Xiphactinus

By: Rich Shapero

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

Could embracing our darkest impulses be the ultimate path to authenticity?

Dun is a successful Silicon Valley venture capitalist whose meteoric rise in tech—against all odds—has brought him wealth and notoriety. He’s been ruthless in business and it’s paid off, but a powerful demon gnaws at his conscience, and a mounting cascade of litigation threatens both his livelihood and his life.

In this moment of crisis, a monstrous voice counsels him, interpreting with a strange mixture of affection and disdain the events that have led him here. Recalling their dark kinship from Dun’s early years through his dysfunctional childhood and career, this unlikely mentor urges him menacingly toward a stark awareness of his true nature, and the inner predatory resources he might summon to set himself free…

Shot through with black humor and nail-biting suspense, Xiphactinus is a boldly unorthodox work of startling originality that reads as psychological thriller, scientific meditation, and poetic excavation of the human condition.

©2025 Rich Shapero (P)2026 Rich Shapero