Humbug - Bertauski, Tony

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Résumé :
He skipped the funeral. The ghost came anyway. Ebenezer Scrooge is a billionaire tech mogul, a recluse living atop a mountain fortress known as Castle Scrooge. Co-founder of Avocado, Inc., a cutting-edge company behind synthetic stem cells and the world's most advanced AI, Eb has everything except sentiment. So when his longtime friend and business partner Jacob Marley dies suddenly, the only tear shed is performed by a droid in Eb's place at the funeral. That should've been the end of it. But Marley isn't quite gone. His consciousness, uploaded into Avocado's omnipresent AI system, has one last mission: to save Eb from himself. On Christmas Eve, Jacob's digital ghost begins a campaign to confront his old friend's greed, cynicism, and detachment. And it begins with two unexpected gifts dropped on Scrooge's doorstep: twin girls Jacob secretly adopted, now under Eb's reluctant care. As Christmas morning dawns, Castle Scrooge becomes the stage for an increasingly surreal and hilarious reckoning. Between corporate meltdowns, talking droids with attitude, and unsettling little girls who know far too much, Scrooge must confront a truth no algorithm can predict: maybe the man who has everything is still missing the one thing that matters. Humbug: The Unwinding of Ebenezer Scrooge is a sharp, satirical, and heartfelt reimagining of Dickens' classic, fusing holiday spirit with futuristic flair. Perfect for fans of Black Mirror meets A Christmas Carol, this is a modern ghost story about technology, transformation, and the data we leave behind. Christmas isn't dead. Just uploaded....

Biographie:
Tony Bertauski began his writing career with magazine columns, landscape design textbooks, and a gardening column for the Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, before turning fully to fiction. Influenced by a grandfather whose shelves overflowed with classic science fiction, his work explores consciousness, identity, and what it means to be human. In 2008, he won the South Carolina Fiction Open for his short story Four Letter Words. He is best known for the Claus Universe and the Socket Greeny Saga, writing stories that emphasize momentum, emotional connection, and unexpected twists, always with entertainment at the forefront....

Sommaire:
THE HOLIDAY UPDATE NOBODY ASKED FOR. Ebenezer Scrooge isn't just rich. He's obscene. Perched in a mountain fortress, he co-founded Avocado, Inc., the company behind synthetic stem cells and the world's most advanced AI. He has everything money can buy. What he doesn't have, and doesn't want, is sentiment. When his longtime partner Jacob Marley dies, Scrooge doesn't bother going to the funeral. That job goes to a droid. End of story, right? Not exactly. Jacob isn't gone. Not really. He had a plan, should Ebenezer outlive him. One final mission: to save Eb from himself. On Christmas Eve, Marley's digital ghost begins his campaign, an intervention equal parts unnerving, surreal, and, at times, painfully honest. The first step? Two very real surprises dropped on Scrooge's doorstep: twin girls Jacob secretly adopted. Now under Eb's reluctant care, these unsettling children are about to turn Castle Scrooge into the strangest holiday playground on Earth. Between corporate meltdowns, sarcastic droids, and Jacob's haunting, Eb faces a reality no algorithm could have predicted: that the man who has everything might still be empty. Humbug: The Unwinding of Ebenezer Scrooge is a sharp, satirical, and heartfelt reimagining of Dickens' classic, fusing holiday spirit with futuristic flair. Perfect for fans of Black Mirror meets A Christmas Carol, it's a modern ghost story about technology, transformation, and the data we leave behind....