 2:27 pm
When I began Beautiful Red, I listened to find out if I liked it enough to continue. Then I was listening to find out what came next, and before I knew it, the story was all caught up! Please, Darusha, post some more!
An interesting look at the future, Beautiful Red does not forget what year it is, the daily expectations of the protagonist are not set in 2007. The points are made about ‘real’ food and being connected, but they are not belabored. The technical discussions hang together logically, without me actually understanding them. I wish Jack would try out all the alarm clock settings, just out of curiosity! Hmm, that could fit very well with a boring, uninteresting life….
As the story progresses, Jack’s life gets more and more interesting.
Thanks for a great story!
October 24th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
I had a similar experience to Gail’s. I generally listen to the first couple episodes of everything on Podiobooks, with no expectations about whether or not I will want to continue. So, I was surprised to find myself logging back into Podiobooks 3 or 4 times today to release more chapters.
A lot about the world of this book reminds me of Walter Mosley’s Futureland. And, while I enjoy speculative fiction, I wish stories like this didn’t seem so plausible.
The disclaimer at the beginning of each episode seems odd to me, as I haven’t noticed any language or themes that I find shocking or even untoward. But, maybe that is just an indication of how profane I am.
October 24th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Thanks for all the comments, everyone. I have to say that I’m glad I went with the disclaimer – comments like Byron Int’s make it clear that not everyone is as sanguine about realistic/salty language as some of us.
I’m glad most of you are enjoying the novel, and let you know that we are about at the half way point, now. Enjoy the second half!
~Darusha
PS. @charley hardman: I’m sorry I inculcated such ire in you for all the commerce. I’ll work on that in the future
October 29th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Episode 13 seems to have a glitch in it. At about 7:30 into the episode, the audio blips back to the same things that’s at 2:23. I tried redownloading the episode, but it does the same thing.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Great story so far! I like SF that introduces new concepts with going into a protracted info-dump to explain them. It is nice how you flesh out the characters boring existence to provide an impetus to seek out and follow the new adventure she has discovered. Thanks!
P.S. I too had the error in the last episode (13). ARGH! I need my fix!
October 31st, 2007 at 9:46 am
I believe that the error in Ep 13 is fixed – try re-downloading (and please post back if it’s still wonky).
Thanks!
October 31st, 2007 at 10:14 am
Episode 13 has been corrected — in theory. If you can, please make sure that your file name ends with -013.mp3, and not -13.mp3.
If it doesn’t, delete that file and then download the new file directly from the books page on the site.
E.
October 31st, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Darusha,
I’m quite enjoying the way you weave elements of cyberpunk, film noir, and mystery into a cautionary tale for our wired times. I find myself identifying with the “Red” faction that blocks off dead zones from the constant intrusion of the Net. I refuse to carry a cell phone for similar reasons. In any case, thanks for the story and please keep writing!
Fellow listeners, if you’ve followed the story so far, please contribute to the PayPal link to make it easier for Ms. Wehm to keep the chapters coming.
Regards,
Milo
November 5th, 2007 at 2:10 am
Episode 14 won’t complete downloading. iTunes says that the file “may be corrupt or a format iTunes does not recognise”.
Please can you check and adjust the feed?
Thanks
November 5th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Yep. Something very wrong. Requested new file from the author. Have suspended the episode for now.
E.
November 5th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Oh, the HUMANITY!
I tried to download the file a bunch of times and different ways when I saw that I was having problems with iTunes getting it. I’m well and truly hooked on this story.
Thanks for thr update, Evo!
November 7th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Episode 14 has been fixed, and episode 15 is up as well.
Sorry for all the issues lately.
~Darusha
November 14th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Hi, all.
Just a quick not to let you know that Beautiful Red now has its own page on Facebook. Let the world know you’re a fan by visiting here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6070034793
~Darusha
November 22nd, 2007 at 6:51 pm
I’m quite enjoying the story and looking forward to its continuation. Can Darusha and/or Evo give the listeners an idea about when the next update will be?
Thanks,
Milo
November 22nd, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Hi, Milo and all.
Generally, I send podiobooks the files at the beginning of the week and they are usually available to subscribers Wednesday or Thursday.
Specifically, I understand Episode 17 is going to go live today or tomorrow. There might be some delays due to the US Thanksgiving holiday.
~Darusha
December 13th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Quite simply I didn’t like this one. I did try to ignore the reader’s downbeat montone and not allow it to influence my opinion of the book, but even so it was still rough going.
I really laboured through the first three chapters before giving up. I was a little unsettled by this becasue actually the story isn’t that bad. I eman it’s not what I consider bad writing per se. The author clearly has a vivid perception of the world he/she describes (in great detail) and I think herein lies the problem. Noting really happens. The first chapter is simply a massive information dump that quite frankly goes nowhere, and subsequent chapters are nearly as bad. As said, the descriptions of the main character and how she integrates with her existence are quite good, but sadly even that is so extensive, it quickly becomes bland and unpalatable.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
I’m afraid I have to disagree with the previous poster. I am quite enjoying this book, and have had to hold off on listening until the last chapter comes out, because I hate being left in suspense like this. _Beautiful Red_ describes a dark future that, not unlike _Max Headroom_, is not so far distant from our own time… and the alienation described is the natural outgrowth of our disconnected culture. Admittedly, the early chapters include a lot of exposition, but I didn’t find it got in the way of the story. To me, it feels like _Blade runner_, _The Big Sleep_, and _Brazil_… and that’s just mentioning the B’s.
