In Terminal Mind, however, the technology does not work as intended. Humans whose minds are transferred into computer simulations find themselves suddenly in the dark, bodiless, cut off from all familiar sensory input, and the result is madness. These disturbed minds don’t respond well to normal stimuli, but their simulated brains can still experience pleasure and pain, even more so than they did in their bodies. As a result, they can be cruelly used -- tortured into acting in a destructive way at their controller’s behest. Becoming, in essence, a human computer virus, a "slicer", with all the cleverness and unpredictability of a human mind.

Terminal Mind takes place in my home town of Philadelphia, but a few small things have changed . . . like the huge crater where Center City used to be. The Hemisphere War against China and its allies has left the United States splintered into scattered city-states, Philadelphia among them. Over time, the city has repaired itself, as new technology allows new miracles: buildings can be grown in hours, communication flashes through light beams, and our very flesh can be molded to our whim. These wonders are commonplace along the Crater Rim, where the rich play with new architecture and new body styles, but in the Combs, among the poor, the need for living space is so great that the buildings have grown into and over each other, forming a labyrinth of poverty and crime that few Rimmers dare to enter.

Terminal Mind follows the story of Mark McGovern, the son of a rich politician, who lives in the Rimmer world of expensive parties and frivolous biological mods, a sharp contrast to the poor underworld of his best friend, Darin Kinsley. When the two accidentally allow a slicer free reign in the world network, Mark must try to stem the tide of casualties before the charged political situation explodes.

What other people are saying:

"Terminal Mind is a fast-paced SF-thriller with a very human heart. Walton creates a believable world, full of high-tech innovations that excite the imagination, but what hooked me were the characters: a varied cast of fully-fleshed individuals, conflicted and engaging. I didn't want to put it down."
~Elaine Isaak, author of The Eunuch's Heir

"...an enthralling near-future scenario where body styling has become an art form and where computer hacking has progressed in a chillingly believable direction. What I love about David's fiction is that his characters are firmly grounded in a social context. In Terminal Mind, the family and interpersonal conflicts are just as intriguing as the threat to society, with outcomes that are just as uncertain."
~Nancy Fulda, assistant editor of Baen's Universe

"David Walton's Terminal Mind is a fast-paced thriller that slices across the landscape of a darkly imagined future."
~Judson Roberts, author of The Strongbow Saga

"If you like distinctive character voices, cool science fiction gizmos, and a dozen plot threads that weave together into a dazzling whole, you need to read Terminal Mind."
~Mike Shultz, frequent contributor to F&SF

"...a gritty, fast-paced, page-turning read"
~Ian Creasey, frequent contributor to Asimov's