Elliott is a struggling musician trying to piece together enough cash every month to keep his dream of performing alive while also paying his rent. That’s when he discovered the new app TASK LYST.
As a service provider, he sets his hours, his funds are delivered covertly in bitcoin, and the rates continue to grow…but so does his suspicion over the type of tasks he’s asked to complete. Is the anonymous nature of app-based freelance work enough to abate Elliott’s suspicions…and conscience? Meanwhile, the glossy new Task Lyst corporation is looking for start-up capital and perhaps an extra way to make the app profitable, by assisting the government in spying on users. Alice Seeger is a smart and beautiful executive who once had a promising future in Silicon Valley. However, a few bad investments have put her on the edge of being fired and saddled with a lifestyle that she can no longer afford. At first glance, Task Lyst seemed like an app to pass on…until she discovers its dark underbelly, which makes it more appealing financially while also being an enormous legal liability. She must test her professional judgment against her morals in determining at what price she finds her success.
This gig-economy thriller takes a look at the on-demand service industry and its shady possibilities. Apps have become all-encompassing in our fast-paced modern lives, and their utility is undeniable. In this gripping thriller, we follow the many sides, shades, and shadows of the app economy and test the question: how far is too far?
PRAISE FOR TASK LYST & SCOTT HYLBERT
“The genius of Hylbert’s novel is that its narrative hews so shrewdly to the real and perceived dangers of the online gig economy.”
– The Nashville Scene
"Intriguing and timely debut..."
―Publishers Weekly
“In a thriller, start to finish, Hylbert steps up and buries this shot into the net. Task Lyst is a film or binge-watching series in the making.”
―James Frey, best-selling author of Million Little Pieces and Katerina
“Task Lyst is a novel of and for our times.”
―Dr. John A McCarthy, Professor of German & Comparative Literature emeritus, author of Remapping Reality: Chaos and Creativity in Science and Literature
"Intriguing and timely debut..."
―Publishers Weekly
“The genius of Hylbert’s novel is that its narrative hews so shrewdly to the real and perceived dangers of the online gig economy.”
―The Nashville Scene
"The compelling plot of Task Lyst leads one to assume, not the future of, but rather the presence, of mankind’s New Dark Age."
―Joe Henry, author of Lime Creek
Scott Hylbert spent most of his youth surfing in San Diego before attending Denison University in Ohio to play soccer. Amidst a stalled-career as a rock-n-roller in San Francisco, he packaged spring break tours and ski trips for students before finding a niche in the alternative newsweekly business. There, he sold advertising to concert promoters and record companies for over a decade before enrolling in a masters program at Vanderbilt University while continuing to work and raise two kids. With a focus on creative writing, he pursued a career-long goal to pivot from the marketing side of the media business to the editorial. Recently, with his photographer wife Ashley, he opened a rental photography studio and boutique event space in Nashville called White Avenue Studio.