Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams; The Hardwired Series, Book 1; Unabridged MP3 Audio Book; Narrator Stefan Rudnicki

In Walter Jon Williams’ classic cyberpunk novel, the remnants of a war-ravaged America endure in scattered, heavily armed colonies, while the wealthy Orbital Corporations now control the world. Cowboy, an ex-fighter pilot who has become “hardwired” via skull sockets directly to his lethal electronic hardware, is now a panzerboy, a hi-tech smuggler riding armored hovertanks through the balkanized countryside. He teams up with Sarah, an equally cyborized gun-for-hire, to make a last stab at independence from the rapacious Orbitals. Together, they gather an unlikely gang of misfits for a ride that will take them to the edge of the atmosphere.

“Hardwired is a tough, sleek juggernaut of a story, punctuated by strobe-light movements, coursing to the wail of jets and the twang of steel guitars—glittering, nasty, and noble—and told in a style perfectly suiting its content. It has all my favorite things—blood, love, fire, hate, and a high ideal or two. I wish I’d written this one.”—Roger Zelazny, Hugo, Locus, and Nebula award–winning author

“Williams’ use of language is as explosive and as techno tinged as the world he describes. Reading the book is like taking a jet ride across a futuristic America, with acceleration forcing you back in your seat all the way.”—Tom Von Malder, writer and arts critic

“Heavy-metal adventure.”—Publishers Weekly

Walter Jon Williams has been nominated repeatedly for every major science fiction award, including Hugo and Nebula award nominations for his novel City on Fire. His most recent books are The Sundering, The Praxis, Destiny’s Way, and The Rift. He lives near Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife.