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salesia16's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
asherlock99's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
yak_attak's review against another edition
3.5
Compulsively readable, but annoyingly smug, Kennedy's Dare to Know is both captivating and irritating in equal measure, and your enjoyment of the book is going to primarily be based on how well you can handle the 'smarmy self-aware divorced middle-aged scumbag narrates his life and how much a dick he is' core of the novel. There's some really fun philosophy here, and by the end the book has degenerated into very fun eldritch unknowable horror (Also that - by the ending things get....vague, so you gotta be okay with that too.). But the core, the message, the thing you'll remember most is basically "shitty white man is mediocre and has a breakdown *so hard* you guys."
That said - and it is a pretty off putting, trite concept - I'm intrigued by Kennedy's other books, because if they have a similar strength of style, prose (very modern, yes, but still) and interweaving plotting, with some great imagery... well, this was still a fast, fun, cool read. Maybe not going to be one of the things I most remember, but I'd also rather read this again than a number of other popular sci-fi books out there these days. If the blurb sounds good, pick it up, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
That said - and it is a pretty off putting, trite concept - I'm intrigued by Kennedy's other books, because if they have a similar strength of style, prose (very modern, yes, but still) and interweaving plotting, with some great imagery... well, this was still a fast, fun, cool read. Maybe not going to be one of the things I most remember, but I'd also rather read this again than a number of other popular sci-fi books out there these days. If the blurb sounds good, pick it up, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
jillianmani's review
1.0
DNFd this book. I was about 200 pages in and bored. It seemed super predictable. The premise was cool and I think it could potentially make a cool movie???
goodneighborbooks's review
5.0
A company can tell you, with 100% accuracy, when you are going to die. But what happens when you live beyond your expiration date? We meet our narrator as his life and grasp of reality are crumbling around him. As you read along, your sense of reality will melt away too. I dare you to read, Dare to Know.
dennistraub's review
5.0
I loved the book and couldn't put it down. The end was a little odd, otherwise it could easily have been one of my all-time favorites! Listen to the audio book if you can, the narrator is amazing!
rkiladitis's review
4.0
I love books like this. A tech thriller that keeps you guessing up until the last minute, Dare to Know solidly builds on the concept of an algorithm that predicts exactly when someone is going to die, only to be turned on its head when the guy figuring out the algorithms starts looking into his own death. The pacing is good, moving between the present and past to show how the protagonist's life has unraveled, but also drops seeds that helps readers construct what we're seeing build up in front of us. Things get a little unhinged at the end, but I loved it.
ngreader's review
3.0
This....is a weird book. Half sci-fi, half philosophy, with bits of mystery all in. I read an ARC of this book and honestly felt like some of it went over my head.
adam_weasel's review
5.0
I'm not sure why so many people didn't get this book. The story was very clear, and the ending related to thanatons and anti-thanatons (and the eschaton) that perfectly explained what happened at the end. Think big bang theory (which the author also alluded to with the creation of the Crab Nebula). All the necessary details were there, the main characters' stream-of-conciousness thinking was quite deliberate. The book was well-paced, the flashback scenes, while numerous, were never too long or tedious.
I frankly loved it, I finished it in four days and I rarely do that. If you're up for a weird, out-of-the-box experience that plays with science, math, death cults, bad drug trips and philosophy, give it a go!
I frankly loved it, I finished it in four days and I rarely do that. If you're up for a weird, out-of-the-box experience that plays with science, math, death cults, bad drug trips and philosophy, give it a go!
merlandre's review against another edition
4.0
An intriguing idea that gets somewhat confusing at times.