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Note To Self
Richard Henley’s day began with a visit from a stranger and an invitation to dinner. It ended with him receiving a note in his own handwriting warning that someone was trying to kill him--a note he had no memory of writing.
What followed would push Richard’s grip on reality to the limit, forcing him to confront the inexplicable, question his past, and trust his fate to an unknown ally.
Note to Self takes Richard on a journey to places he never knew existed, explores the role of technology in the modern world, and asks whether the choices we are making are really our own.
What followed would push Richard’s grip on reality to the limit, forcing him to confront the inexplicable, question his past, and trust his fate to an unknown ally.
Note to Self takes Richard on a journey to places he never knew existed, explores the role of technology in the modern world, and asks whether the choices we are making are really our own.
- GenresScience Fiction
262 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2013
34 people want to read
About the author
Peter Ward
5 books15 followersPeter Ward was born in London in 1980 and studied English Literature at the University of Southampton before entering a career in retail that made no use of any of his qualifications whatsoever.
He lives with his wife Lucy, a three-legged cat called Sabrina, and a large spider that refuses to leave the kitchen that he has decided to call Dennis.
Peter has not hit the big time when it comes to writing, and as such does it in his spare time around a full time job that actually pays the bills. Currently he works as the Head of Corporate Partnerships at the Natural History Museum in London.
He is the author of the Time Rep Trilogy, The Electric Detective, and Note to Self.
He lives with his wife Lucy, a three-legged cat called Sabrina, and a large spider that refuses to leave the kitchen that he has decided to call Dennis.
Peter has not hit the big time when it comes to writing, and as such does it in his spare time around a full time job that actually pays the bills. Currently he works as the Head of Corporate Partnerships at the Natural History Museum in London.
He is the author of the Time Rep Trilogy, The Electric Detective, and Note to Self.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 20, 2013
Firstly, my thanks to Diversion Books for sending me this book to review.
"Richard Henley is an ordinary man leading an ordinary life, but when he finds strange notes in his own handwriting warning that someone is trying to kill him, he is sent on a journey to places he never knew existed...."
Ok, so that one line in the synopsis was enough to turn my head! I cant get enough of that weird thriller type stuff. So I got started, and very quickly got drawn right in.
This is another of those difficult ones where I have to skirt around much of the actual story for fear of ruining the whole thing for you. But it really got stuck in quite early on - I'm not such a fan of huge, long drawn out character background, scene setting, etc. and so really enjoyed the fast pace of this one.
Initially, I did find the lead character incredibly frustrating. It took him an awfully long time to figure out what was going on around him - I'd done so long before. In fact, I don't think he even figured it out for himself - he was blatantly told by another character! He wasn't particularly portrayed as an unintelligent man - so I can only assume that the author might think his readers as unintelligent?? However, I'm willing to let this slide, it didn't ruin the reading experience, and it was the only main flaw I found.... besides, perhaps experiencing those sort of events would make you think a lot less clearly compared to when you are merely reading about them!
That aside, once the lead did know what was going on, it was actually a very enjoyable read. I thought the story was coming to an end around 3/4 of the way through, and when I realised there was still a fair way to go until the end, I worried about whether the whole thing might be dragged out and ruined. Luckily the author didn't disappoint, the story carried on very nicely, with enough time for added action and breakthroughs and still enough time to neatly tie everything up - in fact, I then realised I would have been left wanting had it finished when I initially suspected, and I was happily satiated with what I found instead.
So there is my very vague review of what was in fact a very enjoyable read....if you want to know what on Earth I am banging on about, well then I suppose you will have to read it for yourself!
A very enjoyable read aside from a few frustrations.
"Richard Henley is an ordinary man leading an ordinary life, but when he finds strange notes in his own handwriting warning that someone is trying to kill him, he is sent on a journey to places he never knew existed...."
Ok, so that one line in the synopsis was enough to turn my head! I cant get enough of that weird thriller type stuff. So I got started, and very quickly got drawn right in.
