Task Lyst
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- $29.99
Publisher Description
Elliott is a struggling musician who is trying to piece together enough cash every month to keep his dream of performing alive while also paying his rent. That’s when he discovered the new app TASK LYST. As a service provider, he sets his own hours, his funds are delivered covertly in bitcoin and the rates continue to grow…but so does his suspicion over the type of tasks that he is being asked to complete. Is the anonymous nature of app-based freelance work enough to abate Elliott’s suspicions…and conscience?
Meanwhile, the glossy new Task Lyst corporation is looking for start-up capital and perhaps an extra way to make the app profitable, by assisting the government in spying on users. Alice Seeger is a smart and beautiful executive who once had a promising future in Silicon Valley, but a few bad investments have put her on the edge of being fired and saddled with a lifestyle that she can no longer afford. At first glance, Task Lyst seemed like an app to pass on…until she discovers it’s dark underbelly which makes it more appealing financially while also being an enormous legal liability. She must test her own professional judgment against her morals in determining at what price she finds her own success.
This gig-economy thriller takes a look at the on-demand service industry, and it’s shady possibilities. Apps have become all-encompassing in our fast-paced modern lives and their utility is undeniable. In this gripping thriller, we follow the many sides, shades and shadows of the app economy and test the question: how far is too far?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Hylbert's intriguing and timely debut, the premise of Task Lyst, a new internet app, seems straightforward: jobs such as dog walking are offered in exchange for payment in either cash or bitcoin. All transactions can be carried out anonymously, if either party so desires. Elliott Temple, a musician who's barely making ends meet, takes to the new app with gusto, even when the jobs he accepts start bordering on illegality. Alice Seegar, senior associate of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, is analyzing the potential of Task Lyst with an eye to taking the app to an international level. Tim Middleton lands a job as project manager for the new venture. All three are willing to put aside their initial doubts about the moral and criminal implications the app displays in exchange for substantial monetary gain until a Task Lyst user kills a Russian dissident. The frequent song references, notably to the works of Bob Dylan and Jerry Garcia, will keep music lovers of a certain age humming along. Hylbert sheds light on the problem of internet privacy while astutely capturing the details that define the lifestyle of the too rich and yet still greedy.
