A bizarre and engaging story that will leave the reader thinking about it long after finishig it. Entertaining and disturbing.

Apologies for the delay in reviewing, I was reminded of this book when I heard of the movie adaptation. Beautifully written, highly atmospheric and genuinely thought provoking

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Been reading some rave reviews about this book before I started diving into it and it made me excited. And though I find Foe to be a good read, I don't really see it as something amazing. But it's just me. I am still entertained by it, to be honest. The beginning and the end are great but it's in between where I struggle. I had to take a couple breaks from the book to keep the interest intact. The slow pacing surely doesn't help. I'm glad I stick to it, though, because I ended up enjoying it just the same. Helps that it's not a long book. I'll give it 3.5 stars

Wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this I’ve and the result was quite a treat!!!! Really good book that was chilling and engrossing really, read it in no time and really liked it even when I didn’t think I would I was pleasantly surprised

I didn't feel strongly enough about this to finish. The premise is interesting but the writing style didn't move me.

This was a little gem of a read. I went in totally blind and I'm so glad I did because what unfolded was mysterious and strange but I liked it. I was class this more as sci-fi supernatural, think of it like an episode of Black Mirror. And there was a neat little twist that left me slack jawed after reading it. The writing is sparse in places but totally hard hitting. Would definitely recommend

There's nothing worse than an unwanted house guest but this takes it to another level.

My thoughts before the 90% point: Terrance is the most irritating of all house guests. Him being all up in Junior's business all the time taking notes and collecting data on him made my skin crawl. Oh yeah, and Terrance just had to move in with them to do this. Shudder 😨

As soon as Terrance is introduced he immediately provoked a feeling of disgust from me and the only grew as the story went on. I wanted to physically push him away. The way he interrogated and observed Junior is intense and I felt invaded on behalf of Junior. Terrance comes across so composed, cheery and rehearsed that you'd be forgiven for thinking he's a robot. He says things to Junior like 'you've never mentioned this before, at least not to me' like they're best friends and not an observer and his subject.

Since all of the characters are introduced so close together it's hard to form opinions based on anything other than the scenario dealt out by Terrance. Nevertheless, Henrietta just struck me as odd and a bit too understanding of the fact that her husband was to be snatched away from her for an indeterminate length of time. She reacted the polar opposite to how I would if my husband was going to be yanked away and sent to space. I got the impression quite early on that this was like her prayers had been answered.

My thoughts after the 90% point: Terrance is still annoying but now didn't strike me as too intense since there was a significant reason for his intense data collection. Junior's story took a surprising turn, which a better person probably guessed but I didn't and Henrietta is actually the worst. Even after her husband returns home she remains unhappy with their marriage and her story ends both as I expected and surprising in a way that I probably should've picked up on but hey.

Great book. I'll be buying this in physical format when it's released in 2019.

Well... what an unexpected little treat this was! This managed to be both incredibly subtle and chilling at the same time. I don’t know about you, but when I think sci-fi, subtle isn’t usually the first adjective that comes to mind, but this was so cleverly written that the tension built incrementally throughout.

There’s something about the way it is written that is weirdly disjointed. It was just like that feeling when you walk into a room that you know well, and you immediately know something is .... off, but not being able to put your finger on it. To sustain such an unsettled feeling all the way through this book is no mean feat and it definitely did manage to put me on edge!

For most of this book, the author keeps you in the dark. You are as confused as Junior is and you know that you aren’t being told the whole story. This is the kind of book that’s more about what isn’t said, than what is. You will find yourself wondering why the characters are letting this 'thing' happen to them, but without giving any spoilers, this all makes much more sense by the end.

Not a lot actually happens in Foe, which may frustrate those looking for more action from a sci-fi book. In fact the blurb really does tells you 3/4 of the plot. But everything that does happen is loaded with significance. The story is as much about the marriage and relationship between Junior and Hen, as it is about the fact that he has been picked for a mission far away.

I really enjoyed this, it's a speedy read and one that I wanted to race through anyway as I was desperate to work out exactly what was going on. I also thought the ending was really clever and suddenly a lot of other things made sense. I'm definitely on the look out for more work by Iain Reid.

This book was just not what I was expecting, but in a good way.

Junior and Hentietta get a visit from the Terrence who's part of the OuterMoore Group telling them Junior has been selected for the Installation but Hen won't be left behind alone.

I had vague ideas of what to expect from this book but it was just so much better. There's always twists and turns so it does keep you very much on your toes.