January 1st, 2008 at 8:11 am
Just finished this book and really liked the way it ended. Darusha has a pretty monotone voice but it works OK. I liked the futuristic world and technology that was created. Like others have commented the author does a great job in developing the characters as well.
January 1st, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I’ve really enjoyed listening to Beautiful Red and i’m kind of disappointed it’s over. The world Darusha created is vivid and detailed, and more importantly, one of the more plausible futures i’ve come across in recent years. For me, humanity’s casual acceptance of technology and all its intrusions seemed disturbing and comforting at the same time. The monotone reading also suited the mood well. Plotwise, I felt Jack leapt to some pretty wild conclusions that were always 100% right, and every investigation she made produced a significant lead. I wouldn’t have minded a few dead ends and a longer story overall, just to hear more details of the world Darusha created. If her next story is in a similar vein i’m looking forward to it.
one (minor) complaint: some of the episodes were disappointingly short at 10-12 minutes. I’d prefer to immerse myself in it for at least half an hour.
January 6th, 2008 at 1:33 am
I quite enjoyed the story and I hope you write more stories based int his universe, however I did feel compelled to give a low rating for the audio quality when you made the extremely newbish mistake of neglecting to remove your editing fingerclicks.
Keep up the good work ^^
January 6th, 2008 at 11:14 am
The good news, Zippy, is that those are easily corrected. I notice these as a listener from time to time and make it a point to let the author know what episode had the error, and the approximate time stamp of when it happened. So far, they’ve all been very good about getting me a new episode uploaded quickly so that no others hear the mistakes.
Use the “report a problem with an episode” link right above where you make new comments, and we’ll make sure to get it to Darusha right away.
January 10th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Episode 9 does not download.
First of all, I must thank you for a wonderful story–so far. Episodes 1 – 8 have been great, and I’ve already downloaded episode 10, but when I tried to download E09 (repeatedly) I only get a few KB. I tried to “Report a problem with an episode” but got some kind of TechnoRunAround. Sorry to bother you with maintenance, but it’s your fault for making your story so addictive.
Good job, and Thanks,
Zevick
siegel@jct.ac.il
January 13th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Zevick,
I just clicked the link for Episode nine. Works like a champ. If you can get through that “tehcnorunaround”, I’d like to hear more about the issue you are having.
Evo
January 15th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Darusha-
Thank you for the incredible podcast. I loved your voice, the plot, and am very sad the book has ended. I am looking forward to your next podcast and hope it comes quickly. Thanks again for sharing the story with us.
September 20th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Only about half way through but wanted to check in and say:
Wow!
Is this really a debut novel?
As a computer scientist, one of the rants my friends get tired of hearing me talk about centers around the question: What happens when we have the next paradigm shift in user interface? When you think about it, we still basically interact with computers the same way we have since the 1970s. Computers continue to (almost) follow Moore’s law, but the interface remains the same.
This novel explores this question in a most satisfying way. Engaging fiction with enough scientific validity to not break suspension of disbelief (at least for this geek).
12:00
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:54 am
Darusha, what a thought-provoking story! And great production quality too. It just flew by. Thank you for presenting your work in this format and I look forward to whatever you choose to present next.
March 17th, 2009 at 3:37 am
Great Book!
Absolutly fantastic. Really enjoyed it, thank you.
Can’t wait to see what others Darusha has written.
I hear what Jim said about the “downbeat monotone”, but disagree. I started the first chapter not being impressed at the style, but feel that it was in keeping with the book and much better than some others that I won’t mention here.
Darusha, you can chalk up another fan.
April 29th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Umm, I’ve listened to the first six episodes and I’m still waiting for something interesting to happen. Definitely a book for those who think the Internet is life and want to be organically connected to it like the character in this book.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I just reviewed the book (and played the promo) on my Grizzly’s Growls live show on BTR, and after editing, the review is part of Episode 102 of my regular podcast. Think I should just copy-and-paste from my script for that? I could…
Anyway, liked the book — and I did have clever stuff to say about it on my show. Hmmm… think I’ll copy it over to my blog, too.
June 10th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Darusha,
I have just finished listening to Beautiful Red and I am EXTREMELLY impressed! From the description I had no idea just how interesting and thought provoking an adventure Beautiful Red would be. Of all the possible interpretations of the future I have seen within the last five years or so, I would actually claim that yours is probably the most accurate. I don’t say that lightly. I subscribe to the views of Ray Kurzweil and his description of “singularity.” I have seen a few authors try to capture this, including myself, but your approach is amazingly detailed and thorough, and it deals with many areas I hadn’t even thought of. This brings me to my one sincere complaint.
You need to write another book soon! After listening to Beautiful Red, I immediately wanted more. Don’t keep us waiting too long!
Paul J.
