BOOK SYNOPSIS
A haunting psychological thriller from former BBC and Guardian writer, William Knight, in the vein of BLACK MIRROR.
A smartphone app that foretells the future. Terrifying predictions or dangerous deceit?
An intuitive smartphone app launched by an innovative technology firm.
Two programmers burned alive, trapped inside a Frankfurt basement.
A billion-dollar business merger delayed by accusation of fraud.
A paranoid obsession with a best friend’s beguiling wife.
A child killed by meningitis.
Are these events linked by a burning chain of revenge and the union of tech genius with dark religion?
Christian Jarvik suspects the connection, but will pursuing the truth risk his business, his sanity, and more than he can possibly imagine?
Now, imagine if you were told that there was a app that could predict what was going to happen in your future, you would probably laugh and dismiss it as nonsense just like Christian did in this story. Then imagine what you would do if the app's predictions appeared to start coming true and one of its predictions was that the deal that you had been putting years of your life into was doomed to fail. Would you continue to dismiss the app as nonsense or would you do everything in your power into ensuring that the prediction didn't come true even if it meant placing your future happiness with your family in jeopardy?
The internet is a oxymoronic space but is it really possible that a app can predict the future or was what was happening to Christian just due to manipulation, smoke and mirrors and the power of suggestion?
The story is narrated from the duel perspectives of Christian who was a lawyer and his wife Rachel who was pregnant with their second child, they also has a adorable little girl called Jessica. Life was going really well for the couple, Christian was about to sign off on a deal that he had spent two years perfecting and was looking at being promoted to Managing Partner at the law firm where he worked. Then, his friend Zach suddenly appeared back in his life and them having no contact for two years bringing with him his alluring wife Lilith. It is after Christian and Rachel are persuaded to download the app that Zach has developed that strange things start happening and Christian's perfect life started to fall apart. Christian was a complex character, the problem was that I found it difficult to feel any sympathy for him mainly due to his obsession with Lilith which had started years before when he had first met her on her wedding day. I thought his only redeemable quality was his obvious love for little Jessica. Rachel was a very likeable individual and as the story unfolded, I felt a lot of concern for both her's and Jessica's safety and well-being. I did feel a lot of stone for Zach and even when I finished the book, I was never completely sure if he had any knowledge about what was happening to Christian. Occasionally, the author had Christian take the reader back in time and gave us a insight into events from Christian and Zach's interactions in the past.
This is a well written story that could slot into a number of genre's including domestic drama, supernatural, erotica, thriller and sci-fi. It's has a captivating plot that works its way to a intense conclusion and has a spine chilling closing chapter. The cast of characters were vivid, realistic and relatable and the story was, fortunately for non techno people like me, not overly scientific. I thought that this was a enjoyable, entertaining read and I would happily read more of this author's books in the future.
AUTHOR BIO
William’s written for the Guardian, the Financial Times and the BBC, among many other publications.
His three novels (The Donated, XYZ and The Algorithm) are cautionary tales about impacts on individuals and families from their technology interactions. He explores this broad theme from very different human angles.
"I’m fascinated by science and tech; its potential, its problems, its misuse and most specifically how it affects people. And for all its enormous impact, we didn’t vote for it. It simply arrived when some giant firm said so. But there has never been a more relevant time to explore our relationship with technological progress and the benefits we have been sold.”
“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say, we are challenged to understand and make the best use of technology as it floods every moment and endeavour of our lives, and endangers our health, our sanity, and even our very existence.”
William loves to hear from readers. So if you want to get in touch, here are the links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamKnightAuthor
Twitter: @writerwill
Website: www.williamknight.info
PUBLICATION DATE: 29th April 2021
PURCHASE LINK.....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Algorithm-Knowing-your-future-cost/dp/0473568969/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1629573948&sr=1-1
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