Fans of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption can now read a novel by the former lead writer of both series. A Better Paradise: Volume One – An Aftermath by Rockstar Studios co-founder Dan Houser is available in stores as of October 14. You can pick up the hardcover edition for $29 at Amazon, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble. A Better Paradise is also available on Kindle for $15 and in audiobook format exclusively from Audible.
Houser’s debut novel is an expanded adaptation of the 2024 audio fiction series produced by Absurd Ventures, the multimedia studio he founded in 2021 after leaving Rockstar the year prior. A Better Paradise: Volume One revolves around a canceled video game turned decade-long nightmare. It was published by the studio’s new imprint, Absurd Ventures Press, and distributed by Simon & Schuster, one of the Big Four houses. Houser is best known for his work as the head writer on every Grand Theft Auto game since 1999, both Red Dead Redemption titles, Bully, and Max Payne 3.
$29
The physical hardcover edition of A Better Paradise: Volume One is distributed by Simon & Schuster.
A Better Paradise takes place in the near future (2041) and revolves around Daisy’s Ark, an advanced video game world developed by tech startup Tyburn Industria. Conceived by visionary psychologist Mark Tyburn, Daisy’s Ark was eventually canceled following a pattern of “unexpected and disturbing results.” A decade later, their creation refuses to remain buried, haunting those who were connected to its development.
A Better Paradise has multiple first-person narrators, including Kurt Fischer, a key former employee of Tyburn Industria, Daisy Tyburn, Mark’s daughter and the namesake of the video game world, and an artificial intelligence named NigelDave.
The hardcover edition is 448 pages, but it’s a quicker read than the average novel of this length; each short paragraph is separated by a line break, so there’s a decent amount of white space on each page.
Save big by signing up for Audible Premium Plus
If you’re interested in the Audible-exclusive audiobook, Amazon is running a great promotion that lets new subscribers get a Premium Plus membership for $0.99/month for three months. Members get a monthly credit that can be used to purchase any book in the Audible catalog. Essentially, you can buy A Better Paradise for $1 instead of the audiobook’s retail price of $30.58 ($24.46 for members).
Even if you aren’t eligible for the promotion, signing up for one month of Audible Premium Plus at $14.95 saves you over $15. Audiobooks purchased with credits are treated just like ones you buy with cash, so the book will remain in your Audible library even if you cancel your subscription.
As mentioned, the book is adapted from the narrative audio series of the same name. The series debuted last June and ran for 12 episodes. Each episode features an ensemble cast of performers, including The Walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln, Shamier Anderson, and Paterson Joseph. You can listen to the audio series for free on podcast services.
The novel version of A Better Paradise expands the narrative by providing more background on the early days of Tyburn Industria’s video game project and the people who made it.
As the title suggests, this is the first novel in a series by Houser. It’s unclear how many volumes are planned, but we do know A Better Paradise will eventually be home to a real video game. The first game set in A Better Paradise’s universe is in development at Absurd Ventures.
Absurd Ventures has also partnered with Dark Horse on American Caper, a 12-part comic book series created and written by Houser. American Caper #1 releases November 12 and is available to preorder on Kindle for $5. You can also preorder American Caper #2 for $5 ahead of its December 24 release.
Novels about video games and game studios:
If you’re interested in reading more fiction centered around games and the people who make them, check out the list of novels below. I’d especially recommend Jason Rekulak’s coming-of-age novel The Impossible Fortress to retro enthusiasts. Similarly, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a heartfelt saga about two friends who bond over video games and eventually start a game studio of their own.
- Jason Rekulak – The Impossible Fortress
- Gabrielle Zevin – Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
- Austin Grossman – You
- Collin Armstrong – Polybius
- Neal Stephenson – Reamde
- Neal Stephenson – Fall; or, Dodge in Hell
- Ernest Cline – Armada
- Ernest Cline – Ready Player One
- Ernest Cline – Ready Player Two
- Marie Lu – Warcross
- D.B. Weiss – Lucky Boy Wander (Kindle) — $6
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