JOE KUSTER
Tech mercenary by day, author by night. Two decades on the front lines of security and bleeding-edge tech — channeled into pulpy, cyberpunk-soaked fiction about the world going to heck and the people who refuse to let it.
The Library
Two series. 6 books. Hard sci-fi at the seam where today's tech becomes tomorrow's nightmare — and a portal-fantasy detour through realms with sharper teeth than yours.
Entangled Fates // 01
Quantum Beginnings
A hard sci-fi exploration of the journey from today's technology to the neon-soaked cyberpunk of tomorrow — and the early, but inevitable, missteps around artificial intelligence.
Full Catalog
About
Joe travels the world each week as a tech mercenary defending the mega-corporations of tomorrow from hackers. Over twenty years in IT, most of it centered around security and cutting-edge technology.
In his spare time, he plays video games and reads far too many pulpy books — the kind that involve the world going to heck, characters with complicated love lives, or both at once. Eventually he stopped just reading them and started writing them.
The result: hard sci-fi about how today's networks become tomorrow's cyberpunk dystopia, plus the occasional portal-fantasy escape hatch when the real-world threat models get too on-the-nose.
Updates
- 07.15.2021 Lightfoot II released — TJ's adventure continues into the King's Quest. Release
- 06.04.2021 Lightfoot 1 audiobook released. Listen on Audible. Audio
- 12.08.2020 Quantum Escape audiobook released. Audio
- 11.08.2020 Lightfoot launched and quickly hit the Top 20 Best Seller list. Milestone
- 07.21.2020 Quantum Decay — Entangled Fates Book 4 — released. Release
- 02.13.2020 Quantum Escape — Entangled Fates Book 3 — released. Release
- 11.10.2019 Quantum Proliferation — Entangled Fates Book 2 — released. Release
- 08.09.2018 Quantum Beginnings — Entangled Fates Book 1 — released. Series launches. Release
In Progress
// prone to change without notice
- Nexus Traders Nexus Trader Series
A new universe at the seam of cyberpunk and the gates between worlds.
- Lightfoot 3 Lightfoot Series // 03
TJ's saga continues — the next leg of the King's quest, with new realms and sharper teeth.
- Entangled Fates: Carla Side Story
Carla's perspective on the events between Quantum Escape and Quantum Decay.
- Entangled Fates: DoF Series Continuation
Dawn of the next chapter for Alex and Sophie's war.
Day Job
When not writing about cyberpunk dystopias, Joe is helping prevent them.
Tech Mercenary
Twenty-plus years defending Fortune 500 mega-corps from sophisticated threat actors. Travels the globe responding to incidents that don't make the news.
Conference Speaker
Keynotes on cybersecurity, AI threat modeling, and the blurring line between speculative fiction and the next breach.
Strategic AI Advisor
Strategic AI Advisor for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Executive Education Program.
Open a Channel
Reader, hacker, publisher, or producer — pick your protocol.