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A review by wordsofapaige
Dare to Know by James Kennedy
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Oh my god. I thought this book was crazy, and then I hit the last 60 pages. I'd been reading it on my lunch break and had to put it down just as the true insanity hit. It was the longest afternoon of my life, I was so desperate to get back to this book!
James Kennedy has crafted a premise and a novel that starts in one place, and ends up somewhere completely and utterly different. It only takes 300 pages but it works perfectly and at no point does it feel rushed, or like anything is missing. We follow our narrator in across almost his entire life. Intertwined with the present day parts are bits and pieces from his past. It ranges from Physics camp with his new best friend, days out with his ex-girlfriend and affairs while he travels. Every moment is important, every moment somehow leads into that ending. You get something entirely different to what the blurb promises, but in the best possible way.
We don't meet a crazy huge cast of characters. Everything mainly centres around a few of the narrators friends and co-workers. Renard, a boy he meets at Physics camp while he is also a child, and who seems to influence his life a lot more than expected. Julia, his ex-girlfriend who seems to keep a hold over his life long after they break up. And the narrators co-workers, who all play a vital role in helping us understand what is going on.
The idea of knowing your death date is a scary one. Kennedy lets us see the birth of this trade, all the way to present day when anyone can now afford to find out. This book is a lot less about why people decide to find this out, and more about the theory behind it, and how it actually works. But not in a dull science way. What could be insanely difficult concepts are explained with confidence and clarity, and the important parts come up again and again.
I won't spoil anything but those last 60 pages are truly pulse-pounding. Kennedy grabs you and just runs, his sentences become snappy, what should be leaps in logic make perfect sense and my god I loved it.
This is spec fic at its finest. If you love a story that starts weird and gets WEIRD, this is for you.
Oh my god. I thought this book was crazy, and then I hit the last 60 pages. I'd been reading it on my lunch break and had to put it down just as the true insanity hit. It was the longest afternoon of my life, I was so desperate to get back to this book!
James Kennedy has crafted a premise and a novel that starts in one place, and ends up somewhere completely and utterly different. It only takes 300 pages but it works perfectly and at no point does it feel rushed, or like anything is missing. We follow our narrator in across almost his entire life. Intertwined with the present day parts are bits and pieces from his past. It ranges from Physics camp with his new best friend, days out with his ex-girlfriend and affairs while he travels. Every moment is important, every moment somehow leads into that ending. You get something entirely different to what the blurb promises, but in the best possible way.
We don't meet a crazy huge cast of characters. Everything mainly centres around a few of the narrators friends and co-workers. Renard, a boy he meets at Physics camp while he is also a child, and who seems to influence his life a lot more than expected. Julia, his ex-girlfriend who seems to keep a hold over his life long after they break up. And the narrators co-workers, who all play a vital role in helping us understand what is going on.
The idea of knowing your death date is a scary one. Kennedy lets us see the birth of this trade, all the way to present day when anyone can now afford to find out. This book is a lot less about why people decide to find this out, and more about the theory behind it, and how it actually works. But not in a dull science way. What could be insanely difficult concepts are explained with confidence and clarity, and the important parts come up again and again.
I won't spoil anything but those last 60 pages are truly pulse-pounding. Kennedy grabs you and just runs, his sentences become snappy, what should be leaps in logic make perfect sense and my god I loved it.
This is spec fic at its finest. If you love a story that starts weird and gets WEIRD, this is for you.