The Path of Good Response
A thought-provoking speculative thriller, set in a dystopian corporate nightmare.
What if there were a way to make a perfect decision? If poor choices, even addictions, could be controlled from within the mind.
Schelldhardt is the largest company in the world and will do anything to grow. When Joe Massey is unexpectedly offered a role aboard Schelldhardt’s luxurious corporate headquarters at sea, his main priority is Rachel. Joe has trailed Rachel through school and university into the workplace and cannot imagine life without her.
Realistic dreams disturb Joe’s sleep as he is drawn deeper into a dark corporate world. As an inexperienced graduate, his opinion seems far too important to Schelldhardt. Why is he really there? The deposed CEO, Arnold Shendi, may have Joe’s answers, though Shendi has secrets of his own.
A new sci-fi thriller, set aboard a vast ship at sea. For fans of blurred-reality stories like Inception, The Matrix, and The Truman Show.
(The Schelldhardt Series Book 1)
Release date 30th June 2026 (originally published 2020)
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“ I would recommend it to anyone looking for a book that will keep them guessing until the end."
Love Black Mirror? You’ll love The Path of Good Response.
Ananke, Schelldhardt’s corporate headquarters at sea - the ultimate offshore company. Schelldhardt will do anything to grow. When lockdown begins on the ship, Joe Massey is totally isolated from family and friends. Most significantly, Rachel. Why is his opinion so important to the company?
Do you value your mother’s health above peace in the Middle East?
What Joe should think and what he does think are entirely different things. Schelldhardt’s interview process comes as a shock to him when he is asked some particularly intrusive questions while sedated under an MRI scanner. They already seem to know his weakness…
Can obsession be cured?
“Perhaps romantic love could only ever be called as such if it was reciprocated. If not, it would always be something else altogether, sitting at some point between the innocence of longing and the darkness of obsession. It was only a question of degree.”
What happens in the Red Lounge doesn’t happen at all…
The Red Lounge is where the higher echelons of Schelldhardt management derive their pleasure, always maintaining total confidentiality. When Joe is unexpectedly offered access to the lounge as part of his important new role at the company, he is initially shocked by what he finds there. He soon realises that access to the Red Lounge comes at a price, and he will soon be tested to his very limits.
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The Path of Good Response: Science fiction or science fact?
In 1968, Arthur C. Clarke imagined a sentient computer capable of reasoning alongside astronauts. At the time it seemed fantastical; today artificial intelligence is woven into everyday life. History repeatedly demonstrates that science fiction often becomes science fact, and nowhere is that transition more evident than in neuroscience. Brain-computer interfaces, adaptive deep brain stimulation and AI-assisted neural decoding are steadily changing what is possible. The Path of Good Response could be closer than we imagine.