It was an enjoyable read, but it had way too many twists, and it was too hard to keep track of everything that was going on.

I started liking the world that the author created, but it seemed to unravel as I kept reading and things happened without much plot justification or set up.

O'Brien really throws you into a world with little context or understanding and I didn't particularly like that. I think other authors have done it in a way that feels fun or at least you adjust quickly, but I didn't feel that way with this book. It's a cool book, and it's fun, but I don't think it was everything it could have been.

Sometimes I enjoy when a story flings the reader into a world without context: it can be fun to puzzle my way out using context and character. However, it was very hard to get a grip on the details of the world for the first several chapters. I enjoyed the plot once I understood the contours of the world, but it took a while together. I enjoyed the unique take on the noir genre and the fascinating conceit of memories as currency. The protagonist wasn't especially memorable, being a sci-fi take on the classic hardboiled detective trope, but did have me laughing despite some challenging and emotional content.

I tried twice—in ebook form via netgalley and later as an arc—to get into this story, but the writing style just didn't work for me. It simultaneously felt like too much and not enough was happening in every sentence. I wanted to love it more, since on paper, it's totally my vibe, but I was sad to DNF

eally enjoyed this read. Shades of William Gibson with a lot of intrigue and comedy thrown in. Orr made for a good main character and his perspective was fun throughout the whole read. This book does not give the reader all necessary details on a silver plate. So if you are looking for an easy cosy read this is not it. But if you want to lose yourself in a strange story this one is for you.

i won’t lie, i struggled with this one. some of the events of the book were difficult for me to follow and the main character reads like deadpool at retirement age. however, the world building was interesting. the author explores the uses of technology in a way that is unique.

it’s worth a read if you enjoy science fiction and noir.

Two Truths And A Lie by Corey O’Brien, from the beginning when our protagonist is talking about paying his rent with scandals and gossip, I was lost, but having said that I still persisted and finished the whole book, and that is a testament to this authors, humorous writing ability. The mystery is set in a futuristic world where everyone lives and warehouses in containers hanging from the ceiling by rope, although there are some not quite so lucky who live in other accommodations. When the police show up the 67-year-old main character doesn’t stick around, but gets out of there ASAP and takes it up on himself to solve a crime he at first knows nothing about. if you want to read a story by a very imaginative author, who has humorous pros with great world building in an action packed plot, then read this one. I only hope you understand it more than I did, but not to say I didn’t like it because I did they were just a couple of times I was a tad bit confused by what was happening. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #CoryO’Brien, #TwoTruthsAndALie,

I’m not the right reader for this book.

We’re dropped into a dystopian world. No world building. No character development. No explanations for the weirdness we encounter in what is, apparently, normal daily life. Just, bam, here we are, figure it out along the way.

I kept muttering, “What am I even reading?”

I was sort of interested, but also supremely irritated. Irritation won out.

DNF

*Thank you (and apologies) to Pantheon Books for the free eARC, provided via NetGalley!*

This is an extremely bizarre cyberpunk-dystopian-heist-romance and I absolutely loved it. Our “hero” is a complete bastard, his friends are assholes, his enemies are worse, and these absolute fuckers make this weirdo mystery machine trip one of the most fun I’ve taken in a while. The plot is twisty and turney, a little bit of a maze but it all comes together in the end along with all the diverse bits and pieces of the world O’Brien painstakingly builds and then throws in a blender for our amusement. Prepare to be disgusted, amused, horrified, surprised, enthralled, infuriated, and appalled, sometimes all in the space of one sentence.

O'Brien's work is sometimes painful to read, disgustingly gross in both our future and his descriptions of his protagonists. This dystopian ecological post-apocalyptic cyberpunk speculative thriller rolls the reader through a spectrum of all-too-understandable future issues. At the heart of the novel is the lost love from a pair of disreputable survivors of the wars and disasters that have rendered life predatory and frightening.

What an insane, magnificent book. When I learned Cory O'Brien wrote for Monster Prom, I just said "Of course he did." Not that the tone of this book and that game are at all similar, but the quickness and cleverness of the writing, the nature of the sci fi, it tracks.

My biggest complaint about this book is that at times, due to the mechanics of the world, the book becomes a bit of a challenging, confusing read. I was along for the ride, but I am not sure how many people will be incredibly on board.

I do think that this will be a hit or miss book for people. You will either absolutely buy in (like I do) or you will find this a bit challenging. It's a bold fiction debut, and one I'm proud to have read.

Can't wait to read more from Cory O'Brien.

This was fun. It is a novel full of ideas that have seen the light of day in other sci-fi novels, which are here packaged and woven together in new and novel ways with lovely writing.

Take as a starter that memories can be extracted and stored as data outside our actual brains. This isn’t new, but when those memories become things that can be bought, sold, and “remembered” by others - and “forgotten” by those who originally had the experiential memory - this idea can become the foundation of a complete economic system. And, once that’s in place, there are always bad people who want to exploit that system as criminals for their own profit. And to make the world complete, there are bound to be good guys - whether police or private persons - who try to hold the bad guys to account.

And there you have the framework for a great, and pretty intricate whodunnit. If there’s one downside that makes me take a star away from a full five star review, it’s that the story is so intricate I actually lost track a little bit as the final ends were being tied up. There were just enough characters and novel circumstances that were wildly crazy that I had to work hard to put all the pieces together. Maybe I should give the author credit for making me do that, but as it is, I feel a little unsatisfied.

That is balanced, however, by some language, and imagination are terrific. Example: “ The bacon-fat smell of Tijuana dogs competed for airspace with the sweet stink of weed, the French-fry scent of biodiesel, and the methane belch of a local meat factory as my driver wove through foot traffic with deranged confidence.” or, “ When you pile up as many memories as I’ve got, it becomes impossible to really know yourself. Am I the things I remember? Am I the way I feel about those memories now? Or, like the sidewalk under the sea, am I the things I don’t remember? The things I’ve chosen to forget?” The latter penetrates to the heart of the ideas examined in the novel.

There are other fun mechanisms, such as the ability of an appropriate enabled person to directly see out of the eyes of devices being used as tools, and the graceful way that such a person slips in and out of thinking they are that device. And more. I don’t want to spoil the book by giving away all the secrets.

If you’re tired of the usual ways that some sci-fi ideas around human extension into technology is used, try this book out. You’ll be satisfied.

I had the opportunity to read an advance review copy of the book, and give my review without obligation or bias.

This was a complicated and interesting read. It wasn't always enjoyable—I'd have preferred less grime and goo and gore (though I can't deny it all fit the story world). I'd have to reread the book to fully follow/comprehend the plot, and I didn't like it enough to bother rereading. That said, I was never tempted to put it down and not pick it up again.

The ending was a bit too dark for my taste, but again, it made sense within the world of the story. Overall, if you're looking for a well-written, twisty story that's pretty much bleak from start to finish, I don't think you'll go wrong with this.

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

This was a great debut novel and had that concept that I wanted from a blend of noir and cyberpunk. I was engaged with the world and how everything worked with that story. The characters worked in this underwater world and had that scifi element that was promised. Cory O'Brien wrote this well and glad I got to get to this world.