This is another of those difficult ones where I have to skirt around much of the actual story for fear of ruining the whole thing for you. But it really got stuck in quite early on - I'm not such a fan of huge, long drawn out character background, scene setting, etc. and so really enjoyed the fast pace of this one.
Initially, I did find the lead character incredibly frustrating. It took him an awfully long time to figure out what was going on around him - I'd done so long before. In fact, I don't think he even figured it out for himself - he was blatantly told by another character! He wasn't particularly portrayed as an unintelligent man - so I can only assume that the author might think his readers as unintelligent?? However, I'm willing to let this slide, it didn't ruin the reading experience, and it was the only main flaw I found.... besides, perhaps experiencing those sort of events would make you think a lot less clearly compared to when you are merely reading about them!
That aside, once the lead did know what was going on, it was actually a very enjoyable read. I thought the story was coming to an end around 3/4 of the way through, and when I realised there was still a fair way to go until the end, I worried about whether the whole thing might be dragged out and ruined. Luckily the author didn't disappoint, the story carried on very nicely, with enough time for added action and breakthroughs and still enough time to neatly tie everything up - in fact, I then realised I would have been left wanting had it finished when I initially suspected, and I was happily satiated with what I found instead.
So there is my very vague review of what was in fact a very enjoyable read....if you want to know what on Earth I am banging on about, well then I suppose you will have to read it for yourself!
A very enjoyable read aside from a few frustrations.
February 16, 2020
Enjoyable, although the americanisms (parking lot etc) annoyed me. The tension was interesting to a point, although Richard actually doesn't really do very much as a main character and is almost incidental to the whole work, which makes one wonder. It's hard to sympathise with a lead actor in a story who doesn't either contribute anything, have any good ideas, or do anything other than have had sex once upon a time. His bewilderment turns to sheep-like acceptance in quite short order, and whilst the author is clearly pushing eco and humanitarian messages, they came over a little sharp and through the third wall: the story felt as if it were built to hous them, rather than them diegetically being part of the story.
October 22, 2013
I received an electronic copy of this from the publisher through NetGalley.
I tore through the first two-thirds of this short, action-accelerated novel in a brief afternoon last week, but it took me the course of a busy second week to complete the final third. Sadly it was not just my busyness, but a declining interest that made this more difficult to finish off.
The novel wastes no time getting into the action, a multi-parallel-world SF ride. At the start, when things are still unclear to the reader and kept mysterious, Ward's writing succeeds fabulously. Things fall apart, however, when Ward begins to answer some of the reader's questions (or at times questions that hadn't even occurred) and explain the details of the previously mysterious uncertain plot that unfolded in the protagonists life at such break-neck speed.
While the writing is perfectly fine at a more 'local' level, Ward runs into problems in crafting the plot believably, even for this kind of fantastic multiple-worlds scenario, making the overall composition of the story a bit of a mess. This kind of story can be fraught with plot holes, and loads of mind-bending complexity not unlike what can occur while trying to handle time traveling in a novel. Ward tries extensively to make this universe and the events that befall the characters be consistent, but I never really became convinced that was the case. Instead the attempts at explanation just seemed to draw attention to how terribly convenient events were for the protagonist and his friends, almost as if some 'hand' were guiding things so they would work out to fit the story.
For instance, objects traveling from one world to a parallel one will appear in the same space - even if 'ground-level' on one Earth is a mile underground in another. But notes can be passed between worlds into a pocket, no matter how subtly shifted, because THOSE can be passed by a slightly different means. Which begs more questions... Far more unbelievably, events in the climax occur with mind-boggling rapidity, where an entire Earth's population is convinced they've been lied to by the protagonist simply yelling his arguments in panic to some citizens on the street. Just like that, they believe him and act.
I think the novel could have stood being developed into a longer work with more effort being placed in letting events flow naturally from the characters rather than forcing situations along the path the author had mapped. I liked that the novel was not just simply a mysterious SF adventure, but also had some interesting commentary on social media and the public's willingness to turn ourselves over with profound trust to large, secretive organizations. The novel also highlights a relevant theme of exploiting the environment for short-term selfish gains, to support massive increases in technology and convenience at the expense of things far deeper. These are all great things to write about and consider, I just wish they had been done here in a more realistic, honest fashion.
