I was interested as it began, and then I was a bit distracted by how this ABD living in a car just managed to somehow magically get his appointment. And why he would think this whole endeavor was legitimate. Then we began the deep dive into neurscience terminology and theory, and I was lost.

The Revelations 

I found this a very complex and challenging read. Some of the discussions/concepts were fascinating, but I didn’t find that all of the questions were answered at the end.  
It was a little too philosophical for me. 
Thank you to Netgalley and Abrams Books for a Digital ARC. 


@Abramsbooks #NetGalley

I was in two minds about reading this novel.  It is very long, and the description made it sound like it might be overly literary or overly scientific or both.  These are all factors that put me off a book - despite being a scientist myself, so perfectly capable of understanding scientific themes in literature.  I have little patience with gimmicky techniques or writing that tries to be too clever.  And I feared this might be one of those novels.  But I was intrigued by the subject matter and in the end decided to give it a go.

I'm glad I did.  Whilst it's an intellectual sort of read - dealing with complex concepts and using long words - it is surprisingly readable.  There are some sections - a few pages at most - of the main character's thinking and wondering which get a bit tedious, but you can skim them.  Overall, I was pleasantly surprised to find how easy the bulk of it is to read, and compelling as well.  The long words are used appropriately, not for the sake of it, and I enjoyed looking up the more obscure ones.

The main character is Kierk, a tortured genius type who takes up a prestigious post-doctoral research position on a programme to understand the nature of consciousness.  The programme seems too good to be true - well funded and with two tenure track positions up for grabs at the end of it.  The eight young scientists chosen to participate soon get to know each other and start up work.  But there is a constant undertone of the possibility of something more sinister.  The research institute is constantly targeted by a militant animal rights organisation, with researchers followed and intimidated.  Samples are taken from all of the students to be used for growing organs for research.   And then one of the scholars is killed in what may or may not be a tragic accident.  Meanwhile Kierk is demonstrating a unique skill for self-sabotage and it's doubtful what will destroy him first - his own twisted brilliance, or whatever external forces are threatening the institution - if indeed, anything really is.

It's this sense of mystery and uncertainty that gives the book its momentum and make it gripping to read.  There are many strange goings on, but your mind changes from chapter to chapter about what the explanation might be.  Is it all in Kierk's mind?  Is it a kind of group hysteria?  Is there a dark purpose behind the institute?  Is it the animal rights group?  Because the novel isn't - and would be hard to - categorised into an obvious 'genre', you don't really know what to expect.  The fact it's a story about the nature of consciousness further makes you question what parts may be dreams, or imagination, or hallucination - particularly as Kierk is not the most mentally stable of people.  

Kierk is an interesting character, although not a likeable one.  I was happy enough to read about him but would loathe him if we met in real life.  Although most of the book centres around him., there are also bits from the point of view of other characters, particularly fellow consciousness scholar Carmen - who is convinced their colleague was murdered and sets out most determinedly to prove it.  

Overall, I found this book an absorbing read that was intellectually engaging without being dull or tiring to read.  I felt that the ending didn't give me the payoff I'd hoped for from the build up and the number of pages I read to get there, which is why it gets a four star rating.  But it's an ambitious and thought provoking story and quite remarkable for saying it's a first novel.  This new writer is one to watch.

This book is demanding. It is not an easy read. Six fiendishly bright young students are gathered together in a program to research the nature of human consciousness. The story is mostly written from the point of view of one of them, Kierk who carries his intelligence not lightly but in a state of near torment. At times you think that this is going to be a science fiction story, dark forces are hinted at, an atmosphere of menace is created. At times you think that it will turn out to be a love story between the unquiet Kierk and his beautiful co-student Carmen. For a while it seems to be heading toward a murder mystery, since one of the six is killed in unexplained circumstances.  The chewy prose demands your full attention and the tense atmosphere is cleverly, perhaps too cleverly, maintained by long complex sentences, words you need to look up (read it on Kindle) and scientific jargon. Just when the two protagonists seem to be facing both terrible danger and some kind of explanation for all the menace and mystery the book ends. "Wake up" are the last words. Wake up from what? What is the source of the mystery? Who killed one of the six? What will happen to Kierk and Carmen? What is the nature of consciousness? There are no explanations and speaking for myself I feel deeply annoyed that i have invested time and effort in this cop out. I don't think many people will enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Overlook Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Erik Hoel does a really great job of bringing a number of topics to the forefront.  His treatment of neuroscience and the arguments of what really makes us, us was fascinating.  However, I felt myself getting lost sometimes and wondering where the book was going.  I thought it was well-written and a great deal of attention was given to the subject matter but it just wasn't a book for me.

This book was a challenging read! I consider myself a strong reader, but it was complicated! I liked the main character and his personality twists- he was a man written with much depth- however the plot seemed as if it would never reach its conclusion. 
The search for “consciousness” was quite “meta” for me. Perhaps it just wasn’t my favorite genre and I’m not a science buff either. I enjoyed the romantic  relationship between the two main characters but found several of the sub-plots confusing or disturbing even.
The details of the scientific testing on apes was sickening to me- well written in that I could truly visualize the brains with the clear half- circled - tops crusted on to their scalps so scientists could view their thinking - so visual it left me nauseating. 
I felt a sense of tension every time the apes were described.
I would not recommend this tome as it was too long and I then found its ending abrupt. I’m glad the main characters escaped the scientific lab and the dark city - but felt I waited for too long for it to happen.

