I'm not entirely sure what to say about Foe - short and quirky, it packs a punch.

I was a huge fan of Iain Reid's I'm Thinking of Ending Things, so I was ecstatic to see another book of his coming out. Foe is about Junior and Hen - a rather quiet couple enjoying the quiet country life. Their world is turned upside down when a visitor drives up the laneway and tells them that Junior is on the list to participate in a project called Outermore - possibly in space, but Outermore is never really well defined. While Junior is gone, Hen will still have company as she will be given a replacement Junior - an exact replica.

This book is mind-binding, ambiguous, and disorienting - I often found myself suspicious of the characters (all of them!), trying to figure out just how it is all going to fit together, but Reid always leaves us with a puzzle missing a piece or two, or those pieces that just were not quite cut right so I can't complete my picture. This is what I love about Reid.

This book needs to come with a support group.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for review.

Foe by Iain Reid is a psychological sci-fi thriller, set in the future.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Simon & Schuster Canada, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Synopsis:
Junior and Hen (Henrietta) have led a very quiet life in the country, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. They have been very happy. Then Terrance shows up.

Junior has been randomly chosen by Outermore to take part in the Installation of a space station. He will be leaving sometime in the future, and be gone for a year, possibly more. Since he is married, he and his wife must both be on board with this, and they will both be required to undergo detailed preparations leading up to his departure. Terrance will be their liaison, and through in-depth interviews, he will determine what both Hen and Junior will need to make sure that this is done with the least amount of anxiety. In order to help Hen cope with Junior’s absence, a “replacement” will come to live with her.

Junior starts to question things. A replacement? Does he really know his wife as well as he thought? What about Terrance? Is there something more going on?

My Opinions:
Told through the thoughts of Junior, the tale concentrates on his relationship with his wife, with himself, and with the world itself.

I knew going into this that somewhat intense thinking may be required. Iain Reid is a wonderful author, but he does make you think. You can’t read something of his, close the book, and say, well, that was good, or that was bad. It stays with you. This was no exception. Everything is always in question. Belief is optional. I always end up putting myself in the position of his characters and wonder how I would react. The inevitable twists at the end rocked! Definitely hard to put down.

It was a fast read, a chilling read, a thought-provoking read. By the end, you will find yourself questioning the future, your own relationships, and humanity itself.

WOW!

It had been a long time since I read anything sci-fi and something about Foe by Iain Reid made me think this should be my next read and jump back into the genre I enjoy so much, but don’t read enough of.

I really had no expectations or inklings as to what this would be about and now that I’ve finished it, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. The whole book had an air if mystery and secrecy, something lingering and untrustworthy, which held my interest, but the events leading up to the ending weren’t really all that interesting and didn’t really invoke much of a reaction from me.

This wasn’t really a thriller or psychological thriller, as I’ve seen it marketed as in some places, so that was kind of misleading. The content and dialogue raises a lot of questions about love and marriage, which I thought was well played out and I enjoyed reading about that. The writing was great and the pacing was steady, but I did find it a little slow moving through the majority of the book. I was intrigued enough to want to know why I was supposed to care about these people, but I couldn’t say I necessarily did care much about them while following them through their daily routines.

But I guess that’s the brilliance of the book. The ending weighs heavily on the shock factor and the mundane build up. The whole book, you’re kind of left wondering what is going on, coming up with theories because you know there has to be something more to this. You’re forming theories based on really nothing more than a few pieces of information and you’re really entirely blind to what any of this actually means.

So when you finally find out… the pay off is definitely worth it. I really did enjoy the ending and it put the rest of the book into perspective and made all those tedious chapters of witnessing this relationship worthwhile. I don’t think I’ve experienced a book like this before and it was a really interesting experience. I’m really curious about Reid’s other books now and want to go back and read more.

I don’t think I have ever enjoyed a book, without realizing it, as much as I have this one. Now that might not make a lot of sense to you, but to me…wow.

I’m not going to lie, I was less than halfway through Foe when I was trying to decide if I was going to continue on. Not because I wasn’t into the book, quite the opposite actually…I was glued to those pages, but because I was waiting for something. The big twist, some overly dramatic conflict or a surprisingly futuristic action scene…anything! I was so intent on waiting for that big event in Hen and Junior’s lives that I didn’t even see what was right in front of me.

Now, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. It might be a bit spoiler-y so I’ll give you some time to step away.



Gone yet?






No peeking.






Hopefully this is far enough.





