Orion lands virtual reality thriller from Briggs

Orion has landed an adult thriller by children’s writer Andy Briggs, set in the near future where virtual reality has taken a dark turn.

Ben Willis, senior commissioning editor, acquired world all language rights in Ctrl S from Tom Witcomb at Blake Friedmann. It will be published by Orion Fiction in November.

The synopsis states: “When video game obsessed Theo’s troubled mother disappears one day, he and his friends must navigate both the dark realm of virtual reality and the real world to save her life.”

Willis said: “I completely fell in love with Ctrl S, a brilliantly fast-paced speculative mystery – but with a very British feel. Andy is a brilliant world-builder, and near-future London is impeccably realised. As more people look to escape the reality of our world, I know a lot of readers are going to want to get lost in Andy’s first adult novel.”

Briggs is a a screenwriter, graphic novelist and author who has written dozens of children’s books, including the centennial reimagining of Tarzan (Faber).

He said: “I started to think about how new technology would impact such events, in particular how, with advances in augmented and virtual reality, you could follow the digital footprints and track that person down in the real world. Driven by the desire of a son desperate to find his mother, I set out to reinvent virtual reality and tell a gripping, action-packed story set in the near future, but so grounded you can believe this could happen to you.”