November 14th, 2009 at 6:01 am
Oh dear me. I could not get to the end of the 2nd episode. Quite simply this is boring. I have rated it with 1 star but frankly it deserves NON.
June 23rd, 2010 at 8:10 am
To the guy who “could not get to the end of the 2nd episode” — keep listening. It did start out a bit slow, but I think that was necessary to show the main character’s mundane everyday existence before The Plot Thickens. This is one of those books that makes me hope the author is not a prophet (Tad Williams’ Otherland was another). It is a very plausible future in which people are connected to everything and everyone via the net, but truly having no real human connection at all.
I think Darusha did a great job, showing not only the tech side of this possible future, but also the disturbing sociological side.
And now, I’m going to get OFF the net, and go hug my husband.
August 11th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Loved the story, I couldn’t wait to get back to it when interrupted.
September 5th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
I have come to Beautiful Red long after its completion, but I think, not too late. Many of the comments made on PodioBooks have been appreciative, and a few not so. I must throw my hand in with the book’s supporters. Beautiful Red is a well crafted cyberpunk story involving a dystopian near future of big corporations, social fragmentation and an earnest threat to humanity. It is a thriller with a hacker-detective protagonist and complex bad guys. For the sake of anyone who has not yet listened to Beautiful Red I will try to avoid spoilers. I was particularly taken by the authentic tone of the writer. Jack is a network cracker turned security operative paid to cover her employer’s corporate arse. Yes, Jack is a woman, as opposed to Gill her co-worker, who is a guy. When Jack switches from simulation-view to code-view, to avoid the horror of what she uncovers, or to see its design detail, we believe her. And we understand only too well that she needs to break the user interface of her new toy spy device before she can get the most out of it. I am only amazed that Darusha doesn’t refer to its API. I guess it’s an insider’s book. Once the story gets going the narrative unfolds evenly and Jack’s character undergoes a parallel development. Initially, living her life on the ‘Nets’ connected through her cybernetic implants, she discovers slowly the richness of the un-plugged real world, otherwise abandoned to dilettante social misfits and the unemployed. When she infiltrates the misfits organisation, we understand that Jack is not immune to their sympathetic character. They are rather, a bastion of humanity in a dangerously alienated world. But Jack does not know who to trust, and she is right to distrust everyone.
The imagined period detail helps bring us into Jack’s world, although we got the point of the dual-fuel motor scooter much quicker than the book thought we would. And why the desperate need for hard disks and not processors or RAM? I imagined this was an unnecessary concession to lay readership. Unnecessary because, if we had followed Darusha through her software interface descriptions, we would be unlikely to trip up over a bit more hardware detail. Darusha maintains the momentum, the intrigue and the suspense. It is well written and narrated in a beautifully dry voice so befitting the world it describes. There is one literary device however, that did give me problems. That was the periodic ’00010′ type intermissions, skipping into an alternate narrative frame. On paper I would have slowed down and re-read, whereas in audio I was carried on at a constant rate and left with an uneasy feeling of having missed a connection. I eventually re-visited some of those story parts after hearing the last chapter, and concluded that the device was very powerful, dramatic and clever. It was critical in unifying the experience of the alienated protagonists, I only wish I had got it sooner.
September 14th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Just finished reading this book from my book reader app on my phone and felt compelled to make a comment somewhere about the book.
Thought the first half was brilliantly put together. The ideas about the future were brilliant, and the story was built well around this. Now the bad parts, was massively confused about the “blackout” chapters, why put them in if they had no bearing on the final outcome of the story?
Also, the ending was a complete anti-climax! Was expecting Jack to take out the leaders of the “Red” or at least pass the details on to her superiors and take the glory….but a memory wipe?! Come on! Was really wound up by this! Just thought I would pass this on to anyone who is thinking about downloading this!
November 16th, 2010 at 6:56 am
***** WARNING: SPOILER ALERT *****
BE careful reading these comments as Ollie felt it necessary to write/complain about the ending of the story. ollie, you may have been disappointed in the ending, but there really is no need to ruin it for everyone else. It seems that a lot of people actually enjoyed the story, myself included. I’m just glad I finished it before reading these comments.
If you can edit your comments, I would appreciate it if you could add a warning for the sake of those who do not want the story ruined by your unhappiness.
March 26th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Hopefully, I’m not giving anything way, but
*SPOILER ALERT* just in case.
The two final surprise revelations seem incredibly unlikely to me. What are the odds that those, plus the main events, would all occur around Jack?
Despite this strain on suspension of disbelief, the story as a whole was well done.
March 30th, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Just finished listening to this book. Overall I really like the writing and narration. The ending felt a little abrupt but OK. Good job of building a world that reminds me a little (not too much) of “True Names” by Vernor Vinge and “Trouble and Her Friends” by Melissa Scott.
WARNING: serious spoilers in comment left by “Ollie” September 14th, 2010 at 1:28 pm.
April 26th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
Good book. A little too similar to the dexter books.
October 15th, 2012 at 3:23 am
I enjoyed the story! I wish that there could be a follow up.
Derusha, your story got me through a rough couple weeks where I felt overwhelmed. I looked forward to each break, so I could listen. Thank you!