Digital Rapture, a Novel

Digital Rapture is a timely techno-thriller/dark sci-fi realism set in a bleak near future where the population is offered difficult choices to escape their reality or survive within it, as told by the workers left behind. Digital Rapture appeals to dystopian fiction readers but is a must read for anyone with interest in AI and technology ethics. Readers will be disturbed, enthralled, and activated by its reminiscence to our actual dystopian reality, and those of the past.


This book illustrates a dark and extreme sci-fi horror fictionalization of the dystopian world in which we're already living, and descending further into, following the unconscious actions of humans welding unprecedented technology.

Expect a fast-paced first-person present narration, vivid imagery, impossible choices, indescribable loss, social and economic turmoil, action and viol*nce, trauma-bonded romance, some spice, coping, and hope.



During a period of global indiscriminate violence, Zoey and Stephen are fortunate essential workers in an all-but-crippled economy, propped up in their area by tech-industrial investment from FederalTech JV, the developer behind a mysterious data center construction project employing most of the residents of their perimeter-secured town.
Things go from bad to worse for Zoey, Stephen, and many more in their community, as droves of recently-drafted youth face capture and death in an out-of-control overseas war. They begin receiving advertisements with solutions to the collective depression.
The first ad promotes an escape to a harmonious digital afterlife and what many consider the new human reality, Uplink. The only side effect: expiration and disposal of the body.
As bad as things are for Zoey and Stephen, they can’t imagine going to Uplink. But when Uplink Day passes and many of their loved ones are gone, they’re filled with regret.
In addition to avoiding Uplink, they’ve been ignoring ads for another new technology: Interface, the only brain-AI interface, lauded as the ultimate workplace aid and the cure to a host of personal and psychological problems. When their jobs are threatened and drug dependency is at an all-time high, how will Zoey and Stephen continue avoiding Interface?

Perfect for fans of 1984, Black Mirror, The Terminator, and The Matrix.

Content Warning: This book contains content that some readers may find triggering or disturbing and is inappropriate for children.

Andrew Koval is a novelist based in the Washington, DC area, whose debut, Digital Rapture, explores the intersection of rapid technological expansion and humanity's messy past and present.When not writing, Andrew enjoys running, gardening, and spending time with his wife, their dog, family, and friends. He loves the great outdoors and enjoys hiking at the various parks in the Washington area, and camping in Eastern Appalachia. He enjoys visiting new and familiar restaurants in the city and crabbing on tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay.Andrew-Koval.com