The book is narrated from Junior's point of view and it took me a while to get used to the style of writing as there's no speech marks when Junior speaks.
I understood Junior's initial hostility towards a Terrence but a quarter of the way I was fed up of his attitude in general ; especially towards Hen's feelings.

I would rate this a 4 star because of the twists and turns and the ending itself. If you're interested in sci-fi or just after a slightly different read then this is a book for you.

Reading the synopsis only gives you a simple idea of what this book could be and that idea is tantalizing enough that I requested the ARC on NetGalley. Getting an advance reading copy is a privilege and so it always make me sad that I can’t sometimes rate it higher because some reads just end up being three starred and that’s the truth. That’s what happened with this one.

A psychological mind-blowing concept with no little to no plot and a lot of emphasis on a relationship, this book is at times absolutely amazing and many more times a bit of a let down. The idea of a couple (Junior & Henrietta) living in the middle of nowhere, who have almost no visitors in their daily life and that life being disrupted by something or rather someone. The stranger, Terrence, claims that Junior has been chosen for a project with government and OuterMore to go to space. He tells them that it’s for the betterment of the mankind.

As Terrence explains to Junior and Hen that he needn’t worry about Hen, that a replacement for Junior will be provided for Hen and she won’t even have to miss him. Thus begins the extremely intimate search into Junior and Hen’s private life. It’s a fairly straightforward plot with far more effort put into the relationship between a married couple who then undergoes something so unique and out of the box (at least for me) that it changes them irrevocably by the end of the book.

I think ‘A taut, philosophical mind-bender’ describes this book perfectly and as we read on, we might even guess how it will end but the journey to that is pretty awesome in itself that I didn’t mind finishing it fast. For all that the summary gives off sci-fi vibes, it’s all about people and how they change or don’t change in a marriage.

I gave it three stars because I wasn’t given enough space travel and actual sci-fi part in the book, I mean, it’s rather clever that they wrapped up a book essentially about people in a pretty sci-fi genre but for me, that felt a bit of a let down. There was also the matter of Junior not really changing as a person (which you will see as you read on) that also let me down.

Overall, a really good look at a marriage tested by circumstances so unique and weird that you have to finish to see if you are right in guessing what’s gonna happen.

For fans of Black Mirror and Maniac, this is something you don't want to miss. A mind-bending rollercoaster. I loved it.

This is my first Ian Reid book. So I didn't really know what to expect writing style wise.
I think this is the type of book I needed to have read the synopsis beforehand. Since I didn't know what to expect I was left a little disappointed maybe. I'm struggling to really put into words how I feel.
Nothing much really happened which stopped me really connecting with the characters or really caring about what could happen.

Wow this book was so different. I believed it to be a horror when I picked it up, but boy was I wrong.
Following one POV; Junior. A middle aged man living with his wife, Hen out in the sticks, when one evening he sees head lights coming towards the house. This visitor will change everything.

It was compelling, I wouldn’t put it down. Essentially it was a looking at a marriage. But with this bigger whirling storyline floating around and blueing your vision.
You, the reader, seeing things that Junior doesn’t. And not always agreeing with his theories or interpretations.
I wouldn’t say I liked any of the three characters, and I don’t think the book wanted you to.

The whole read had unsettled undertones that made you feel uneasy as you tried to piece together what was happening.
But this is one of those books that I would love to read again after knowing the full story to look for hidden gems.

A little slow for me and I couldn't really engage with any of the characters, saying that it is well written. The tension builds nicely. A thought provoking read.

