Member Reviews

Thanks to NetGalley and Snafublishing for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

I went back and reread the book description so I don't give anything away. Lou McCarthy is a SF based reporter trying to expose powerful male predators (bro-ciopaths--love this term!) in Silicon Valley. Two powerful men with checkered pasts are killed in one night and Lou is in the middle of things. Who is the great and powerful wizard behind the curtain manipulating everyone?

There is so much more going on than the recap. I loved how the author covered so many important topics: about how women are treated in tech (ok, more than just in tech); the impact of a company knowing all about people and anticipating their next want/needs; how powerful people get to play by a different set of rules; what people are willing to do for money; doxing; and more.

1414° is also a great thriller as Lou meets different people and try to figure out whom she can trust. The book really grew on me, moving up from a solid 4 stars to closer to a 5. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more novels from Paul Bradley Carr.

Was this review helpful?

Free ARC from Net Galley

I was worried that our heroine "Lou" would be the new female lead of super hero and coupled with the fat that the first chapter dragged I was ready to highlight and delete, then I read chapter 2

Congratulations if you got a free copy, if not it is worth the price.

Great story that is almost derailed with the baggage of "all men are bad", but in the end a worthy read

Ya'll enjoy now.

Was this review helpful?

This was an absolutely phenomenal novel about a reporter, at the edge of losing everything in her conquest to bring some of the most despicable men with power and money who use it for evil. Recently she's lost her job trying to take one man down, one of the men from the company RAUM, Wu, who was accused of raping and abusing multiple women. Our main character gets a lead, and finds out that someone else is taking these men down... literally.

This was a great thriller type read that I look for, ones where the evil get what they deserve, and powerful women who stop them and strengthen society. It was almost brilliant, if not a little slow in the beginning. But awesome.

Was this review helpful?

This is a dystopian type story that focuses on technology and journalism. It looks a few years into the future at a world ruled by tech giants and their unscrupulous practices. They manipulate the markets, commit rape and murder and always control the narrative. One journalist decides to take them on and finds herself embroiled in a fight for her life.

Was this review helpful?

Based on the description and as a technologist and resident of the SF Bay Area, I was quite eager to get my hands on this book. I found the book a bit of a drag in the beginning and almost gave up, but I am really glad I persisted. It is a reaffirmation of what we are allowing to happen to us given the way we are being monitored constantly.
Some of the things I didn't like were the now-in-vogue female hero and male villains, and many stereotyped characters.
Thank you Snafublishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Snafublishing and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.]

this was really interesting, and insightful to read! you can tell there’s been a lot of researching that went into writing this, and i appreciated how accurate everything seemed to be. this is a murder mystery that touches a lot of important, and heavy topics. i’m gonna need to read it again in another format (i read it through the NetGalley shelf app) because i had a lot of difficulty getting into it: the font was small, and the screen was squeezed which made for an uncomfortable reading experience.

i’ll be picking this up again when it officially comes out to have more to say about it, but until then, i really liked it!

Was this review helpful?

Who knew that a tech thriller was exactly what I needed in my life?!

I loved this unique mystery novel and recommend it to anyone who wants something different but that still delivers all the intrigue.

Was this review helpful?

This was one of the most interesting and absorbing novels I’ve read in a long time. Lou, our heroine, is a reporter who has spent the majority of her career writing about the miscreants of Silicone Valley. She is invited to a Raum party at which their Chairman is planning to introduce their multi billion dollar IPO. Instead two men intimately attached to Raum die mysteriously in what appears to be suicides at the event. Lou’s work receives unjust notoriety and she is let go from her paper. She continues to search for answers and begins to find them. But will she survive? It is well written and remarkably knowledgeable about the tech industry. It makes for great reading. Thanks to Net Galley and Snafublishing for an ARC for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Silicon Valley #metoo thriller and more

I almost didn't read this book because the first chapter just didn't grab me but I'm glad I read on because this ended up being a tricky thriller with Lou McCarthy, journalist do-gooder who keeps getting taken down by big business CEOs in the Silicon Valley who have much to hide.

