Eater SF profiles Colin Winnette and the spots where he wrote "Users"

In a “tag along” with Eater SF, Colin Winnette visits the dives and cafes where he wrote “Users.”

“…most of the time, he’s just drinking a pickle back and eating fried okra after sifting through the white noise of San Francisco for eight hours or so. The author says these bars and restaurants remind him of Denton, in that they’re ubiquitous and unpretentious. ‘They have a thread of home,’ Winnette says.”

https://sf.eater.com/2023/8/17/23814654/users-book-colin-winnette-san-francisco

TOR.com names USERS "Silicon Valley Gothic"

Identifying USERS’ horror roots, Chelsea Davis at TOR.com wrote about USERS as a part of a new tradition of Silicon Valley Gothic, saying:

“Miles’s career, and the novel’s plot, take off when he invents The Ghost Lover, a highly popular virtual scenario in which the user is gently haunted by the spirit of an old flame. The game seamlessly marries Gothic creature with science fictional technology, “merging elements of real life with the impossible logic of the subconscious[,] … the extra-rational.” It is there, after all, in the locked basement of the unconscious, that horror thrives—and Ghost Lover asks whether we really ought to use science to open the door to that particular cellar.”

https://www.tor.com/2023/07/26/silicon-valley-gothic-putting-the-ghost-back-in-big-techs-machine/

Esquire examines USERS as part of the "Rise of Tech Worker Fiction"

Putting USERS in conversation with Sarah Rose Etter’s RIPE, Josh Riedel’s PLEASE REPORT YOUR BUG HERE, and more, Esquire Magazine included USERS as part of the “Rise of Tech Worker Fiction,” saying:

“More subtle and internal than the tales of moustache-twirling (or turtleneck-wearing) founders appearing in journalistic profiles and documentaries, these narratives detail the personal crises of individuals clinging to paychecks and praise from their employers while struggling to square the promise of their work with the nagging truth of it. These stories, while fictional, ask a very real question about technology and labor today, against a backdrop of economic precarity and social isolation: how many of our values can we sacrifice for a shot at a secure life?”

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a44449514/tech-worker-fiction/

Powell's includes USERS in their list of "bookseller-recommended titles"!

The good folks at Powell’s Books included USERS in their round-up of “Hot Book Summer: 24 Bookseller-Recommended Titles” saying,

“Users immediately drew me in with its dark humor and clever commentary on the addictive nature of technology. Winnette creates a compelling, and anxiety-inducing world where the line between reality and illusion is blurred.”

https://www.powells.com/post/lists/hot-book-summer-24-booksellerrecommended-titles