I have just finished reading The Golden State, and I really didn’t want it to end. I was hooked from the first page. I don’t usually read many dystopian novels, but I’ve seen this everywhere and the synopsis seemed interesting enough, and I am so glad to have read it!
This story is set sometime in the future, in a place called the Golden State, in what once was California. We don’t know - and never quite find out - whatever happened to the world as we know it now, but what we find is that in the Golden State, every single resident has to always tell the truth. Lie is punished and can end in exile. There are captures (cameras) everywhere and everything, every single conversation is always being recorded so it can be accessed later on. There is no TV, radio, or internet. No novels to read, other than the books about the Golden State and the dictionaries they allow and make everyone read.
We follow Laszlo Ratesic, who is a Speculator (imagine a kind of detective) as he follows up on a case with his brand new partner.
The writing style is easy to follow and the story is exciting enough to keep me up into the night, I was fascinated by this alternate future reality. It was an easy read but it did make me think about our world, and the way things work now in our society. It’s definiteky a book that will stay with me for a long time and one I will recommend to others to read!

Thank you for Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy to read and review!

I really enjoyed this book, there was something about it that just gripped me from the instant I picked it up and started reading it.

It is from a candid first-person account of a new world, the Golden State. For me Lazlo was how I would think I would be in that type of world, he just wrapped me up and made me feel safe. In all honesty, the book didn't go in the direction that I expected it too at the beginning, the narrative seems to switch from a small-time crime to something much better.

This was a lovely and very well written book that I would recommend to anyone!

Imagine a world where telling a deliberate lie was against the law. Imagine a world where everything you do has to be documented, every conversation and interaction stamped in your Day book as a permanent record. Imagine there are people who can sense when lies are being told that police that world. Imagine what happens when one of them realises that even the absolute Truth can be manipulated.

I thought this was a fascinating premise, and the execution of it reminded me of 1984 at times. It was a little too verbose for its own good at times, and the characters always seemed to be rather remote, but I did enjoy reading it for the most part. I rate this one an enjoyable 3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Random House UK / Cornerstone, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

What a fantastic book! Set in a strange future, well written and had me gripped from the start. #netgalley #thegoldenstate

Superb concept, but lacking in the delivery, in this gritty story set in a state that holds the objectivity of facts above all else (Trump and ‘fake news’ hang over this like an unmentioned stench). Focused on a specialist quasi-detective who can sense lies and fakery, the plot unfolds through a murder investigation that gets increasingly out of hand. The last act shift of tone and focus didn’t convince me i’m afraid, and whilst questions remain i don’t think i’d be going back should there be a sequel.

As soon as I saw the synopsis I knew I had to read this. It was so interesting in its concept. Everyone knows that lying is wrong of course but imagine that being a law. Something you just couldn't do. A new, interesting concept that I think will be very popular.

Thank you to Penguin Random House U.K./Cornerstone for an eARC via NetGalley of Ben H. Winter’s dystopian thriller.

It is set in the future in what was once California following an unspecified apocalyptic event. In this society everything is recorded and lying is a punishable offence.

The central character is Laszlo Ratesic, who works for the Golden State’s Speculative Service. He has a gift for sensing when someone lies and is licensed to: “emit them ourselves. To construct different versions of the truth so each can be tested, so all might fall away until only the real one remains.”

Laszlo prefers to work alone but early on he is convinced to mentor Aysa Paige, a new gifted recruit. They are assigned to investigate the death of a construction worker who fell from a roof. It seems a straightforward accident but Paige senses an anomaly. They continue to investigate and eventually uncover something quite sinister.

Laszlo is a larger-than-life figure and a detective very much in the noir tradition of Raymond Chandler. The totalitarian nature of the society brought to mind ‘1984’. I quickly mentally dubbed the novel a love child of George Orwell and Philip K. Dick.

It’s a complex case and Winters proves a skilled guide and world builder. His future with its emphasis upon truth and universal surveillance is chilling and yet very relevant in this age of ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’. Almost a reaction or looking glass situation.

Having recently read ‘The Binding’ by Bridget Collins where in an alternative 19th Century novels are considered taboo, it was curious to encounter another alternative world: this time in the future, where all fictional storytelling is forbidden.

