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HearRational
★★★★★ “Davis’ writing debut is a triumph - utilising razor sharp whit and satire against a well crafted sci-fi world. If you’re a fan of Black Mirror then this book is for you.” Adam Pearson, BBC actor and TV presenter, star of the Oscar-nominated A Different Man (2024)
Conspiracy theorist Theo has a loyal online following, a DIY podcast studio in a pub basement, and a theory that interdimensional vampires are stealing people’s souls. It’s niche—but growing.
When disillusioned academic Audrey makes Theo the subject of her final research project, she doesn’t expect his ideas to catch fire. Or go viral. Or start a revolution.
But Audrey knows his secret. And if she doesn’t stop him, the world might just believe him.
HearRational is a darkly comic exploration of misinformation, fringe logic, and how New Zealand doesn’t actually exist. A satire about belief, guilt, and how dangerous things get when people start asking all the wrong questions.
Conspiracy theorist Theo has a loyal online following, a DIY podcast studio in a pub basement, and a theory that interdimensional vampires are stealing people’s souls. It’s niche—but growing.
When disillusioned academic Audrey makes Theo the subject of her final research project, she doesn’t expect his ideas to catch fire. Or go viral. Or start a revolution.
But Audrey knows his secret. And if she doesn’t stop him, the world might just believe him.
HearRational is a darkly comic exploration of misinformation, fringe logic, and how New Zealand doesn’t actually exist. A satire about belief, guilt, and how dangerous things get when people start asking all the wrong questions.
182 pages, Paperback
Published September 25, 2025
8 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 7, 2025
Great, quick read.
A wonderful, fast-paced adventure through the world of conspiracy theories, and a look our decisions to believe in what we are told, and what we want.
You will be hooked for start to finish as you jump between timelines and viewpoints in quick succession, building a world and a story that feels brilliantly absurd, utterly enticing and scarily familiar to our real world - as you move through the story, wanting to know the ‘truth’ for yourself.
A wonderful, fast-paced adventure through the world of conspiracy theories, and a look our decisions to believe in what we are told, and what we want.
You will be hooked for start to finish as you jump between timelines and viewpoints in quick succession, building a world and a story that feels brilliantly absurd, utterly enticing and scarily familiar to our real world - as you move through the story, wanting to know the ‘truth’ for yourself.
February 20, 2026
Exceeded expectations and delivered in all the right ways.
I’ve followed Oliver Davis as a wrestling YouTuber for about a decade, so when he announced he’d published a novel (or, really, a novella) called HearRational, I felt obliged to check it out. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. He is not an experienced author, and I figured it was a pet project to unleash some creativity. It would be short and… fine. But I’d have at least given it a chance.
Being wrong is fun when it happens like this. HearRational is far better than I’d imagined, and is up there with one of the best stories I’ve read in the last few months, including plenty from esteemed and famous authors.
Story Summary
HearRational is hard to categorise, somewhere between sci-fi and literary fiction. It follows Audrey, a struggling psychologist who thinks she’s found the next great breakthrough in the field as she studies Theo, a kid whose reaction to a traumatic incident is to start believing in all sorts of crackpot conspiracy theories. He and his misfit friends spread the message and become worldwide influencers. But why do people believe all this rubbish? Audrey thinks she knows.
Style: 8/10
Davis takes us on a journey with his punchy, tight prose. It’s clean, easy to read and gives lots of tasty, witty morsels to chew on. At only about 150 pages, it’s shorter than most books I read, but it never feels rushed. It’s just the right pace for what it needs. Too many authors, I think, would have dragged it out and added fluff to hit a word count. Not here.
I reserve the scores of 9 and 10 for truly exquisite literary style, which this doesn’t reach. It doesn’t need to. It does everything it needs to do and sparkles on the way.
People: 9/10
The two main characters are Audrey and Theo. Both are excellent. The way their backgrounds and flaws develop through the book has me constantly feeling about them in different ways, re-assessing my previous judgements.
Audrey’s strained relationship with her partner is really well done. He comes across as a bad guy, but there’s more to it than that. Theo’s accomplices: Ian, Paul and Colin are so believable, I sometimes felt like I was in the pub with them.
Imagination 7/10
The premise of the story is a psychological phenomenon in which certain life events cause people to block out things they hear that conflict with what they believe. The most obvious of these is Theo. Criticism, mockery, and anger are like water off a duck’s back. He doesn’t hear all that; he thinks they’re all agreeing with him in their own way.
I’m not sure how much weight this holds scientifically. It’s an interesting idea, and to his credit, Davis never presents it as watertight. I wish we’d been able to explore it a little further in different contexts rather than just with Theo and Audrey.
The “world” is basically the real world but with some amusing substitutions like the massively popular Bro podcast. Very believable.
Narrative: 8/10
The story jumps between Then and Now (and sometimes Before Then). We get to see the situation in the “present” and what led to it years before. Back then, Audrey meets Theo and interviews him as a test subject. Now, he’s world-famous, spreading his message.
The way the narrative unfolds between the time jumps is magnificent. Each scene shows us something different from the last, and we get a constantly changing picture of how we got to the present moment. There’s tension and stakes, and things move along at a great pace. I raced through the story, desperate to know what came next.
