He built a digital refuge for the dying.

Now he may never leave it.

When Vinestead engineer Ken Barnes is shot in Austin's Old Downtown district, he finds himself trapped inside the House of Nepenthe—a virtual reality construct built from his own memories. Designed as a last-resort digital hospice, the House should allow him to communicate with the outside world while his body lies in a hospital bed.

But something is wrong. The connection is blocked. His personal assistant is hiding something behind her professional smile. And the House won’t stop digging up memories he spent years trying to bury.

Where to Buy

House of Nepenthe will be available in print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other online retailers on June 2, 2026. Digital copies will be available on Kindle and through Kindle Unlimited.

Amazon · Bookshop.org · Barnes & Noble · Signed Copy

Praise for House of Nepenthe

"Every word in Daniel Verastiqui’s books is lovingly wrought from the darkest materials of the imagination—and this newest novel is no different. Continuing his exploration of genre tropes and how they can be fused onto the body of the terrifying futures in sci-fi, House of Nepenthe blends the virtual with the worlds of murder mystery, hardboiled noir, paranoid conspiracies and. . . is that time travel?"

– Carl, Noted Pug Enthusiast

"It had a cool cyberpunk Scooby-Doo vibe, with the high school kids sleuthing about and everyone trying to unveil the real mastermind, that balanced out the heavier scenes and concepts."
— Advance Reader 

Starring

Ken Barnes - A software engineer at Vinestead International, Ken built the House of Nepenthe as a digital hospice, a place where the dying could find peace before the end. After being shot during a business trip, he wakes trapped inside his own unfinished creation, forced to confront the guilt he's spent years refusing to face.

Lee Gardner - A disgraced FBI agent pulled into the investigation at Vinestead's request, Lee is methodical, skeptical, and fighting his own demons. The closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous the case becomes.

Patrick Quinn - Ken's best friend and colleague, Patrick refuses to believe the evidence piling up against him. While a tapeworm tears through VNet, he follows his instincts... straight into the middle of a corporate conspiracy.

Raylene Jackson - A high school hacker who stumbles onto a prototype of the House buried in the Net. What starts as an opportunity for clout becomes something far more personaldangerous.