I tore through the first two-thirds of this short, action-accelerated novel in a brief afternoon last week, but it took me the course of a busy second week to complete the final third. Sadly it was not just my busyness, but a declining interest that made this more difficult to finish off.
The novel wastes no time getting into the action, a multi-parallel-world SF ride. At the start, when things are still unclear to the reader and kept mysterious, Ward's writing succeeds fabulously. Things fall apart, however, when Ward begins to answer some of the reader's questions (or at times questions that hadn't even occurred) and explain the details of the previously mysterious uncertain plot that unfolded in the protagonists life at such break-neck speed.
While the writing is perfectly fine at a more 'local' level, Ward runs into problems in crafting the plot believably, even for this kind of fantastic multiple-worlds scenario, making the overall composition of the story a bit of a mess. This kind of story can be fraught with plot holes, and loads of mind-bending complexity not unlike what can occur while trying to handle time traveling in a novel. Ward tries extensively to make this universe and the events that befall the characters be consistent, but I never really became convinced that was the case. Instead the attempts at explanation just seemed to draw attention to how terribly convenient events were for the protagonist and his friends, almost as if some 'hand' were guiding things so they would work out to fit the story.
For instance, objects traveling from one world to a parallel one will appear in the same space - even if 'ground-level' on one Earth is a mile underground in another. But notes can be passed between worlds into a pocket, no matter how subtly shifted, because THOSE can be passed by a slightly different means. Which begs more questions... Far more unbelievably, events in the climax occur with mind-boggling rapidity, where an entire Earth's population is convinced they've been lied to by the protagonist simply yelling his arguments in panic to some citizens on the street. Just like that, they believe him and act.
I think the novel could have stood being developed into a longer work with more effort being placed in letting events flow naturally from the characters rather than forcing situations along the path the author had mapped. I liked that the novel was not just simply a mysterious SF adventure, but also had some interesting commentary on social media and the public's willingness to turn ourselves over with profound trust to large, secretive organizations. The novel also highlights a relevant theme of exploiting the environment for short-term selfish gains, to support massive increases in technology and convenience at the expense of things far deeper. These are all great things to write about and consider, I just wish they had been done here in a more realistic, honest fashion.
October 20, 2013
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This book was definitely a fun read, I also finished this book quite fast accordingly. The storyline was very interesting and Richard was a great main character. But there was just that something that was missing in this story, I just can’t quite put my finger on it (and we all know that’s not a fun feeling). But overall I really did enjoy this book and it’s definitely worth your time! I’ll try to not spoil this book during the review, but it’s going to be very hard!
Richard is a great character, I liked him right away. Mostly because of the little things because they made him feel very relatable. He wasn’t special and that’s what made him a lot of fun. It made this book feel more realistic especially considering what the main plotline is centered around. There are also some good guys here and some bad guys and I love how we get a very full view of both parties. Not everyone who is on the “bad” side has bad motives and vice versa. That’s just a real big plus for me because I love being torn about hating the bad guys!
Plot wise this book was very strong in my opinion. It reminded me a slight bit of a book I read recently (When the world was flat) and I felt that this book handled those things better. The writing worked very well for this story in my opinion. I don’t have very strong feelings towards the writing which means that it didn’t bother me in the least. It also means that it wasn’t the most beautiful writing I’ve ever read, but that style of writing wouldn’t have helped the story, so this was all the story needed. The ending was good as well in my opinion. I didn’t find it very unexpected but it pleased me nonetheless.
The thing with this book was that however much I liked reading it, afterwards I didn’t have that WOW-feeling. It was good and let me assure you that I’m not lying here. But there was a bit of punch missing perhaps? Or maybe this had more to do with my mood than my book. Who knows?
This book was definitely a fun read, I also finished this book quite fast accordingly. The storyline was very interesting and Richard was a great main character. But there was just that something that was missing in this story, I just can’t quite put my finger on it (and we all know that’s not a fun feeling). But overall I really did enjoy this book and it’s definitely worth your time! I’ll try to not spoil this book during the review, but it’s going to be very hard!
