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.

this was quite an unusual read for me. I usually don't pick up dystopian books but the cover had me intrigued! this was philosophical and not exactly my cup of tea. This is something that would make you pause and think about it. Definitely something to reread!

A nightmare to try and describe, just read the damn thing.
I enjoyed this book a lot, but it is hard to process. Just trust yourself to start reading, and see where the rabbit hole goes...

I loved the cover. The content I'm still not sure. It felt like a series of TED talks given by any new character appearing in the book and leading the main guy into a Mad Max / Jason Bourne journey lasting just one paragraph until the next TED speaker. While all the theories presented here are based on real science and I somehow was familiar with most of them, ranging from physics to economics through genetics, marketing and evolution, I never knew if I should read the book as a scientific review or as a Dan Brown book twisting facts to mislead the reader into believing they're true. The theories synthesized together to create a broad theory of life was interesting but the plot and the writing were switching between overly action movie or super bland. This is a part one out of three books and I'm getting tired of books in bits, I'm not sure I'm ready to read 2 more tomes to know how it ends.

A really intersting and engaging book - part social philosophy, part techno-gazing and always interesting. I read it very quickly becauseI kept waiting to find out what happened next. So it was a bit of a wrench to get to the cliffhanger ending! That said, I will look out for the next book in the series as I have a background in some of the areas of expertise asked for and will be keen to find out how these get woven into the storyline, Can't wait to read it, and William Topchiev is now on my list of authors to look out for. Highly recommended indeed.

I don't have much to say about this one (must be my mood at the moment) other than I enjoyed it. The author is very imaginative and writes good dialog. It is a "thinkers" novel written in an unusual style and difficult to categorize its genre; mainly sci-fi. Recommended.

I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!

Topchirv builds a world that is propelled along by interesting ideas and well-written dialogue. Creative and inventive.