There are some amusing titles of what is available to watch for entertainment: indeed true reality tv. There is also some great banter between characters.

Overall, I enjoyed it and found it a well-crafted, relevant dystopian novel that could easily come to be considered in same class as Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451’.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

There is a problem with ‘Golden State’ and it’s nothing to do with the book. The US synopsis for it is both spoilery and massively misrepresentative, making it sound like a complicated work of literary fiction rather than the clever and compelling thriller it actually is. The UK blurb is far more fitting. For that reason, that’s the one I’ve used above.

With that out of the way, let me tell you that ‘Golden State’ is the best book I’ve read this year. Admittedly it’s only mid-January, but still, it impressed me in a way none of the other books I’ve read lately have. It’s intelligent, creative, completely gripping and hugely readable.

. At its heart ‘Golden State’ is a detective novel, and many of its themes and twists will be familiar to fans of that genre. It’s set in the ‘Golden State’ of the title, a future America where lying (any lying) is illegal. The protagonist is Laszlo Ratesic, a special kind of cop who has the ability to detect lies.

Ben Winters sets this all up quite brilliantly in the first chapter, where Laszlo is having breakfast in a diner and realises some of the other patrons are having a conversation containing untruths. The interaction that follows introduces the reader to this strange world effortlessly, so that by the end of it I had a firm grasp of the rules of the society and the place of the Speculative Service (the agency Laszlo is an officer of) in it. Winters does a great job of creating a complex but believable and understandable world. Citizens greet each other by speaking unassailable truths:

“A cow has four stomachs.”

“A person has one.”

“These are facts.”

“These things are so.”

And Laszlo’s job as a cop gives a notion of how it is all governed.

I’ve got a court appearance coming up, testimony I’m supposed to give in the Court of Small Infelicities, one of these knucklehead kerfuffles where an automobile dealership advertises “the lowest rates around” and a competitor hauls them in, challenging the veracity of “lowest” and the generality of “around,” and the court needs someone from the Service to weigh the litigants’ relative sincerity.

With the set up done, the plot begins, with Laszlo (older, angry at the world) being given a partner, Ms Paige, a talented and exceptionally keen rookie. Suddenly, after the shock of being immersed in this odd world, we are in familiar territory. This works brilliantly, and the tension between the mismatched pair is entertaining and again helps ease the reader in. The pair are assigned to an apparent accidental death and naturally their investigation uncovers something far bigger and darker.

The structure and mystery novel elements of the book are superbly done and it is gripping and surprising throughout with a couple of stand-out scenes which really shook me. Laszlo is a great hero, sympathetic and engaging, it wasn’t long before I really cared about what happened to him and those around him. His growth as a character, from unquestioning tool of the state to something very different is convincing and satisfying. The other characters are similarly well done, believable and distinct from one another.

Ben Winters has accomplished something pretty special here in my opinion, creating a fascinating new world that holds a mirror up to our own. The fact that he’s done that and managed to tell a story in it that is so richly satisfying and enjoyable is nothing short of brilliant. If ‘Golden State’ doesn’t get picked up by a movie studio soon I’d be very surprised. It has all the elements of great entertainment - a fascinating concept, a great plot and an unforgettable lead character.

Perhaps I've read too many dystopian novels (scrap that, you can never read *too* many dystopian novels), but this take on my favourite genre fell completely flat for me.

It starts off promising. A totalitarian state where lying and untrue facts are monitored by Speculators. The world-building is decent and reminiscent of Orwell and Huxley. However, the characters are rather two-dimensional and there is next to zero suspense. This book would have worked better if it had stayed as a murder-mystery set in a world where lying is outlawed, but instead it turns into some crazy subterfuge and hair-brained plot with an ending that makes little sense and seems rushed in its detail. It's like the author has a point system about what entails a dystopian novel and has been systematically ticking off as he goes along.

This started off decent and I was enjoying it, but then it became more and more absurd that my interest dropped quite quickly. A good book to read if you're just starting out in this genre, but if you're a hardcore fan of dystopian like I am, then probably not a title to rush out for.