Richard is a great character, I liked him right away. Mostly because of the little things because they made him feel very relatable. He wasn’t special and that’s what made him a lot of fun. It made this book feel more realistic especially considering what the main plotline is centered around. There are also some good guys here and some bad guys and I love how we get a very full view of both parties. Not everyone who is on the “bad” side has bad motives and vice versa. That’s just a real big plus for me because I love being torn about hating the bad guys!
Plot wise this book was very strong in my opinion. It reminded me a slight bit of a book I read recently (When the world was flat) and I felt that this book handled those things better. The writing worked very well for this story in my opinion. I don’t have very strong feelings towards the writing which means that it didn’t bother me in the least. It also means that it wasn’t the most beautiful writing I’ve ever read, but that style of writing wouldn’t have helped the story, so this was all the story needed. The ending was good as well in my opinion. I didn’t find it very unexpected but it pleased me nonetheless.
The thing with this book was that however much I liked reading it, afterwards I didn’t have that WOW-feeling. It was good and let me assure you that I’m not lying here. But there was a bit of punch missing perhaps? Or maybe this had more to do with my mood than my book. Who knows?
October 3, 2013
Richard Henley is a regular middle-aged dude with nothing much going on. And then he gets these weird hand-written notes warning him about bad guys trying to kidnap him. The creepy part? The notes are all written in his own handwriting and keep rewriting themselves, as if having a conversation with his unspoken thoughts. Ooooooh. And that's how this sci-fi adventure thriller begins!
I'm conflicted, because the story was great. I love multiverse stories (The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas is my favorite), and the non-stop action combined with the cool premise made this into a page-turner. Definitely 4 stars for the plot.
HOWEVER. The writing was, so disappointingly, quite juvenile. It had a lot of awkwardness (like a siren wailing quietly), a lot of laughably grandiose sentences ("For the first time in years, I was the master of my fate. I was the captain of my soul".) I don't think it was appropriate for me to have burst out laughing in that tense scene. The writing was consistently wrong and out of place. I'm so mad because the story was so thrilling, and the idea of the Quantum Displacement Disease and its origin was so interesting. I know not to judge Netgalley books based on the spelling or grammar mistakes. But this guy just doesn't seem to be a good writer. Great imagination and concepts, bad flow. Please learn how to carry a consistent writing style and try telling your stories then, Mr. Ward. They may be worth more than lukewarm 3 stars then.
Another positive note - I liked the sarcastic commentary on our obsession with smartphones/apps. The Decision Tree was brilliant!
-I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review-
I'm conflicted, because the story was great. I love multiverse stories (The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas is my favorite), and the non-stop action combined with the cool premise made this into a page-turner. Definitely 4 stars for the plot.
HOWEVER. The writing was, so disappointingly, quite juvenile. It had a lot of awkwardness (like a siren wailing quietly), a lot of laughably grandiose sentences ("For the first time in years, I was the master of my fate. I was the captain of my soul".) I don't think it was appropriate for me to have burst out laughing in that tense scene. The writing was consistently wrong and out of place. I'm so mad because the story was so thrilling, and the idea of the Quantum Displacement Disease and its origin was so interesting. I know not to judge Netgalley books based on the spelling or grammar mistakes. But this guy just doesn't seem to be a good writer. Great imagination and concepts, bad flow. Please learn how to carry a consistent writing style and try telling your stories then, Mr. Ward. They may be worth more than lukewarm 3 stars then.
Another positive note - I liked the sarcastic commentary on our obsession with smartphones/apps. The Decision Tree was brilliant!
-I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review-
October 8, 2013
If I was rating this book on only the last half, it would have gotten 4.5 stars, easy. The beginning was just so slow for me. I really struggled. I had one of those, UGH feelings when I picked up my Nook. I just really wasn't interested. I'm glad that I pushed through, though. The payoff at the end was completely worth it.
