James Patterson plans to blow up his next book, literally (meaning literally). The planet’s bestselling author since 2001, according to Vanity Fair, is offering his fans the chance to join him and watch his next release, Private Vegas, self-destruct at an undisclosed location 24 hours after the purchaser opens it.
For a cool $294,038, the winner receives “the most thrilling reading experience of all time”; a first-class flight to said undisclosed location, luxury hotel accommodations for two nights, a pair of 14-karat gold binoculars (the better to see with), dinner with the author, and the exploding copy of Private Vegas. “While the details of how the book will explode are being kept secret, the process will involve a bomb squad and a location that could come straight out of a Patterson story,” reports Lori Holcomb-Holland in the New York Times.
Another 1,000 fans will be able to read the book for free — for 24 hours. On the site selfdestructingbook.com, codes will be released in groups. Users can download free digital copies that will delete themselves a day after reading begins.
The ninth in Patterson’s “Private” series, Private Vegas is due out next Monday, January 26. Codes for the free “exploding” digital copies will begin to be released at noon on Wednesday.