SOLVED. SF - Future Scifi Murder Mystery in space. Parts of the story take place in a simulation that is set in 1930s or 40s America. Polyamory. [s]

[Dan]

A colony of humans in two separate ships are traveling through deep space. They have been for many, many years.

The ships have large populations with all the necessities and luxuries man could want, including a recreational simulator. The simulator can be very dangerous, though, and it has recently resulted in a death. Possibly even a murder.

Parts of the story take place in a simulation that is set in 1930s or 40s America(?)

The protagonists are a female and male — but the author makes note of the difference in relationship expectations as it compares to 20th century Earth: marriages being temporary contracts, open relationships, polyamory, etc.

I read it around 2010 or 2011. It was likely a new (or recent) release as I was binging from the “new” shelf at the library at this time (I moved and don’t have the account there anymore).

Maybe an American author(?)

[beichst]

This sounds a lot like the 2005 novel Old Twentieth by Joe Haldeman.

"The twentieth century lies hundreds of years in humanity’s past. But the near-immortal citizens of the future yearn for the good old days—when people’s bodies were susceptible to death through disease and old age. Now, they immerse themselves in virtual reality time machines to explore the life-to-death arc that defined existence so long ago. Jacob Brewer is a virtual reality engineer, overseeing the time machine’s operation aboard the starship Aspera. But on the thousand-year voyage to Beta Hydrii, the eight-hundred member crew gets more reality than they expect when people entering the machine start to die."


A brief description from Fantastic Fiction is below:

"The passengers aboard the starship Ad Astra spend most of their time on the thousand-year journey to Beta Hydrii within the virtual reality of twentieth-century Earth. There, they can experience nostalgia for the hardship of a life they've since evolved beyond.

But when people inside the virtual reality chamber start to die, engineer Jacob Brewer finds himself face-to-face with a sentient machine obsessed with humanity. It has put itself in charge of the ship. And it wants to talk to Jacob..."

[Dan]

Amazing. That’s it! Thank you, Brad!!!

[beichst]

@Dan. Thanks for taking time to confirm and set to solved. Good to hear this is the book for which you have been searching.