I don't think that there was one certain thing that made the beginning hell for me. In all probability, it was a combination of things ... it just dragged on like a nightmare family reunion. That's it! I'd equate the beginning of this novel to getting your cheeks (the ones on your face) squeezed for hours by that one old aunt that smells like mothballs and White Shoulders.
Now, that's not to say that the beginning wasn't interesting. It was. It was just boring. Once it started picking up, I became excited about the book again and blew through it.
The ideas that were brought up in the book were pretty spot on. The flat out accusation that our society is too focused on technology couldn't be more correct. I survived a childhood without all of these doodads and I mostly turned out okay and kids these days (mine included) just can't seem to live without technology. Anyway, so that was pretty interesting.
This book is a prime example of pushing through the reading fog. I've read some amazing books that got off to a rocky start. But this one is worth pushing through. It has an awesome ending, one that will stay with me for a while. Is this something that I would read again? Mmm, I don't know. But I don't plan on deleting it from my Nook anytime soon, if that means anything.
http://littlemissbookmark.blogspot.com/
I don't think that there was one certain thing that made the beginning hell for me. In all probability, it was a combination of things ... it just dragged on like a nightmare family reunion. That's it! I'd equate the beginning of this novel to getting your cheeks (the ones on your face) squeezed for hours by that one old aunt that smells like mothballs and White Shoulders.
Now, that's not to say that the beginning wasn't interesting. It was. It was just boring. Once it started picking up, I became excited about the book again and blew through it.
The ideas that were brought up in the book were pretty spot on. The flat out accusation that our society is too focused on technology couldn't be more correct. I survived a childhood without all of these doodads and I mostly turned out okay and kids these days (mine included) just can't seem to live without technology. Anyway, so that was pretty interesting.
This book is a prime example of pushing through the reading fog. I've read some amazing books that got off to a rocky start. But this one is worth pushing through. It has an awesome ending, one that will stay with me for a while. Is this something that I would read again? Mmm, I don't know. But I don't plan on deleting it from my Nook anytime soon, if that means anything.
http://littlemissbookmark.blogspot.com/
October 19, 2013
Note to Self is a carefully thought out, mind-boggling sci-fi experience. It follows Richard Henley, a normal man just going about his everyday routine who is suddenly warned to run, to get out now. You follow the journey of Richard through strange places as he realises he is part of something bigger than he could ever have imagined. When notes start to appear in his handwriting, notes he hasn’t written, this is just the tip of the strangeness this story encompasses.
I throughly enjoyed this story, as a student of chemistry i understood many of the quantum physics references which made me smile, however this books is highly able to cater for those with less of a science background. I did find this book hard to start and wasn’t really sure about what i would think after the first couple of pages, but believe me when i say, stick to it and it will become something you can not put down, even if you need to. The characters are written in a way in which you can really relate to them, even though you’ve probably not gone through what they’re going through.
I really enjoyed the introduction of Cassandra at the beginning of the book, even though you don’t realise her full importance until much later, i would recommend this book to any fans of the sci-fi genre, or anyone who wants a ‘different’ read to normal. You won’t be disappointed :)
I recieved this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I throughly enjoyed this story, as a student of chemistry i understood many of the quantum physics references which made me smile, however this books is highly able to cater for those with less of a science background. I did find this book hard to start and wasn’t really sure about what i would think after the first couple of pages, but believe me when i say, stick to it and it will become something you can not put down, even if you need to. The characters are written in a way in which you can really relate to them, even though you’ve probably not gone through what they’re going through.
I really enjoyed the introduction of Cassandra at the beginning of the book, even though you don’t realise her full importance until much later, i would recommend this book to any fans of the sci-fi genre, or anyone who wants a ‘different’ read to normal. You won’t be disappointed :)
I recieved this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 29, 2013
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The main character was Richard Henley. An ordinary man whose life was turned upside down and he managed to receive help from an unusual source.
I liked the beginning when Richard didn't know what was going on. The story was vaguely trippy in a good way.
I really liked the action sequences. The car chases were particularly exciting.
