It is a jangling and disintegrating near-future, a world in which virtual reality has become the primary means of entertainment and the more significant part of life for most of the population. Here, Douglas Hall´s employer, Horace Siskin, the President of Reaction Inc., has created a synthetic world as a demonstration; a virtual l937 New Orleans in which Hall and his superiors Fuller and Lynch, live much of their lives. But when Fuller is murdered and Lynch disappears, governmental scrutiny and investigation threaten to destroy Reaction. Thus, Hall must find his way through this strange New Orleans to determine the identity of the murderer and the motive. He must, he comes to understand, apprehend the killer before both worlds, virtual and "real", have been destroyed.

The identity of the murderer is a stunning surprise. It capsizes the reader´s seeming understanding of the novel and casts light as well on the true meaning of virtual reality.

丹尼尔·加卢耶（1920-1976）

美国科幻作家，赛博朋克先驱。“考德维纳·史密斯再发现奖”（只授予给早已过世，写下名篇，却在生时未受足够赏识的作家）的获得者。

他的处女作《黑暗世界》获得雨果奖提名，距获奖仅一票之差。而《十三层空间》（Simulacron-3），早在威廉·吉布森的赛博朋克名作《神经漫游者》面世二十年之前，就已经深切思考了虚拟世界会带来的诸多问题。