There is a strain of horror books set in cabins. Remote settlements far from civilisation where anything can happen. The opening of Iain Reid’s Foe recalls these books. A couple who live on a small farm surrounded by mutant canola fields, a place where no one ever comes, receive a visitor. So begins a tense, three handed dance between the couple and the intruder.
The underlying plot of Foe plays on some fairly common science fiction tropes. Terrance, the interloper, has come from OuterMore, a company that is developing communities in space. In order to test these communities and to be completely fair, OuterMore and the government have run a lottery, those selected through the lottery are required to participate in the test. Terrance comes to announce that Junior is on the long list of those selected, if he makes the short list he will have to leave his wife Henrietta, or Hen, behind. When Terrance returns a few years later to confirm that Junior has been given a spot in the test, he comes with an additional mission. To support Hen while Junior is away, the company will provide a simulacrum of Junior. A fully functioning android which will look and behave like Junior. But in order to build this fake Junior, Terrance has to move in for a few weeks to interrogate, measure and probe the two of them.
While this setup seems a bit convoluted it is not really the point of the story. Reid is much more interested in the dynamics between Junior and Hen and what happens when this third party disturbs their equilibrium. He explores the push and pull of a long term marriage forged through isolation and the stories people tell themselves to keep a relationship alive. Junior is constantly trying to find that balance and it feels like Terrance is constantly trying to upend it. At one point Junior observes:
We’ve returned to our natural tempo. We work; we eat; we sleep. Life finds a way of balancing out. This is what we desire as humans – security, certainty, affirmation.
At the same time Iain is interrogating what it might mean to be a human being. What aspects of life might we wish to harvest if we were indeed trying to make a copy of someone. What memories and activities are essential to build up a life.
There are a couple of twists in the tale, many of which, for readers of science fiction will come as no surprise. But given the deeper layers of the story, surprising the reader is only one aim. The more critical aim of these twists, and the real interest for the reader, is watching how the characters react. Because the revelations come more as a gut punch to some of them.
At times Foe feels like an old fashioned tale. There are echoes of Kafka or the early works of Iain Banks in the bizarre unexplained processes happening around the couple. The farm itself exists in a bubble of isolation and very little of the outside world is explored or explained. But there is also a Black Mirror or Twilight Zone feel to the scenario, almost a thought experiment played out on real people. All of this ambiguity focuses the attention more on the characters and makes Foe a tense, unsettling and thought provoking book.

This novel sits somewhere between a thriller, literary fiction and science fiction and yet is at its core about long-term relationships. Give. The sci-fi element, this would not be part of my ordinary reading diet but I was intrigued by the description.

The writing is excellent and there’s a good build of tension - a sense of foreboding that lingers throughout. Having said that, even though this book is short, I felt the pace lacked at times.

This would make a great play - I could see elements of it unfolding slowly over the course of two hours. Or perhaps one quick episode of Black Mirror into which these events could be condensed.

This was a thought-provoking read that has left me with questions - particularly at the finish.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster UK, Scriber and Iain Reid for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book, the tension and suspense is so well done. It’s a real page turner, I wanted to find out what I was being told.

Admittedly, I think this one could be done as a short story or shorter than this ‘novella.’ Purely because the characters all started to get a little annoying after a while. However, that ending totally rectified everything. So original. I did not see that coming at all

Junior and Henrietta live a quiet, isolated life in a remote rural place, surrounded by canola fields. They’re happy, Junior thinks - they don’t need anything but each other - but the unexpected arrival one day of a stranger from the city in a black government car will disrupt everything in their settled lives. Junior, the man tells him, has been long-listed for a very special project which could involve him travelling far... very far away. He doesn’t, it seems, have a choice in the matter. But it’s wonderful news, the stranger assures him. How lucky he is, how excited he must be!

As the hugely enthusiastic yet increasingly sinister-seeming Terrance comes and goes in Junior and Hen’s lives, it’s clear that there are some cracks in their perfect marriage....

The location and the year are kept deliberately vague, though it’s clearly some way in the future. We are given little information, though, about the wider society beyond Junior and Hen’s little world.

Foe is a deeply intriguing and unsettling read which, for me, was a little reminiscent of some classic speculative science fiction - though the focus is very much on the domestic. The location - surrounded by fields - and the early mention of a “lottery” also reminded me both of Jerome Bixby’s short story It’s a Good Life, and Shirley Jackson’s classic The Lottery - though I suspect these are fairly random and personal associations, as the story is very different from either of these.

The reader is kept wondering throughout I came up with several fairly wacky, and wrong, theories about what was going on. The end, when it comes, is surprising, beautifully understated and completely earned.

It’s effectively a three-hander between Junior, Hen and Terrance, with only very occasional and tangential references to other people (in fact I can recall only one other character actually being named, and even that person barely appears). The focus is very much on the relationships and interplay between these three characters.Junior loves Hen and believes they need nothing more than their home and each other; Hen’s behaviour though seems a little odd, a little distant. Terrance, the stranger, manages to be both a bit sinister and pretty annoying, certainly to Junior.

I’d heard great things about Iain Reid’s previous book, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, though I haven’t yet read it. So when Foe popped up on NetGalley I was keen to try it. I’m glad I did. It’s a short read but a deeply thought provoking and unsettling one which demands - and rewards - close attention from the reader.