Ok, here it is…..NOTHING happens!! In this book, absolutely everything I was waiting for, everything I was expecting, everything I thought I needed to really enjoy this…..none of it happened!! I was glued to this book for hours waiting for this giant ball to drop and nothing happened…..and it was freaking PERFECT!!! Everything about this book is simple and complex at the same time and in the most subtle way that you don’t even realize it. This is a near futuristic novel but if it wasn’t mentioned, I never would have guessed it. Reid wrote this book in such a way that the biggest signs and hints of what is happening just fly below your radar until, suddenly, BAM! Mind. Blown!

Foe was my first Iain Reid book and I really look forward to more from him. I think the writing style is pure genius and this is a book that really stays with you. I’m not saying that this book will be for everyone, but I think you have to let it simmer a bit because (with me anyway) how much you actually enjoyed the book can really creep up on you.

Thanks NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley, and to Simon and Schuster Canada for the read of “Foe” by Iain Reid.
I am not usually interested in anything sci-fi, but Foe by Iain Reid, is like reading an episode of Black Mirror, with a side of Mr. King. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Excellent writing. Thought provoking. Futuristic/science/technology, set in a remote farmhouse, based around the relationship of what appears to be a quiet couple in a normal but mundane life. Interesting characters, good suspense build, and a great ending.
I would recommend this read to my fellow librarians and educators.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of Foe for me to review. Foe is my first book by Iain Reid and it was certainly different from what I’d normally read! Short but thought provoking and unusual. Junior and Hen are living a quiet life on their farm when a strange man arrives on their doorstep. Terrance tells Junior that he has been “chosen” to live in outer space in a new colony. Against Junior’s wishes, plans start to have him leave his wife for an undetermined time. Foe is short and vague but tackles interesting topics of domestic life and has an uneasy style that makes you sure you never know exactly what is going on or why. Hard to review but a good story to read if you like to be unsettled and surprised by simple characters and plot. Foe is published on August 7, 2018.

4.5 Stars.

This book was creepy in a subtle way. From the first page, there was a sense of unease and anticipation for the twist. The short sentences increased the sense of urgency and foreboding, and I kept guessing right until the very end. While I figured out one of the twists a few pages before it was revealed, the ending took me by surprise and I absolutely loved it.

The story follows a couple, Junior and Henrietta, who live a solitary life on their farm. One day, a stranger arrives with news that Junior has been selected to travel to space to be part of the first "Installation". But Hen won't be left alone while he's gone... she'll have familiar company.

I have heard fantastic things about Reid's I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and I will definitely be picking it up in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of Foe in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for review purposes. I thought this book was only ok. The story failed to really grab my attention and also felt like something I’ve seen previously. It didn’t feel like it was bringing something new to the table for this type of story.

Foe is a character driven novel that explores relationships and humanity. I’ve never read anything by Reid before, but I’ll certainly be seeking out his work in the future.

Junior and Hen live in a deserted area and receive the visit of an unknown men who forces them to participate in a program and a project so big they have no choice but to go along with it. I was curious all through this novel to know how things would turn out. I felt sometimes frustrated by the characters, who did not ask any questions to Terence... i was at some point wondering if they were shy... or if they were just not intelligent enough to be curious...
It was an okay book... i am not crazy about it, but I still could not put it down until i knew how thing would turn out...

This book was such a interesting topic and I definitely spent a lot of the book wondering a bit what was going on. Though the concept was interesting I found myself not connecting to anyone in the story (which does make sense as the story goes on), but I wish there was a bit more connection their. So while I did enjoy reading this book, I didn't find it amazing and something I want to tell everyone about.

The next 'Inception'!

Iain Reid takes you on a journey to a farm, and while you are there, waiting, you begin to ask what creates identity, a sense of self, and how much do your circumstances define who you are and what you are.

My only regret is that I did not read this with a book club - so I don't have anyone to obsess over the brilliant nuance and subtle yet groundbreaking twist with.

When I read Iain Reid’s debut novel, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, I likened it to Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, but for adults. The connection was not due to any similarities in the plots of these books, but because, in both, something just feels off. Even before the reader has any real indication that something truly is. Of course, the tagline for I’m Thinking of Ending Things is “You will be scared. But you won’t know why….” As it turns out, this may very well be Reid’s trademark as I felt like this reading Foe right from the start. And did I mention? I love it.

To tell the truth, I am bursting to discuss this book. There’s so much I want to say that would necessitate spoilers. From the ingenious use of punctuation to the symbolism littered throughout, Foe is a book to be pondered. There are big questions here. Questions about humanity, morality, and relationships.

As in Reid’s first novel, he is showing himself to be a master of the character-driven, but creepy story. I look forward to being blown away by whatever he has in store for us next! Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC. It was great!

