Catharsis

By: Rhys Lovell

Narrated by: Rhys Lovell

The rage room. In the mid 21st century, it has become the most sought out method of destruction therapy. Want to kill your lover and get away with it? What about your boss? Your priest? At Catharsis, Chicago’s premier rage room for the wealthy elite, you now can—in a safe, controlled simulation—and no one gets hurt. No one dies.

Owen Valack is the CEO who runs Catharsis, a corporation built on the backs of his father and grandfather. Now, decades after its inception, a new technology is being pioneered at Catharsis, substituting living, sentient replicants as victims instead of crude, outdated holograms. And Owen, in the midst of a bitter divorce, has decided to use his estranged wife’s replicant as the prototype. But the replicants, unlike the crude holograms that came before, fight back with surprising strength and agility. A shocking discovery is made when the simulated murder of a second replicant coincides with the grisly death of its human counterpart swimming 2,000 miles away at Malibu Beach.

Pete Malinowski, a beat cop, gets a call to respond to a reported drowning. Inexplicably, what he finds is a man clearly dead, but not from drowning. Suspecting a homicide, he begins an investigation that leads him from Malibu Beach to Council Grove, Kansas, and finally back to Chicago to ferret out the truth of what’s really happening behind closed doors at the premier Chicago rage room.

©2023 Rhys Lovell (P)2024 Rhys Lovell

Enjoyable story!!!

The story was fast paced and enjoyable! The characters were strong and the Narrator was on point with his characters. A great listen! Recommend !!

Fast paced fiasco

Well done, short vivid scenes make it fast paced with very dark themes and characters.
Modified voices and sound effects add to the narrative but which voice gets the biggest share of the royalties?

A Spine-Tingling Novel Brought to Chilling Reality in Audio

Where is technology leading us? And do we possess the morality .. the humanity … to wield its power for the common good? “Catharsis” takes you on an adrenaline-laced ride that doesn’t let up. It’s part science fiction, part police procedural, part psychological thriller — and an altogether satisfying nightmare. And in its beautifully realized audio production, it makes this dark world more chillingly real. Author Rhys Lovell masterfully narrates, bringing to life this futuristic (yet frighteningly plausible) world and its many characters. The sound design creates an almost cinematic quality, putting you in the center of the action. You’ll definitely want to turn out the lights, and curl up with your headphones … you won’t be sleeping anytime soon!

Great storytelling and production

Catharsis is a riveting tale of the not too distant future. It’s a good cross pollination of dystopian sci fi and police procedural. Rhys Lovell’s writing is vivid when describing the world of Catharsis and his vocal performance is that of a terrific actor. A great listen!

Compelling and engaging read

The story immediately draws you into a future world that feels hauntingly plausible. The author’s performance of all of the characters is the highlight for me. His performance, coupled with well placed sound effects, makes the experience feel more like a film than a novel. The world building is ingenious and offers insightful commentary about how we cope with our emotions and the role of AI in our future. It was fun to experience classic tropes from the cop thriller genre placed in a not too distant future. This is an action packed thriller that also offers some lovely dream sequences that provide compelling insights into character.

Both chilling and fascinating

This audiobook is a thrilling, futuristic exploration of destruction therapy and the dark consequences of human desire. With its clever fusion of sci-fi and psychological suspense, it kept me on the edge of my seat, questioning morality and the limits of technology. The descent into ethically murky territory makes for an unforgettable and thought-provoking read, brilliantly blending mystery, technology, and human drama, pulling the me into a world where virtual violence has very real consequences. The investigation side adds a bold and imaginative detective element to this dystopian thriller.

Great listen. Like the book, audiobook is fast paced and intriguing. Lovell does a wonderful job creating a compelling story.

Each character fleshed out with just the perfect amount of sound effects and music to drive the narrative. A great first book for Lovell and hoping to hear more from him.

Unsettling and Captivating

Wow, just wow. I was absolutely blown away with Catharsis by Rhys Lovell, who also brilliantly narrates this rollercoaster of a book. This can go either way, and I’m happy to report that Lovell narrating allows the nuances to really shine. Catharsis dives headfirst into the mid-21st-century phenomenon of destruction therapy (think rage room where you get to smash glasses with a sledgehammer and break laptops), and it delivers an experience that’s as unsettling as it is captivating.

This felt like Michael Crichton mixed with Eliot Peper (two of my all-time favorites). It’s a tech-heavy thriller that can hone in on the pulse of the current tech in back rooms. Lovell doesn’t just dabble with the “what ifs” of technology—he takes a flying leap off the deep end, creating a vivid and unnerving landscape that feels frighteningly possible and terrifying.

I have to admit, the concept of Catharsis, a rage room where you can kill anyone—even if it’s just a sentient replicant—completely grabbed me by the collar. But this entire story grabbed me from the very beginning. I applaud and want to thank Lovell for such a well-thought-out and incredibly unsettling version of what the future could look like.

The story’s shift from sterile simulations to the shockingly real feeling in the room — then bouncing to the consequences is handled masterfully and kept me on edge. The pace is relentless, but in the best way possible, especially with Malinowski’s investigation adding layers of tension as he pieces together the sinister events behind what’s happening at Catharsis. It had lots of twists and moral complexities that I want in a good thriller, with all of the futuristic tech you want in a Science Fiction tale.

One of this book’s most impressive aspects was how it used the setting to amplify unease. The bouncing around from intense scenes in Chicago to tranquil moments in Malibu Beach, and even to small-town Kansas, had me feeling disoriented—in the best way. I’d go from gripping my seat to cautiously relaxing, only to be hit by another twist. It was such an effective way to draw out tension, and honestly, it messed with my head to the point that I had a hard time reading it at night.

I think that’s part of what makes Catharsis one of the most fascinating books I’ve read this year. Rhys Lovell’s voice as a narrator brings every chilling scene and every broken character to life with an intensity that’s unforgettable. If you’re looking for a read that’ll pull you in, shake you up, and leave you reeling, you’ve found it.