Meta Man: A Meta Man Time Travel Thriller

By Vincent Zandri

WHEN WE DIE WE DON'T GO TO HEAVEN OR HELL. WE GO TO THE METAVERSE!

Writer Casey Smith is dead.

He was decapitated after the getaway car he was driving immediately after a bank robbery smashed into the back of a semi.

And yet, Casey Smith is very much alive inside the Metaverse.

But what he also discovers upon waking up in the Old West town of Deadwood in 1889, is that he is a wanted man for the crimes he committed while alive in the mid-21st century. Bank robbery and 2nd-degree murder. Who's hot on his trail? None other than Wyatt Earp himself!

From New York Times and USA Bestselling Thriller and Shamus Award winning author comes a new thriller inspired by the Twilight Zone or yore. For readers of Blake Crouch, Stephen King, Neil Geiman and more, comes a book that will both thrill and make your think about the future and the past. Plus there's more Meta Man to come.

Note: an uncut and raw version of Meta Man is presently available on Kindle Vella!

Grab your thrilling, pulse-pounding copy now.

What the critics are saying:

"Sensational . . . masterful . . . brilliant."
—New York Post

"(A) chilling tale of obsessive love from Thriller Award–winner Zandri (Moonlight Weeps) . . . Riveting."
—Publishers Weekly

". . . Oh, what a story it is . . . Riveting . . . A terrific old-school thriller."
—Booklist "Starred Review"

"Zandri does a fantastic job with this story. Not only does he scare the reader, but the horror
show he presents also scares the man who is the definition of the word "tough."
—Suspense Magazine

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vincent Zandri
• Release date: Jul 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223796732

Vincent Zandri

"Vincent Zandri hails from the future." --The New York Times “Sensational . . . masterful . . . brilliant.” --New York Post "Gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting." --Harlan Coben, New York Times bestselling author of Six Years "Tough, stylish, heartbreaking." --Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of Savages and Cartel. Winner of the 2015 PWA Shamus Award and the 2015 ITW Thriller Award for Best Original Paperback Novel for MOONLIGHT WEEPS, Vincent Zandri is the NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and AMAZON KINDLE OVERALL NO.1 bestselling author of more than 60 novels and novellas including THE REMAINS, EVERYTHING BURNS, ORCHARD GROVE, THE SHROUD KEY and THE GIRL WHO WASN'T THERE. His list of domestic publishers include Delacorte, Dell, Down & Out Books, Thomas & Mercer, Polis Books, Suspense Publishing, Blackstone Audio, and Oceanview Publishing. An MFA in Writing graduate of Vermont College, his work is translated in the Dutch, Russian, French, Italian, and Japanese. Having sold close to 1 million editions of his books, Zandri has been the subject of major features by the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and Business Insider. He has also made appearances on Bloomberg TV and the FOX News network. In December 2014, Suspense Magazine named Zandri's, THE SHROUD KEY, as one of the "Best Books of 2014." Suspense Magazine selected WHEN SHADOWS COME as one of the "Best Books of 2016". He was also a finalist for the 2019 Derringer Award for Best Novelette. A freelance photojournalist, freelance writer, and the author of the popular "lit blog," The Vincent Zandri Vox, Zandri has written for Living Ready Magazine, RT, New York Newsday, Hudson Valley Magazine, The Times Union (Albany), Game & Fish Magazine, CrimeReads, Altcoin Magazine, The Jerusalem Post, Market Business News, Duke University, Colgate University, and many more. He also writes for Scalefluence. An Active Member of MWA and ITW, he lives in New York and Florence, Italy. For more go to VINZANDRI.COM

Book preview

Meta Man

A Meta Man Time Travel Thriller

Vincent Zandri

Published by Vincent Zandri, 2023.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Meta Man (A Meta Man Time Travel Thriller)

Meta Man | A Short Thriller | Vincent Zandri

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Also By Vincent Zandri

About the Author

Begin your Moonlight journey today with a FREE copy of MOONLIGHT FALLS, the first novel in the Thriller and Shamus Award winning series.

Or visit http://WWW.VINZANDRI.COM to join Vincent’s For your eyes only newsletter today.

PRAISE FOR VINCENT ZANDRI

SENSATIONAL . . . MASTERFUL . . . brilliant.

—New York Post

(A) CHILLING TALE OF obsessive love from Thriller Award–winner Zandri (Moonlight Weeps) . . . Riveting.

—Publishers Weekly

. . . OH, WHAT A STORY it is . . . Riveting . . . A terrific old school thriller.

—Booklist Starred Review

"ZANDRI DOES A FANTASTIC job with this story. Not only does he scare the reader, but the horror 

Show he presents also scares the man who is the definition of the word tough.

—Suspense Magazine

I VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book . . . It's a great crime drama that is full of action and intense suspense, along with some great twists . . . Vincent Zandri has become a huge name and just keeps pouring out one best seller after another.

—Life in Review

(THE INNOCENT) IS A thriller that has depth and substance, wickedness and compassion.

—The Times-Union (Albany)

THE ACTION NEVER WANES.

—Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

GRITTY, FAST-PACED, lyrical and haunting.

—Harlan Coben, New York Times bestselling author of Six Years

TOUGH, STYLISH, HEARTBREAKING.

—Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of Savages and Cartel.

A TIGHTLY CRAFTED, smart, disturbing, elegantly crafted complex thriller . . . I dare you to start it and not keep reading.

—MJ Rose, New York Times bestselling author of Halo Effect and Closure

A CLASSIC SLICE OF raw pulp noir...

—William Landay, New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob

ZANDRI (IS) A VETERAN wordsmith who executes quality and quantity at superlative levels.

—Book Reporter

Meta Man

A Short Thriller

Vincent Zandri

T he Metaverse not only gives us the opportunity to explore new places and move across a metaverse landscape, but it will also allow us to move about in metaverse history to experience life in the past and interact with historical figures.

—Futurist Speaker, Thomas Frey

1

The fact that Casey Smith perished in a horrible car crash seven years ago has not stopped his wife from divorcing him only three years ago. Nor has it stopped his publisher to hound him for the new novel he was contracted to deliver six months ago. Nor has it stopped his twenty-something perpetually unemployed son, John, from hounding him for funds to live on, nor for the police to keep open the investigation on the crimes he committed that started his new life in the metaverse in the first place.

Maybe Casey was not only decapitated when his speeding but malfunctioning autonomous vehicle sped into the back end of a fully autonomous driving semi, but his earthly body burned to a crisp, making even the thought of an open casket laughable. But then, Casey was never the type to maintain a whole lot of friendships since he was always locked away in his studio, writing his next novel or short story, and slowly but then rather quickly, going horribly broke at the same time.

When he died, Casey did not see a circular beam of bright white light. Nor did he see the bearded face of Jesus or big Saint Peter (the Rock) or heavenly angels welcoming him to his forever home in the sly. Instead, he was made to stand in line behind a dozen other alive but somehow dead people who were given