DNF @ 10%

I'm sorry, I really wanted to like this because the description sounded so good, but it's just not for me. My ADHD brain just can't handle this type of writing style. Being dropped right into the thick of it without any explanation or world building, the mid-sentence POV switching, the constant jumping back and fourth through time, the stream of conscious style writing that frequently trailed off mid-sentence and never seemed to finish a full thought; it made me incredibly frustrated and I just couldn't wrap my brain around what was happening 90% of the time.

I’ve read only one other book by Claire North and just like that 84K seems unique. After reading only the first 5 chapters I know I need to buy the whole book.

As I only had access to the first five chapters, I can't really say much about it but it had a good start, unfortunately not remarkable enough to remember to get the actual complete book.

Honestly I can’t give much feedback. I made it 11 chapters and pulled the plug.
I can say I felt it a bit overly trope worthy, characters felt overly done and though I feel it’s mostly me kinda not feeling dystopian reads as of late. With the right reader this story may mesh better.

I've heard a lot of great things about Claire North, 84k was my first foray into her canon.
Unfortunately this was not for me. The writing style felt stilted and consistently pulled me out of the story.
I didn't care for the characters and reading the book felt like a long slow drudge.
I won't be giving up on North, perhaps another of her well rated books can change my initial opinion.

So, I'm not going to lie: I'm a bit over dystopia fiction right now. The world is enough of a mess that I don't need to read these kinds of stories right now. I can read the news or a nonfiction book if I want to learn more about just how terrible humans can be to one another. Nonetheless, the synopsis of 84k intrigued me. From the first five chapters I read, I would definitely say this book takes inspiration from Nineteen Eighty-Four or even V for Vendetta. A tyrannical government, a surveillance state, privatization of all aspects of society, and an economic system that places a monetary value on everything, including people's lives—the setting (London) definitely felt very Nineteen Eighty-Four to me, although it's been many years since I read George Orwell's classic. 84k feels one step away from center, one step away from where society could end up right now. The writing style jumps from past to present, often in the middle of paragraphs; the sentences often cut off mid-thought. I would almost describe the writing style to be "literary" more than "speculative" fiction. And while it might be unpalatable for some (i.e., confusing), I found the writing to be appropriate for the characters and the setting. It felt jarring, which it should. It felt jarring, just like a dystopian society would. This is definitely a book I want to pick up, but only when I'm in the mood to crank up my anxiety another notch or two.

Just reading the synopsis, this story raises all sorts of thought provoking measures, all relational to moral and ethical dilemmas. 84k, takes place in a dystopian-esque future, in England. England, is in a poor state, since a corporation known as 'The Company' joined forced with the Government, and therefore took over everything - it's important to say, that at this point the novel began reminding me of Resident Evil. Life, is now monetarily dependant (even more so than now, and in different ways). Our MC Theo, with a plethora of character flaws ranging from self-serving morality, to weakness/lack of courage, fights the man and attempts to break the world. 

The premise was ambitious, attempting to pull of a spectacular intertwining of morality, and corporate control, in a dystopian fantasy with all to realistic aspects. It leaves somewhat of a bad-taste in your mouth, one that makes you think what if this was something we were experiencing, and really the idea isn't far off.

Theo - our MC - is working for the Criminal Audit's office, where each crime that crosses his desk, is assigned a 'debt' to society. But - and this is where the self-serving morality comes into question - when Theo's ex-lover is killed, its different (funny that its not so black & white, no can you be impassive when its someone you love), this is one death he can't let become an entry on a balance sheet. Because when the richest in the world are getting away with murder, sometimes the numbers just don't add up.

Clair North, really digs into the intricacies of this concept, weaving a complex and yet oddly satisfying narrative, where the novel fluctuates between personal, and emotional ideas. She takes the innate apathetic nature (similar to our current society), and draws the MC from his cocoon of comfort. She applies value to life, 84k, in this sense, is all this women was worth.

Its conclusion, isn't one that's easy, and its easy to come-away with a bitter taste in your mouth - it calls a spade a spade, and unfortunately this spade isn't hard to imagine in our own world.

Claire North's style is distinctive. Although intriguing, it takes a while to figure out that while the fundamentals of the story are consistently moving forward, it often double back to provide back-story information. Thing is, difficult to tell when that time shift happens. Primarily due to the way the eBook is formatted. Maybe it's just messed up formatting, then again it could be intentional- kinda artsy that way. With only five chapters to work with, cannot say how good the overall book could/ would be. The book was archived before I went to obtain the remainder of the book. If it had been available I likely would have read the entire book. So, the story certainly has promise, as evidenced by the publisher's blurb, but without access to the full book can only give the first five chapters a rating of three stars.

