outrage: level 10

Alex Malone is brain-damaged from a career as a legendary goon in the outlawed sport of hockey. Now he's a cop because that’s the only job that’ll take him. His presence is enough to raise a citizen's outrage level, putting him at constant risk of being banished or, even worse, sent to the mysterious Maze.

His headaches bring the type of pain that makes plunging off one of Pittsburgh's bridges a viable option. The bouts of unfettered rage interfere with his ability to complete even the simplest task of rounding up the centenarians with the dying brains and bionic bodies who terrorize the citizens.

Since The People assumed control of the Republic of America, death before 130 has become a thing of the pre-Revolutionary past. Cancer, heart disease, spinal cord injury — all eradicated thanks to tax dollars funding medical research instead of wars and unjust justice. If only they could figure out the brain…

So an experimental treatment sounds good to Malone. It feels good, too. The blackouts that would end with bleeding knuckles and a citizen unconscious on a sidewalk are replaced by vivid memories. The only problem is the memories aren't his. They’re filled with torture and more violence than even the undefeated champion on ice boxing couldn’t imagine.

With a sense of purpose not felt since his days as the league’s premier ice boxer, Malone is determined to find out what’s going on in his head, even if it makes him a target of the outraged mob and the powerful sadists that manipulate it, and leads him to horrifying truths that should have remained lies.

Outrage: Level 10 is an antihero’s journey through the inner workings of a violent, near-future dystopia.

"Leitner relishes the absurdity of the world she created. Living up to the idea of a dystopian future, she juggles the world-building and conspiracy-themed plot with such a sarcastic flair in her prose, that the pages breeze on by. Always with a tangent on hand that doesn’t bog down the story, Outrage takes punches at this social media-driven day and age.

"Almost in the vein of George Romero or Douglas Adams, Leitner has a voice for delivering deeply compassionate character moments that mesh with the satirical — almost bordering on parody — elements of the story.

"For all the insanity, humorous and disturbing alike, Outrage hits with a through-line that manages to captivate the reader."

-Michael Benavidez, Morbidy Beautiful Horror