About
Filed Under No One
A free spy novel in the le Carré tradition — and the companion stealth game that finishes it.
What it is
Filed Under No One is two things that complete each other: a literary spy novel you can read free online, in full, and a free top-down stealth game that plays in your browser.
The novel is institutional dread in the tradition of John le Carré and the British Cold-War thriller — slow-burn, procedural, and quiet, where the most dangerous object in the room is a rubber stamp. The game is the night the story turns: no combat, only light and shadow. You don't need one to enjoy the other, but read and played together they tell the whole of it.
The story
For eleven years, Margaret Vane sat at the Registry and decided what the country was allowed to see. Her work was Coverage — where the cameras pointed, which corridors a stranger could cross unseen, which gaps in the watching were acceptable. She signed off the dark places herself, and she was the best they had ever had at it.
Then she found a ledger that files the living as dead — a clean, careful death transacted entirely on paper, for a man who had eaten his breakfast that morning. She did the correct thing. She reported it, through the proper channel, in her own neat hand. By morning she had never existed: struck from the record by the same machinery she had spent her life perfecting.
The novel is the eleven weeks that follow — of becoming no one, and of planning the one way back in. The game is that night.
The book & the game
The book stops at the threshold. The game is the single night Margaret goes back into the building she once secured, to recover the one folder in the dark that proves she was ever real — slipping the blind spots she drew herself.
Read it, play it, in whichever order you like. The book is the why; the game is the night. Each stands on its own.
For readers of
- John le Carré — Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, A Legacy of Spies: tradecraft as paperwork, betrayal as procedure.
- Mick Herron — Slow Horses: the institution as the real antagonist, dry and merciless.
- The British Cold-War thriller generally — quiet, bureaucratic, more dread than action.
If you like spy fiction where the danger is a signature and a closed file, not a car chase, this is for you — and it costs nothing to start.
Common questions
Is the book really free to read?
Yes. You can read the entire novel free online, in full, with no signup and no account. If you'd rather own it, it's also in paperback and e-book on Amazon.
Do I need an account or an app to read it?
No. It reads in any web browser — nothing to install, no login, no paywall.
How does the game relate to the book?
The novel ends at the threshold; the game is the single night Margaret goes back in. Each stands alone, and you can read or play in either order — together they complete the story.
Is the game free, and what do I need to play it?
Yes, free. It plays in any modern browser — desktop or mobile — with no download. On desktop you can use a keyboard or a gamepad.
How long is the game, and how many levels are there?
The story campaign, The File, is 23 hand-built levels across three acts. There are also 14 standalone Field Exercises you can play in any order.
Is there any combat?
None. It's pure stealth — light, shadow, patrol routes and patience. No weapons, no fighting; the only way through is not to be seen.
Who made it?
Written and built by David Silva under DS Laboratory, an independent studio making owned, deterministic, offline-first software and stories.
The author
David Silva writes and builds under DS Laboratory, an independent studio making owned, deterministic, offline-first software and stories. Filed Under No One — the novel and its companion stealth game — is one work in two forms.
Find the books on Amazon · the studio at dslaboratory.uk · or the press kit for media & assets.