So, Claire North is the author of the First Fifteen Lives of Henry August which is a book that has been on my TBR forever, so I was really happy to receive a chapter sampler from NetGalley of her new book.
We are introduced to Neila trying to help a bleeding man and she can’t get any help from the emergency services, so she takes matters into her own hands. The world seems to be Earth, but it also feels slightly futuristic.
In this world human rights have been abolished and everything is controlled by the Company with the two main currencies being money and sex. We learn that the man Neila is taking care of is known as Theo although this isn’t his real name and he appears to be a criminal of some sorts. Dani is also a mysterious character as she seems to know who Theo really is and has quite a lot of power of him although we don’t know why.
Overall, the first 5 chapters of 84K were very interesting with a unique world and premise and I can’t wait to read the full novel as soon as I can.

I was pleasantly surprised with how well developed the characters were. They help flesh out the storyline.

Got a preview from Netgalley. Was big fan of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, and read other Claire North’s novels Touch and The Sudden Appearence of Hope, which had great concepts but not as good as August. 84k follows the vein of great concepts, but the writing is just not engaging enough. You sense North has gone out of her way to make a very distinctive voice, but in doing so, loses rather than adds to the story. To be honest, not interested enough to keep going.

I’ve enjoyed Claire North’s other books and so I was excited to get to read the first few chapters of “84K.”
I wish I had a little more detail to review, but I find the premise in what I read interesting.

I've loved all the other novels by Claire North that I've read, but this ARC was only the first part of the book and didn't really give me enough to have much to say. The premise seems great, but the number of characters thrown into the beginning did not allow time to settle into the story. So, three stars with the promise of more of the book can fulfill what its started.

Thanks to the publisher for the taste...I'll be looking to read the rest soon.

I din't get enough chapters to make a review... In fact i think no one can give a proper review just based o five chapters. If you could send me the full book, then I could explain if i liked or not

I received an advance copy of the first 5 chapters of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

I had a very difficult time following the story thread as the thoughts, lines and chapters ran together. Characters were introduced without reference, so I wasn't able to get the foundation set in my head. The 'hook' to the story did not occur within the portion of the book that I received, so I had little pull to finish the book. I really like the book description, so I am disappointed that it did not affect me the way I expected.

I realize that the style of writing may just not be what I've read before, but I did not finish this book.

This post is based on the first 5 chapters, which is what i was approved to read.. I’ve been looking forward to this book for some time; the idea of corporations taking over government and privatizing human rights, allowing people to pay penalty fees for crimes committed, it feels uncomfortably timely in the current political climate. I enjoyed the chapters that i read, North immediately puts the reader in a confused mindset where one is unsure of what is going on and more specifically, when it is going on...slowly she reveals the details of this new dystopian world and just as i was really starting to invest in the story, i was done. The writing was sharp and the world-building unsettling. Would love the opportunity to read the rest of the book.

While i enjoyed the description of the book, the short sample felt disjointed and did not introduce the dystopian elements quickly enough for me to desire to download the remainder of the work.

Since this was only a sample of the first five chapters, it's difficult to give this book a proper review. However, what I read did intrigue me. I am not sure I'll be rushing to buy the book, but the writing was quite good and the premise of the story is interesting enough that I am sure I will read the whole book at some point in the not so far future.

So, it's hard to give a rating after only having read the first five chapters of something, but I thoroughly enjoyed them and I would really like to read the rest of the book. It's already given me the familiar dystopian chills that I love so much and I'm intrigued by Theo as a character and want to know more about what's going on with him. Overall, four stars because it took until the third chapter for me to get really into it.

I have to start off this review by saying that I've only read the first five chapters of 84K.

I am familiar with Claire North as I have read and enjoyed another one of her books, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. Since I enjoyed that book, I was looking forward to reading her latest.

It's tough to really review only a sample of a work, but what I can say is that my interest is sufficiently piqued after reading this brief snippet. North has a deft hand at instantly creating an atmosphere and a believable world that on the surface seems unbelievable.

The story opens at an undetermined time, but things have changed drastically from how we know them now. Human rights have been outlawed and Corporations seemingly run this new world based strictly on monetary motivation. We meet Dani & Theo, a pair who have a history that we're slowly given glimpses of from the moment they first met to the present, where it appears that a betrayal is imminent.

I'm eager to see how the rest of the plot unfolds and how the story plays out!

I received this book as a courtesy from NetGalley & the publisher in exchange for an honest review.