Vicarious

By John Lawrence Shea III

On the rugged coastline of New Zealand, Vicarious Travel offers customers the ultimate escape: immersive, neural-linked journeys that let them experience the world without ever leaving home. For tour guide, Bertie Alvarez, it's just another day shepherding digital tourists through breathtaking landscapes-until a brilliant but overworked engineer, Dr. Clarie Brinegar, arrives to test new technology in the field.
As the tour pushes deep into remote territory, tensions rise between corporate ambition, local politics, and the fragile line between simulation and reality. When an unexpected crisis cuts the travelers from the outside world, Bertie and Clarie are forced to confront dangers no virtual system was ever meant to handle. With lives hanging in the balance, every decision carries real consequences.
Blending high-concept science fiction with gripping adventure, Vicarious explores what happens when people become addicted to experiencing life second-hand-and what it takes to reclaim something real. Fast-paced, thought-provoking, and emotionally grounded, this is a story about risk, responsibility, and the price of "being there" without truly living.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GQQ1QRLZ
• ISBN13: 9798249769949
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 124 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"