Laz Ratesic is a Speculator. He works for The Golden State, a future imagined California, where the truth is told, always. He can sense a lie, the air shimmers with it, so he speculates on what is the truth. He lives in the shadow of his brilliant brother Charlie who died whilst investigating a lie and he and his wife have recently separated. He is tall, broad and grizzly and is partnered with a trainee to the Speculator Service to investigate the death of a workman who has fallen from the roof of a building. What appears to be an open and shut case turns out to be much more and Laz finds himself deep in a wormhole and questioning all he believes.

This is a great dystopian novel with an interesting premise. The Golden State is under constant surveillance with cameras inside homes, on the street, in shops, bars and restaurants. The inhabitants carry Day Books where they record conversations with one another and stamp to verify that this is truth. Nothing is hidden, the truth is King and nobody lies, ever. Why would they? Telling a lie is punishable with exile to the world outside of The Golden State, a world which nobody knows about and is feared by all.

The world building in Golden State is excellent and just odd enough to knock me off kilter without it being very dark. It is accomplished, beautiful writing which took my breath away on occasions. There are passages about love, throwaway lines about the shorthand way couples communicate and philosophical musings that have lingered in my mind long after I finished reading it. Words are used to great effect (that may seem an obvious thing to say about a book but bear with me) as they are weighed so heavily in this imagined world. A question must be specific to receive a specific truthful answer and there is almost a new language and way of communicating meaning that every sentence and paragraph has been used to further build the claustrophobia of this world.

At its heart there are two mysteries. The seemingly small mystery of what happened to the workman and the larger mystery of what on earth happened before? What were the events that led to this world? It is ‘unknowable’ and is therefore off limits as a discussion point. Any books relating to the time before no longer exist with the only novels available being the ones which are written about heroes from the present time.

Golden State is a wholly readable book and I tore through it in a day and couldn’t put it down. It was right up my street and I loved the alternate reality that was built so carefully. If you are a fan of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel or The Feed by Nick Clark Windo then this could be for you.

Golden State is a dystopian novel where the only thing that matters is the truth and the recording of reality. I have mixed feelings about this novel. There is a lot to like, especially the extensive world building that created a complex and detailed society. The writing is good and the format interesting. The characters are well drawn and I love the speech patterns they used. However, the book feels very repetitive and drawn out as the plot really isn't meaty enough for the world.

I finished the novel feeling confused and unsatisfied. It's hard to get behind the main character when you want him to fail. I also wanted those he was fighting against to fail. I wanted the world's backstory, I wanted some kind of resolution. Or explanation. I think I missed the point somewhere because the ending made no sense to me at all. And I read it twice.

Although lacking in some areas a good idea, great language and an interesting world makes it worth a read.

I like the premise and the way it plays with the tropes of the police procedural but found it just too ponderous. DNF

"We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves." A dystopic world of Truth.

(Eric Hoffer quote)

4.5 stars. With touches of Orwell's 1984 and Philip Marlowe, this alternate reality sets Truth on a pedestal, lies and liars are severely punished, every action, word and deed is recorded and filed, the State controls all.

Laszlo Ratesic is a battled-scarred loyal member of the Speculative Service. His job - to seek out those corrupting the truth, however small their crimes - a lie is still a crime. Proud of his Golden State home, but also solitary in nature, he does not thank his superiors when a new recruit is sent to him to mentor. Especially when an incident, the death of a worker, begins to unearth unexpected truths.

Fantastic creation of a world of constant vigilance, diarising of lives, with echoes of Winston Smith's society in which language is controlled. There is a book within a book as well, as Laszlo's story is told simultaneously to the narrative. The world we know is gone, "mistakes... destroyed the world before" and the Golden State is what has been developed to stop a repetition.

Not unlike our own society, there are "captures in the ceiling fans, captures on the kitchen's large appliances" - we are all being recorded, all evidence is filed away for future need. There are elements that really stand out, the two-part greeting every Golden State citizen uses as reassurance and form, two halves of a truth: "'Ten is half of twenty'. 'But it's twice five.' 'So it's ever been.' 'So it ever shall be.'" I also loved the language, customs and beliefs surrounding truth and what is acceptable, that a society has outlawed lies but that there is a fine line so easy to break: "accidental infelicities to be sorted out from purposeful misrepresentation."