I requested this one from NetGalley as the description sounded quite freaky. While the writing did not quite live up to what I'd hoped for and was a bit chunky, the story did keep my interest until the end and I managed to read it in about a day. It's a very slow build up and gets creepy very slowly, but it was a decent read. I would recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi and doesn't mind a slow burn. 3.5🌟

(Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.)

I just loved this book! Loads of drama and suspense. Left me wanting more. I highly recommend this book to everyone

Thanks Net Galley for the book! The book premise sounded interested, but the story's style was very slow. I think the only exciting (predictable) part was the ending, but otherwise it's not a thrilling story. I give is 3 stars because it intrigued me enough to read until the end, just in case the story picked up. The characters were somewhat flat too. Not my cup of tea, but could be yours!

this is the 2nd novel by Iain Reid, and having mostly enjoyed his debut (until the ending) I wanted to give this one a try as the premise sounded intriguing. certainly short and easy to read, this one did not really hold my attention as the dialogue did not seem too realistic, and it seemed there was much we were not being told. however once the book hit the halfway mark and I figured out what was going on, any enjoyment I had was depleted as it just became a chore to get to it's inevitable conclusion. supposed to also be a story about relationships, but I didn't find anything that happened in this book to be very insightful or entertaining. pretty basic storytelling here, so definitely a let down after his first book showed some originality. thanks tho to netgalley and the publisher for an advance review copy. this one didn't work for me, but I will certainly watch for what Iain does next.

I received a copy of this to review from Netgalley. The description of this book sounded really interesting and I tried to enjoy this book and continued to read to find out how it ended. It was an ok read for me.There was only 3 characters and I didnt really connect with any of them which may have been the issue.

Having read praise for Iain Reid's work and for reviews of his first book I'm thinking of ending Things, I approached Foe with a high expectation of thrills and chills, hoping to be 'rattled', 'deliciously disturbed' and 'terrified' —all words that his first book elicited and that I could reasonably hope for in the second, given the title, Reid's reputation as a writer and the classically unsettling cover image.

The opening pages, however, were too dependent on a well-worn device, the stranger arriving at night at an isolated farm house, to be unsettling. But I gave it a chance.

Twenty-percent in, I'd begun to be annoyed. Why is our narrator so stupid and passive? Why are these three characters so unconvincing in their various relationships? Why is this whole narrative being conducted via questions? There had better be some good answers if I was going to spend more hours of my life here.
By thirty percent, Boredom began to set in.

Around the half-way mark I at least had the answer to my own primary question: Why can't I get on with this book? The answer was, for me, the book own write-off: because I didn't feel the slightest emotional connection to the characters. I simply didn't care about them one way or the other. Without the interest of story, all that was left was the narrator's hints at a theme on questions of memory, identity, personhood. Without an investment in the characters, I couldn't summon a burning interest in any of the questions. They remained for me vague and underdeveloped.

By the last quarter of the book (which I read out of a sense of obligation to the publisher, Simon and Schuster Canada, whom I thank sincerely for sending me my requested title) it was clear to me that too many questions were going to be left unanswered. The true backstory of the plot was never finally floodlit so it really didn't matter what kind of guesses the reader had made along the way. The story, with all its never-explained details, remained amorphous and vague, leaving this reader at least with the distinct impression that I'd been reading not a novel but an idea for a novel.

Thank You to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

All I can say is WOW!!!
This is the best book I have read this year so far and I'm willing to bet it will be the best of 2018!

Hen and Junior live on a farm in the middle of nowhere and don't have visitors. That is until late one night a set of highlights comes down their drive. A man named Terrence knocks on the door with some very exciting news, Junior has won the lottery and is on the long list of people being considered to help get a colony started on a space station build by the Outermore corporation. The only thing is that Junior didn't enter a lottery.

There is so much more to this story than what we see on the surface. There is a science aspect as well as an emotional one. It deals with human cloning. Even though a human can be physically cloned is it possible to clone that part of us that makes us who we are as a human. Is that part of humanity, that spark of life, duplicable. It starts off so vague with the information that you aren't really sure where it is heading. That vagueness is what pulled me in and had me compulsively reading on. I started this book just after dinner and could not put it down until I turned that very last page, just before the witching hour. Reading this was like walking through a thick fog where you can just barely make out what is in front of you, but enough so that you need to travel on to see just what the fog is hiding. There was not one but two totally unexpected twists at the end and my brain is still reeling. I very rarely read books a second time because there are just too many books out there that I want to read. I will eagerly be awaiting the release of this book so that I can buy a physical copy to read again. I'm sure that I will discover things I missed the first go round.