State of Mind
Available
- 978-0-9666149-2-3 Hardcover
- 978-0-9666149-5-4 Paperback
- 978-0-9666149-6-1 ePub
Winner
Global Ebook Awards
State of Mind: Book One of the God Head Trilogy, is a science fiction crime noir in the vein of Blade Runner, The Matrix, and Ex Machina. Think about the grim side of Ray Kurzweil’s Singularity Theory and you’ll start to get the picture.
What is the God Head Trilogy?
In the not-too-distant future, technology becomes our worst enemy. With chip implants in the brain, nano-viruses that can infect, then assemble to control a mind, and a war with a hostile artificial intelligence, Jake Travissi is humanity’s last hope to regain free will.
Your Thoughts Are Not Your Own…
The story opens as the Personal Chip is tested on military and civil volunteers. The Chip is a smartphone, bio-regulator, educator, and knowledge expander implanted directly into a subject’s brain. With a population that can ingest anything they want with no consequences, enjoy virtual telepathic communication, and access an endless database, what’s not to like? The pressure is on for an FDA approval. A potential consequence of implanting The Chip is a window for hackers to take a subject off line, use their bodies to commit crimes, then cover up the act with false memories.
Los Angeles is the setting for State of Mind. Jake Travissi, a workaholic homicide cop, banned from law enforcement, spirals into depression… until he is given a second chance. The price? Volunteer for chip implantation and join Homeland Security’s experimental Enhanced Unit.
Winner
Global Ebook Awards
Book of the Month and Stand Out Novels
Reviews
A thoughtfully composed piece of cyberpunk that will please readers of both science fiction and noir.
There are some crazy twists and turns in this novel and the ending? One word… WOW. It totally blew me away. There are plenty of shocking, hanging on the edge of my seat moments.
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Davison’s Los Angeles is a pulpy-vibrant unforgettable wasteland. State of Mind is the world of the near future, the horrible synthesis of human desire and the technology to make it a reality.
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Brutally realistic, chillingly plausible, this novel is manages to be both thought evoking and highly entertaining. A must read!
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This is a fast read, well edited and scarily realistic at times. Sally Bennett, author of “Homegrown Muse”.
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Davison has given us a thrilling expose of what could happen, especially when that technology is controlled by the big brother of today, Homeland Security. As a friend of mine says, Great Stuff! Scifi lovers--it's out in March! Order now!
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Sven has told a brilliantly descriptive tale that I will not soon forget. I find myself looking forward to what he has up his sleeve in regards to future works.
It’s a clever and pacey affair that never gets bogged down in nuance… It neatly covers the line between edgy enough for the cyberpunk fan and readable enough for the mere fiction fan.
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A great read! A classic near-future techno-thriller, with layers of intrigue, interesting twists and just a dash of pulp mixed in for good measure. Sven Davison's State of Mind is an engrossing journey through a well-considered and completely plausible world.
State of Mind is an action-filled, engrossing journey across the tortuous emotional landscape of mind control, where nothing is quite what it seems—for everyone involved. A must-read for Pin Heads and God Heads alike—and for the casual observers.
An intelligent, thought provoking, cinematic post-cyberpunk thriller and a great read.
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I enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and interesting, and well written. The plot was well thought out and the technology was shown in a plausible way.
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State of Mind is an action-packed cyber-thriller that transports us to a futuristic dystopia where the most dangerous battlefield is the human mind. Fans of Philip K. Dick and William Gibson will find much to enjoy -- and fear -- in the dark and mysterious world Sven Davison has so effectively created.
With State of Mind, Mr. Davison has written a bloody and mind-blowing tour de force, both literally and figuratively. It is both entertaining and thought-provoking but definitely not for the faint of heart.
The bumps in the road are what young and old, male and female will enjoy the most about this exciting book. It puts you in that kind of State Of Mind.
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Though a long time science fiction fan, this is really one of my first experiences in the cyberpunk genre and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are quite of few turns and surprises.
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This book deserves to go directly to the “Top Ten Best Sellers List.” There is not a single thing wrong with this novel, in my opinion.
It (State Of Mind) is told with a flair that makes you feel for the protagonist, makes you hate the antagonist with a passion and makes you think twice about letting the government be in complete control of your life.
This one is a winner and already a contender in my mind as one of the best books of 2011. You just can’t go wrong with State Of Mind.
This novel brilliantly reinvents the classic murder mystery/thriller.
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Interviews
Attention Deficit Delirium Podcast
I wanted to show what type of personality has the indomitable human spirit that, no matter how much you try to crush it, that true spirit comes out.
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Jeanz Book Read N Review
Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
When I was three I wanted to command the USS Enterprise and date Vulcans. As I got a little older I switched to astronaut and then Navy pilot..
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Writestuff-Writenow
Question: State Of Mind, a P chip at the base of the skull. Tell me Sven, what creative seeds were sown to come up with this story, and over what period of time? Also, what kind of research?