Most fascinating was the requirement of everyone to record and store all data from their everyday life - receipts of items bought, notes of all conversations held, that are stored by citizens and then kept by the state and, as always, filed for potential reference. As a librarian, the idea of cross-referencing entire lives within the whole of society boggles the mind, but the beauty of being able to see the connections nad find any required information also felt haronmised and controlled. The latter, of course, is what the Golden State seeks above all.

It's a good little murder mystery wrapped up inside the shell of a fabulously-detailed dystopian world. I loved the world-weary Laszlo, his heart and integrity sparked, questioning his world and beliefs, giving us a guided tour of a fascinating parallel world.

With something to say of truth, and a quote about Librarians I want to put on a t-shirt ("These are the custodians of the Record. They are Librarians, and they do not f*ck around."), I thoroughly savoured this read.

With thanks to Netgalley for the sample e-copy.

I chose to read Golden State because I had heard it compared to The Handmaid’s Tale which is my favourite book. Also, the dystopian genre contains some of my favourite books and I knew Golden State fell into this category.

On the other hand, some of the books I have enjoyed the least have also fit into this category and this was one of those books. I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t find anything to grasp my attention.

From the outset I was put of by the section written from the point of the view of the state. I was very dry and failed to gain my attention.

The premise of Golden State was good, but its execution was lacking largely due to a lack of an engaging protagonist.

The protagonist, Laz, is a member of the State’s special police and can sense when people are lying to him.

When a man falls from a roof Laz’s faith in the system is rocked when he begins to question whether those in charge are really telling the truth.

I know from other reviews I have read that there were people who enjoyed this book, but I couldn’t make it past about 5% of the book.

Golden State by Ben H. Winters

The laws of Golden State require a certain kind of enforcer and Laz Ratesic, in his 50s, a veteran of the special police, is one of the best there is. Perhaps there has been only one better – Charlie, Laz’s brother. Laz is a Speculator. He can detect lies, just from an inflection in the voice or from the smallest movement of a face muscle and from them he can construct the truth. It’s an extraordinary skill and a vital one, too, because in Golden State to lie is illegal. Telling just one lie can result in years of imprisonment or even exile into whatever it is that lies outside the confines of Golden State. Nobody knows what’s out there. Like the past, it’s not knowable and isn’t to be questioned. But nobody wants to go outside.

Laz believes in his job. He’s proud that he’s so good at it. He believes it’s for the common good. But just because people can’t lie, it doesn’t mean that other crimes can’t be committed and one day he is sent on a case that will change everything. With a young partner to teach in tow, Laz is sent to investigate the suspicious case of a man who has fallen from a roof to his death. Nothing about the death makes sense, not least the discovery of an actual work of fiction, which tells a story – a lie. But that’s just the beginning.

I’m a big fan of Ben H. Winters’ novels – I loved the apocalyptic trilogy, The Last Policeman – and so I was very keen to read Golden State. This time we’re taken to a dystopian city in the future. It’s a place that reminds us of California, although nobody in Golden State would have heard of such a name. The powers that be strongly believe that that Golden State is held together by truths and so everybody greets each other, not with a pleasantry, but with an irrefutable truth. Truth is almost a religion, depositories of truths are regarded as temples.

There is some fascinating worldbuilding at work here. Ben H. Winters describes the different areas and public buildings of the state so vividly. We see people going about their everyday lives – Laz particularly cares about food – and it almost seems normal until you realise how small this world is, how unquestioning it is, and how susceptible to manipulation it is. People watch CCTV instead of normal television; a novel is non-fiction; all one’s thoughts, deeds and transactions are written up in one’s Day Book. I was so intrigued to learn what remained beyond Golden State but that is a speculation forbidden to all in Golden State but Speculators.

Laz is a strange one. You’d have thought that he would be difficult to warm to, he’s such an enthusiastic agent of the dystopian state. And there is such unkindness, not to mention barbarism, in the sentences that are handed down to people who utter a lie or, through illness, are unable to fathom the truth. Yet I did like Laz very much, especially as the novel goes on and he starts to question the tiny world around him.