I would have rated this higher except there were two things I had problems with. At one point Richard starts quoting lines from the poem "Invictus" by William Henley and he did not actually tell us where he was getting his material. Maybe the author thought since the main character shared the same last name the reference was there?
The other problem I had with the story was the anti-technology soapbox the characters kept getting on. I understood the moral he was trying to make, but I do not really need it shoved down my throat that deeply and I don't really agree with everything he was saying. Sorry I can't believe looking up information on the Internet a bad thing.
The main character was Richard Henley. An ordinary man whose life was turned upside down and he managed to receive help from an unusual source.
I liked the beginning when Richard didn't know what was going on. The story was vaguely trippy in a good way.
I really liked the action sequences. The car chases were particularly exciting.
I would have rated this higher except there were two things I had problems with. At one point Richard starts quoting lines from the poem "Invictus" by William Henley and he did not actually tell us where he was getting his material. Maybe the author thought since the main character shared the same last name the reference was there?
The other problem I had with the story was the anti-technology soapbox the characters kept getting on. I understood the moral he was trying to make, but I do not really need it shoved down my throat that deeply and I don't really agree with everything he was saying. Sorry I can't believe looking up information on the Internet a bad thing.
October 9, 2013
Note to Self was an interesting book, and quite thought provoking too, when it comes to the role that technology has in our lives and the choices we make when we use that technology. Over all, I found it to be a very good book, and one I enjoyed a lot. I would recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction and the concept of alternate realities and other dimensions. What I especially liked about the book is the fact it's set in London, and I've always had a fascination with that city.
As far as the characters, we are introduced to Richard at the very beginning of the book, and I found him to be a very likeable main character, and his confusion over what was happening to him was understandable. We're also introduced to Cassandra, whose importance comes into play later in the book. I’ll also say that one Saturday afternoon I picked this book up again to continue reading around the half-way point, and from then on I couldn’t stop reading. I needed to know what happens next. Overall, I thought the flow of the book was good, and I felt like there were no slow spots.
As far as the characters, we are introduced to Richard at the very beginning of the book, and I found him to be a very likeable main character, and his confusion over what was happening to him was understandable. We're also introduced to Cassandra, whose importance comes into play later in the book. I’ll also say that one Saturday afternoon I picked this book up again to continue reading around the half-way point, and from then on I couldn’t stop reading. I needed to know what happens next. Overall, I thought the flow of the book was good, and I felt like there were no slow spots.
September 29, 2013
I read "Note to Self" by Peter Ward through NetGalley. It is a sci-fi book with an unusual take on time travel, not giving away details, as things are revealed that you might want to discover for yourself. It grabbed me right at the beginning and I bought the premise and the perspective was quite interesting and actually believable. I would have given it 5 stars but it went on a bit longer than it might have, and I was tempted to skip ahead, but stuck with it, so, I think it could have used a bit of editing to tighten it up a little. But, if you are looking for something different than give "Note to Self" a try.
September 17, 2013
I loved the cover right off. The writing is very clean and easy to follow with just the right amount of detail. It was easy to connect to Richard as he tells his story, giving the reader insight to his thoughts and way of processing information. He felt very real, fleshed out and layered. I enjoyed his development and interactions with Cassandra, who also felt fleshed out and strong. The plot was captivating and well paced most of the way through except for the last bit which seemed hurried or just too easily wrapped up.
September 8, 2013
I found this book to be quite an unique read. I am not sure that I would say that I like it a lot but I couldn't seem to put it down. I was fascinated with the delivery of the author and the tie-in to the characters. I found the different dimensions equally enthralling as well as the concept of self-gain and corruption that ran throughout the novel. As I stated, I was extremely curious to see how the story was going to draw to an end.
September 26, 2013
This was a fun and fast-paced adventure that ended up being quite different from what I was expecting. I flew through it in just a couple sittings. The biggest thing keeping me from rating this higher is that the moral is a little heavy-handed for me. Still, I definitely plan to read more by this author.
You can read an extended review on my blog:
Review: Note to Self
(review copy received via NetGalley)
You can read an extended review on my blog:
Review: Note to Self
(review copy received via NetGalley)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews