EXPLOSIONS! CYBERNETICS! CONSPIRACIES! FOOTNOTES! (LOTS OF THESE, ACTUALLY)

When William "Billy" Budd signed up as a volunteer test subject at Frost Labs, he just wanted the $250 gift card; after all, $250 can buy a lot of ramen if you're a brilliant but underpaid grad assistant. The stirrings of romance with another program member are just icing on the cake — a victory for wise-cracking slackers everywhere.

But when routine medical tests reveal a life-threatening health condition, Billy finds himself swept into a shadowy world of corporate conspiracies, government secrets, and sinister forces that will stop at nothing to reach their goals before a rising crisis that threatens all humanity.

Blending elements of an action-packed, cyberpunk conspiracy thriller with erudite scientific and cultural references (and a healthy dose of irreverent humor), Billy's madcap journey through the seven layers of a high-tech Purgatory, his battle for survival, and his quest for love combine in a rare treat for the senses — candy for the brain, and if not soup, then ramen for the soul — a passionate, if slightly unstable, love letter to nerd culture.