I honestly had a hard time finishing this book. It was hard to follow. I am not sure if it was the writing style or the actual content.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. 
This book is impossible to put in a category, and might be a difficult read for some readers. 
I expected something close to "Big Band Theory" in the subject of consciousness, but the vivid descrpition of animal use in science is upsetting, nothing funny allows to relax.  The rythm of the book is somewhat tiresome, with the impossibility to see a plot. but this fact contributes to gain consciousness while reading, still the exposed theories are confusing, are they real or made up by the author ? There are no comment from the author to explain his motivations. If you are not an expert, it is difficult to relate to the contents.

I have not made it more than a few pages into the book and have found so many grammatical errors and inconsistencies in the story I am truly struggling to continue. 

3rd page in, “Today Kierk had planned on using those actually seriously injured.”  What does this mean?

5th page in, “—and beats violently his steering wheel” should read “and violently beats his steering wheel” adverb then verb

7th page - “smoking parts under the hood supplies to —“ what??

Also 7th page “Nose ring holds out his hand....” just after he sped away from them?

I can’t go on

This is an interesting novel, part mystery, part existential pondering. I felt the book could have been structured better overall.

A lot is going on in this novel. It is a complex and intelligent story with many layers to it working at once. The narrative follows Kierk, a neuroscientist who abandoned his PhD just before completing it, returning to academia to take part in a program at NYU investigating consciousness. Kierk is plagued by the idea of forming a theory of consciousness, explaining what it is that makes people sentient, how firing neurons translate into conscious personhood. However, when one of his fellow coursemates end up dead, he and fellow coursemate, Carmen, become entangled in a complex series of events featuring student activists against animal testing, religious fundamentalism, department politics and the mysterious representatives of DARPA. As I said, a lot is going on. The story was compelling and very different due to the use of the author’s knowledge of neuroscience but it was well done, incorporating the philosophical alongside the scientific. Kierk was absolutely unbearable though, but I hope that was the point. I loved Carman as a character although I did think at times the choices made for her character were a little sexist. The cast of characters on the PhD programme was great and I would have enjoyed less of Kierk’s POV but I can see that it was necessary for the plot. A very interesting and different read. Thank you to ABRAMS/The Overlook Press for this ARC.

I enjoyed this book immensely.  The mystery aspect of the story was great as was seeing the main character become successful again.  Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Great theories, but at times difficult to read. The jumps from to many different writing styles that kind of leave you scratching your head.

This was a fascinating novel, full of clever ideas (not all of which I entirely got), delivered with passion and interest. Energetic and challenging.

SO this ultimately felt like i was reading two books that couldnt decide wether they wanted to be a love story,a sad story, or something intellectual that i ultimately could not understand.

I wasn't sure with this book if it was trying to be a sci-fiction book or something else.

I didnt finish this book as I struggled to understand the concept of this Book

With thanks to Netgalley & Abramans for the ARC of this book in exchange for this review

Kierk has been given a second chance in his life and he has to make sure not to mess it up. He's been accepted into a prestigious program and things escalate quickly : a colleague dies and Kierk's caught been solving the sudden death and his second attempt at getting his PhD.

The prose is literary and most of the times pretty lyrical. I enjoyed the theories and the ideas surrounding consciousness rather than the story which I didn't care for that much. It will make you think as to why we are the way we are. This is not an easy read and would require the reader's full attention to grasp what Hoel is trying to convey in this book.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review.*

This book has a really interesting concept. However, some do the stylistic choices made it difficult to read. I understand that part of the point is to get lost in the mania and intellect of our main character, but it just made the reading process difficult and long. This book is dense in its prose and content. It will take a certain type of person to get through it and enjoy it.

I was given a copy of this book for review.

 The book starts out using hard science fiction, make it somewhat difficult to read and capture your interest. If you are seeking an easy read, then this book is not for you. I found it hard to feel for the main character, seemed to be a sullen child to myself. Overall the book was enjoyable, just not fast reading.

(I won't post this as a review. I just wanted to give some feedback to the publisher). 

I had a hard time getting into this book and felt it was in need of additional editing or perhaps a different approach to how it is marketed. The concept was very interesting, but it took a long time to get into discussing consciousness. Meanwhile, there was a lot of interpersonal stuff that was difficult to become invested in, for me. there were a number of different things that turned me off from the book, such as characters flirting during animal experimentation, a character who is a fashion model turned neuroscientist, odd phrasings such as "of slender stature."  

Not understanding what genre it was supposed to be might have been part of the book. I came to the book thinking it was literary fiction along the lines of Jonathan Franzen, but the writing style is more like that of plot-focused genre fiction, so there was some genre confusion. The prose style suggested to me that the pacing would be faster than it was. 

Thanks for the chance to read this, and I wish the book well. I think maybe I'm just not the right reader for it.