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SciFi Pulse.com
Now that we are on the subject of future technology, what was the inspiration behind State of Mind? In particular, what caused you to imagine the P-Chips?
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SFBook.com
Sven Michael Davison is the author of the exceptional post-cyberpunk thriller State of Mind, I was lucky enough to be granted an interview as part of his Blog tour celebrating the release of the novel.. Read more..
SFBook.com on ebook piracy
Yesterday I interviewed Sven Michael Davison about his new Dystopian vision "State of Mind" and during the interview I realised that he was in an almost unique position of being involved in ..
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C.A. Webb Conversations Live Radio
SF Signal
Sven Michael Davison on The Inspiration for ‘State of Mind’ and Related Events.. Read more..
SOM mentions
We love Sven's title, in part because. It is a great use of a book title strategy we use and recommend often. Sven does a great job with it..
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SOM mentions
In other news, I wanted to recommend a new book to you. Our friend Sven Davison (who used to work in DVD production at 20th Century Fox) has written a science-fiction novel called State of Mind..
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History
I was raised on Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, E.E. “Doc” Smith, JRR Tolkien, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Later I dove into Robert Heinlein, Orson Scott Card, and Greg Bear. I was also an avid fan of movies and television starting with Forbidden Planet, The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2001, Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Wars. Later I was influenced by movies like Blade Runner, Alien, Solaris, Gattaca, and The Matrix. Above all else, I have always wanted to write science fiction. As a reader of Popular Science and The Economist, I wanted to encounter science fiction stories that addressed what might happen tomorrow, not in the far distant future. I began to look at technology and think about where we might be within the end of my lifetime. All of this culminated in a screenplay I wrote titled God Head back in 2002.
As I continued to write new drafts, the universe expanded into something I could no longer contain in one script. I had enough notes for an entire trilogy. The script, now titled State of Mind, won me an agent and the story was shopped around Hollywood during 2004, but nothing happened– an event that many of my successful writing and producer friends have experienced. So I made a bold move, I convinced my wife to let me resign from my lucrative day job so I could craft my trilogy. The deal was to finish as much as I could before she got pregnant and we had a child. I treated my opportunity as a full-time work. I wrote six to eight hours a day, and read a book every two weeks. By the time I had to return to corporate life, I had managed to complete a manuscript for State of Mind and Dreams, Faith & Ammunition, as well as hash out early drafts for State of Union and State of Being.
Press Releases
1. Sven Michael Davison’s New Cyberpunk Thriller “State of Mind” a Gritty Realistic Depiction of the Near Future
2. Author Sven Michael Davison’s Post-Cyberpunk Thriller, “State of Mind,” a Chilling Depiction of the Near Future
3. Is Ray Kurzweil’s Singularity Event the Future People Want?
4. Tam, Bragg, and Davison all Winners at Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards
5. Tattered Cover Book Store Prominently Features Denver Author Sven Michael Davison’s New Science Fiction Thriller State of Mind
6. “State of Mind” Addresses the 99% and the Eclipse of the American Dream
7. Cyberpunk Thriller, “State of Mind” is Closer to Reality than You Think
8. “State of Mind” Invades Los Angeles for the Holidays
9. “State of Mind” Los Angeles Invasion Increases Sales of Thriller Novel by 300%
10. Sven Michael Davison Addresses Fitness “State of Mind”
11. Sven Michael Davison is in a Traffic “State of Mind”
12. Identity Theft is a “State of Mind”
13. “State of Mind” Author Makes Appearance at LA Times Festival of Books
14. Mind Over Matter or Just a “State of Mind”
15. Morality and Technology are Explored in Davison’s “God Head” Trilogy
16. Autonomous Cars By 2022? All Depends On Your “State of Mind”
17. Cyborg America is Prelude to a General “State of Mind”
Promotion
Faux Infomercial
Inspired by the pomegranate phone website http://www.pomegranatephone.com , I wanted to create a site for the Personal Chip that would make a visitor feel that this was a real product, but at the same time, be so outlandish that it would be funny. There have been mixed reviews on the result.
I abandoned the site www.thepersonalchip.com back in 2014, but here is some information from it.
Book Trailer
I originally wanted to come out with State of Mind as a graphic novel. I priced it out using artists in China, but it was cost prohibitive. This book trailer was created on a shoe string budget with the help of my good friend Pete. In the end I felt it did not give an accurate feeling for the tone and scope of the book (through no fault of anyone but myself), but it’s better than no book trailer at all.
Photos
LA Times Festival Of Books: Here are some photos from when I attended this event held as USC for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons.
Book Soup: Here are some photos from my July 25, 2011 book signing.
Wild Postings: During Christmas 2011 and New Years 2012, There were a few hundred posters around Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley promoting my book. Here are some photos from that time…
Global eBook Award Winners