And when she gets a look at who's actually manipulating behind the scenes, she decides she wants to help. Or does she?

The author did a superb job with the characters, with the Silicon Valley setting, with the intrigue and the twists. I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it.

I received this book from Snafublishing LLC through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Was this review helpful?

STUPENDOUS! I loved this fast paces Silicon Valley Thriller and you will too!
Lou is a hard nosed female journalist trying to expose the toxic culture of the tech world.
She has a lead on a secret regarding the biggest billionaire firm of all and in attempting to expose it, she is outsmarted and fired from her job.. Essentially homeless and jobless she is not ready to give up on taking down RAUM industries when a mysterious individual names Fate reaches out to her for assistance. SO MANY things happen that it's hard to believe this is only one novel. Paul Bradley Carr did a great job describing the world and the scenes that I finished this in one sitting! Lou and several other women are highlighted as fast thinkers and quick witted in the worst of times (which happens quite a bit in this explosive and twisty novel). Complex, engaging, terrifying and awesome. My only critique is I wanted a bit more tied up a the end! Highly Recommend if you like a fast pace thriller, some feminism and commentary on the world as a whole. #NetGalley #1414

Was this review helpful?

As a technology journalist, I was eager to read this novel and I really enjoyed it. It portrays a very realistic look at the toxic "brociopath culture" of Silicon Valley with their "slathering fanboys" as a crusading journalist gets mired into the firm's evil doings. While some of the characters play on cartoonish stereotypes such as the soulless venture capitalists, the introverted nerdy coder, the bad bosses etc. The realism comes into play with the way we consume social media and are so obsessed with selfies, the way we are tracked by our cellphones, how the press can influence public opinion in absence of any facts, and so forth. Even if you aren't a tech-savvy reader, you might enjoy this send up of our current fascination with tech and how it can get out of hand. If you enjoyed Dave Eggers' The Circle, you will enjoy reading this novel.

Was this review helpful?

This was a slow burn that thoroughly blew my mind and solidified my admiration for his phenomenal characters! They were all nuanced and complex, multifaceted and impressive. I struggled with the build up a few times but kept on with it and DAMN! I’m so glad I did! Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc in exchange for my honest opinion. It was wonderful!

Was this review helpful?

Non stop action from the first for Lou, a reporter trying to make a difference. Fast paced with thinking on the fly, many sharp quick thinking women are highlighted along with vile bad guys. As the real world is quickly becoming faster and better availability of everything we need, are we really too far from the scenario presented in this book? I wouldn't want to be a Silicon valley CEO reading this book. Enjoyable mystery, not really a murder, but suspenseful all the same. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced read for an honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

<i>1414°</i> is not quite a murder mystery, since the victims are driven to suicide. Not quite sci-fi, since it's happening in the here and now. Not quite dystopian, since all isn't tragic. Not quite balanced, since the hero(ine)s are female and the villains are male. It is entertaining, clever, and frightening in how it depicts how an all-pervasive app invades privacy and predicts behavior - to the point of knowing when we're hungry, what we'll want to eat before we even know it and then delivering it to us - without needing to ask us.
Could this be our future?

Was this review helpful?

Five Stars to 1414, a murder mystery set in Silicon Valley. It deals with the Bro culture, the billionaire CEOs, investors and social justice.
The tag line: ‘The billionaire predators of Silicon Valley always get what they want. Now someone is giving them what they deserve’ sets the stage for a novel you won’t put down.
I wondered about the inspiration for the story until I read the author’s Acknowledgments at the end. Nicely done!

Was this review helpful?

This is a very hard cooked to get into. Although the writing was good the flow was kind of slow.. it took me a long time to be able to connect with characters and the storyline

Was this review helpful?

Requires standard suspension of disbelief, but still a fast paced enjoyable read with a social justice bent.

Was this review helpful?