I must admit that I did get a little lost with the actual case itself. It’s complicated and, as you’d expect with conspiracies, little can be taken at face value. There is also a twist which I didn’t really care for. Having said all that, everything around the case really did appeal to me, especially the way in which it all ends. I love Ben H. Winters’ ideas. How he can create fearful worlds or situations and put people into them who could seem ordinary but become exceptional. And if you haven’t read The Last Policeman trilogy yet, do!

Other reviews
The Last Policeman
Countdown City (The Last Policeman 2)
World of Trouble (The Last Policeman 3)

What a great read!

Two times twelve is twenty four. Half twenty four is twelve. Golden State is the state of truth, where the world is built on facts. Every event, every movement, every conversation is recorded and archived to the Record, the ultimate source of fact. No fiction exists in this state, no novels as we know them, no untruths.

Laszlo Radesic is a Speculator, his job is to uncover the lies and untruths contaminating society. Together with his new work partner, Aysa Paige, he is called to a death – a construction worker who has fallen from a roof. Initially the death is seen as an accident, but as Radesiz and Paige uncover the facts, a thrilling loop of events is uncovered and Radesic has to question everything he’s ever considered as truth. How did society use to be? Can it ever be that way again?

A dystopian thriller, a modern day Big Brother / 1984, set in a familiar contemporary setting. Highly recommended.

Laszlo Ratesic is a Speculator, an agent of the truth in a society where it is illegal to lie, but when he is called to investigate a murder, suddenly the truth begins to become more fluid than it first appeared.

I really enjoyed the premise of Golden State, it’s very Minority Report meets 1984. The characters are well rounded and interesting and the world is really nicely defined. There is a lot of backstory to get to know but it never feels like this gets dumped on you all in one go which a lot of dystopian novels are guilty of. Everything is introduced naturally in the text and you are immersed into the world where the truth is upheld as a bulwark of society.

I was completely drawn into the story from the outset and powered my way through it as I wanted to find out more - not just about the mystery Laszlo and his partner are solving but about the wider world in general. There are some really nice parallels to our society in terms of ‘fake news’ and some parts of it are genuinely thought provoking. Unfortunately, I found the book floundered a little in the middle and the ending wasn’t particularly satisfying. I can’t really tell if it’s set up for a sequel and I would like to find out more about what happens next or perhaps what happened to the world for this society to have prevailed but am also very happy for it to have been a standalone story as well. I would have happily given this book 5 stars if it had stuck to its guns and continued in the same vein throughout (maybe even with more of an opening for a sequel) but I was a little disappointed with it as it stands.

Overall Golden State is a great premise and a really good story, I just felt it lost its way towards the end of the book. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone and Century for a chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

On paper, the concept of 'Golden State' is fantastic - a society which has evolved where it is illegal to tell a lie, where fiction doesn't exist, where there are no TV programmes, just feeds where you can watch people live their everyday lives. I just wish the execution had been a bit sharper. It starts off like a pulp noir novel - hard boiled detective with a past and a dead brother, rookie cop who is shadowing him and a little too eager, a mysterious death which isn't all that it seems. As it progresses, it unspools until it becomes messy and a bit nonsensical. It's certainly not bad, I just wanted something more.

Once again, another read I finished in a day.
Set in a utopian/dystopian future Lazslo Ratesic is a Speculator living in the Golden State. With powers that allow him to see when someone is telling a lie, he is part of a law enforcement group that catches members of the public lying. A simple lie can win you 5 years in jail with numerous lies getting you exiled. In a world fixated on documenting and logging all and everything Lazslo’s path begins to change when he is partnered with a junior Spectator Ms Paige.

After reading a slew of books featuring unlikable characters, I am so glad I took to Lazslo as well as I did. The majority of the books is told from his point of view and his head was a wonderful place to be. He is so naive and pure and desperately trying to do the right thing.
The thing I loved most about this book were the twists and turns. 20 pages into the book you think you know how the story is going to play out... you don’t. And being with Lazslo on this journey made it even better.
I loved how the book took a different route to what would be considered the normal ‘dystopian hero discovering secrets’ angle. I was constantly surprised and shocked!
Great great read.

An interesting dystopian novel. Cleverly written that gets you thinking. and keeps you gripped. Not my normal genre but I would definitely recommend this book.