A deeply unpleasant fever dream. Like if A Catcher in the Rye were a lot worse and also about an obnoxious technobro's midlife crisis.

The concept of this book intrigued me right away - the narrator works at Dare to Know, an organization that can pinpoint the time of your death down to the second at a 100% success rate. It's a costly business ($20,000), and not everyone is keen about the practice. While waiting for a tow truck, our narrator decides to look up his own death date - despite it being completely against the rules - and the results are shocking.

Even though I found the narrator to ramble, I was nonetheless engaged in the story for the first half. Beyond that, events took a turn for the weird, and the ending was all over the place. I hadn't expected such a deep sci-fi/horror vibe, and some scenes went way over my head. All the flashbacks felt a bit much too.

Still, I'm sure science fiction and speculative fiction readers will appreciate the book, and I'm always a fan of a story that's completely unique.

I enjoyed the intriguing concept behind this book, the scientific/philosophical food for thought, and the depth of the characters. Unfortunately for me, the plot - and particularly the way the book ended - just weren't satisfying for me.

That said, I found the ending unsatisfying in the same way I find certain aspects of some of Stephen King's books unsatisfying, so that probably bodes well for Dare to Know!

I appreciate the opportunity to read the ARC in advance of publication.