Tether

By Elijah Steele

In the aftermath of nuclear fire and political collapse, Atlanta has become a city of control. Behind the wall of the Curtain, a new regime called the Order promises protection, but demands obedience. Through a mandatory injection known as Serexin, they suppress emotion itself, silencing grief, rage, and love alike.

But a rare few awaken instead of going numb. Classified as Tangents by the Order, they are marked by dangerous sensitivity-able to feel too deeply, to tether to others with a touch, and to pull memories and hidden truths to the surface. Feared by the public and exploited by the Order, they are forced into service as living weapons of surveillance and manipulation.

Dex Truitt is one of them. Once an Atlanta Police Officer, now a conscript in the Order's secret program, he spends his nights drowning the echoes of lives he's invaded, and his days under the scrutiny of those who own him. His ability is a curse-until it isn't. For buried within the pain of tethering comes the possibility of something more: connection, intimacy, even rebellion.

When Dex begins to question whether his gift is truly a burden or a key, he finds himself standing at the edge of a choice that will define not only his future, but the fate of every Tangent still under the Order's control.

Tether launches the Tether Trilogy, a gay dystopian saga where intimacy is revolution, empathy is weaponized, and love may prove more dangerous than war.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1969825022
• ISBN13: 9781969825026
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Polished Knob Press
• Length: 498 Pages
• Weight: 1.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up