Frequently Asked Questions
Questions people actually ask, answered without a chatbot, a cookie banner, or a fourteen-paragraph preamble about my journey.
The Series
What order should I read the Ashton Frey Series in?
Read Privatized Freedom first, then Regulated Truth. Privatized Freedom is book one, published in 2025. Regulated Truth is book two, published in 2026, and is a direct sequel that continues the same storyline.
How many books are in the Ashton Frey Series?
The Ashton Frey Series currently has two published books: Privatized Freedom (2025) and Regulated Truth (2026). The series is ongoing.
Do I need to read Privatized Freedom before Regulated Truth?
Yes. Regulated Truth is a direct sequel to Privatized Freedom and assumes you know who everyone is and which of them are dead. Reading them out of order will spoil the first book and confuse you about the second.
Is the Ashton Frey Series finished?
No. The Ashton Frey Series is ongoing. A third installment is planned for 2026.
What is the Ashton Frey Series about?
The Ashton Frey Series follows Ashton Frey, a washed-up private investigator on a ruined Earth locked in permanent impact-winter. Humanity survives inside sealed dome cities owned outright by corporations, where personal freedom is sold as a subscription tier and every appliance has opinions. Ashton's neural implants burned out years ago, which cut him off from the networked world everyone else lives in, ruined his life, and made him nearly impossible to surveil. He solves cases he should walk away from.
What genre is the Ashton Frey Series?
The Ashton Frey Series is satirical cyberpunk: science fiction with a hardboiled noir structure and a comic voice. It also gets shelved as dystopian fiction, science fiction noir, and dark comedy. The Nordic setting and permanent winter give it a Nordic noir texture that most cyberpunk doesn't have.
Is it funny or is it serious?
Both, deliberately. The Ashton Frey Series is a comedy about genuinely bleak things. The jokes are constant and the violence is real, and neither one is there to soften the other. If that combination sounds unpleasant, it might be. Read the free excerpt before committing.
Is This For Me
What books is the Ashton Frey Series similar to?
The Ashton Frey Series is most often compared to William Gibson's Neuromancer and Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash for the futurism and satire, and to Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the comic voice, though considerably darker. Readers also compare it to Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon, the work of Philip K. Dick and Bruce Sterling, and to Blade Runner with a Scandinavian edge.
Do I need to know cyberpunk to enjoy it?
No. The Ashton Frey Series explains its own world as it goes and assumes no prior reading. Knowing the genre will get you a few extra jokes. Not knowing it costs you nothing.
Are there content warnings for the Ashton Frey Series?
Yes. The Ashton Frey Series contains graphic violence, body horror, frequent strong profanity, references to trauma and PTSD, and dark humour about death, injury, and corporate exploitation. It is adult fiction.
Is the Ashton Frey Series suitable for teenagers?
No. The Ashton Frey Series is written for adults and contains graphic violence, body horror, and frequent strong language. It is not young adult fiction and is not appropriate for younger readers.
Can I read a sample before buying?
Yes. The complete prologue and first chapter of both books are free to read on this site, with no email signup required. Privatized Freedom excerpt · Regulated Truth excerpt.
Buying and Formats
Where can I buy the Ashton Frey Series?
Both books are available worldwide from Amazon. The ebooks are exclusive to Amazon Kindle and are included with Kindle Unlimited. The audiobooks are available from Audible, Apple Books, Kobo, Spotify, Storytel, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Everand, Chirp, and more. Full retailer links are on each book's page: Privatized Freedom · Regulated Truth.
What formats are the books available in?
Both Privatized Freedom and Regulated Truth are available as ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
Who narrates the Ashton Frey audiobooks?
Both Ashton Frey audiobooks are narrated by voice actor Hector Carrillo. They are human-narrated, not AI-generated. You can find his work at hectorsvoice.com.
How long are the books?
Privatized Freedom and Regulated Truth are each around 500 pages in print. The audiobooks run approximately 12 hours each.
Are the books available outside the US?
Yes. Both books are distributed worldwide in all formats. The author is based in Finland, the books are published under a Finnish ISBN, and print editions are printed regionally, so shipping is local in most markets rather than international.
Are the books on Kindle Unlimited?
Yes. Both Privatized Freedom and Regulated Truth are free to read with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. If you already pay for KU, you don't need to pay for them again.
Can I get the books from my library?
Yes. The ebooks and audiobooks of Privatized Freedom and Regulated Truth can be borrowed through most library lending apps, including Libby (OverDrive), Hoopla, BorrowBox, cloudLibrary, and Vivlio. Print copies are held by the National Library of Finland, and any library can order the paperback or hardcover. Availability depends on whether your local library has licensed the title. If they haven't, most libraries take purchase requests from patrons, and asking costs nothing.
About The Author
Who is Rhys Constance?
Rhys Constance is an author of satirical Nordic cyberpunk fiction. Born in Australia and based in Finland, he has worked in the video game industry for over a decade, and writes books as an expensive hobby. The Ashton Frey Series is his debut series. Full biography.
Where is Rhys Constance from?
Rhys Constance was born in Australia and now lives in Finland, where the winters are dark enough to make writing dystopian fiction feel less like invention and more like reporting.
Is Rhys Constance traditionally published?
No. Rhys Constance is an independent author. Both Ashton Frey books are self-published under his own Finnish ISBN registration, in print, ebook, and professionally narrated audiobook.
Why does an author who writes about evil corporations sell books on Amazon?
Because the alternative is not selling books. The ebooks are exclusive to Amazon so they can be part of Kindle Unlimited, which is the only way most people will ever take a chance on an unknown author. The audiobooks are everywhere else: Kobo, Libro.fm, Storytel, Apple Books, Spotify, and more, and Libro.fm splits its revenue with independent bookshops. The satire survives the hypocrisy; it's largely made of it.
Contact and Updates
How do I get updates about new books?
The newsletter is where release news goes first. No spam, no content strategy, no inspirational garbage; just updates on what's being written and advance notice of new releases. Subscribe here.
How can I contact Rhys Constance?
Use the contact form on the About page, or reach out on any of the social accounts linked in the header or footer.
Do you provide review copies, interviews, or podcast appearances?
Yes. Reviewers, bloggers, booktubers, and podcasters can request review copies or arrange interviews through the contact form on the About page. Please mention your outlet and preferred format.
What's the best way to support the books?
Leave a review. An honest review on Amazon, Goodreads, or Storytel does more for an independent author than almost anything else, including buying a second copy. Telling one person who'd like it comes a close second.