We reach the finale; everything has been unveiled, and the world is watching. I enjoyed the end, but found it lacking a little something to make it truly special. I would have liked to dwell on things longer.
Emotion: 7/10
So, the ending didn’t quite carry the weight the rest of the story deserved. As a result, I missed the moments of quiet contemplation and the dwelling in the characters’ journeys that follow a story like this.
The idea of us blocking out things we don’t agree with is strong and makes me wonder how much I do it myself, without realising. How many times do I ignore politics that don’t align with mine, or advice that doesn’t fit with my predetermined vision of how to live my life?
Final Score: 39/50
I never would have thought a book by a YouTuber I follow (and not a BookTuber) would turn out better, in my opinion, than stories by Asimov and Rothfuss and be comparable to one by Kurt Vonnegut.
Not bad going for a debut novel. Will there be more from Oliver Davis? I certainly hope so.
I’ve followed Oliver Davis as a wrestling YouTuber for about a decade, so when he announced he’d published a novel (or, really, a novella) called HearRational, I felt obliged to check it out. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. He is not an experienced author, and I figured it was a pet project to unleash some creativity. It would be short and… fine. But I’d have at least given it a chance.
Being wrong is fun when it happens like this. HearRational is far better than I’d imagined, and is up there with one of the best stories I’ve read in the last few months, including plenty from esteemed and famous authors.
Story Summary
HearRational is hard to categorise, somewhere between sci-fi and literary fiction. It follows Audrey, a struggling psychologist who thinks she’s found the next great breakthrough in the field as she studies Theo, a kid whose reaction to a traumatic incident is to start believing in all sorts of crackpot conspiracy theories. He and his misfit friends spread the message and become worldwide influencers. But why do people believe all this rubbish? Audrey thinks she knows.
Style: 8/10
Davis takes us on a journey with his punchy, tight prose. It’s clean, easy to read and gives lots of tasty, witty morsels to chew on. At only about 150 pages, it’s shorter than most books I read, but it never feels rushed. It’s just the right pace for what it needs. Too many authors, I think, would have dragged it out and added fluff to hit a word count. Not here.
I reserve the scores of 9 and 10 for truly exquisite literary style, which this doesn’t reach. It doesn’t need to. It does everything it needs to do and sparkles on the way.
People: 9/10
The two main characters are Audrey and Theo. Both are excellent. The way their backgrounds and flaws develop through the book has me constantly feeling about them in different ways, re-assessing my previous judgements.
Audrey’s strained relationship with her partner is really well done. He comes across as a bad guy, but there’s more to it than that. Theo’s accomplices: Ian, Paul and Colin are so believable, I sometimes felt like I was in the pub with them.
Imagination 7/10
The premise of the story is a psychological phenomenon in which certain life events cause people to block out things they hear that conflict with what they believe. The most obvious of these is Theo. Criticism, mockery, and anger are like water off a duck’s back. He doesn’t hear all that; he thinks they’re all agreeing with him in their own way.
I’m not sure how much weight this holds scientifically. It’s an interesting idea, and to his credit, Davis never presents it as watertight. I wish we’d been able to explore it a little further in different contexts rather than just with Theo and Audrey.
The “world” is basically the real world but with some amusing substitutions like the massively popular Bro podcast. Very believable.
Narrative: 8/10
The story jumps between Then and Now (and sometimes Before Then). We get to see the situation in the “present” and what led to it years before. Back then, Audrey meets Theo and interviews him as a test subject. Now, he’s world-famous, spreading his message.
The way the narrative unfolds between the time jumps is magnificent. Each scene shows us something different from the last, and we get a constantly changing picture of how we got to the present moment. There’s tension and stakes, and things move along at a great pace. I raced through the story, desperate to know what came next.
We reach the finale; everything has been unveiled, and the world is watching. I enjoyed the end, but found it lacking a little something to make it truly special. I would have liked to dwell on things longer.
Emotion: 7/10
So, the ending didn’t quite carry the weight the rest of the story deserved. As a result, I missed the moments of quiet contemplation and the dwelling in the characters’ journeys that follow a story like this.
The idea of us blocking out things we don’t agree with is strong and makes me wonder how much I do it myself, without realising. How many times do I ignore politics that don’t align with mine, or advice that doesn’t fit with my predetermined vision of how to live my life?
Final Score: 39/50
I never would have thought a book by a YouTuber I follow (and not a BookTuber) would turn out better, in my opinion, than stories by Asimov and Rothfuss and be comparable to one by Kurt Vonnegut.
Not bad going for a debut novel. Will there be more from Oliver Davis? I certainly hope so.
August 22, 2025
Audrey Lowe is a PhD candidate, conducting an experiment on conspiracy theorists when she encounters the most impressively oblivious test subject. Theo Papadopoulos knows his late brother, Benny, is calling to him from a dark dimension, where vampires have been feeding off human souls for millennia. Theo is determined to warn the world, and Audrey is the only person who might be able to stop him.
HearRational is a hilarious look at the current world of misinformation and conspiracy. From YouTube to bro podcasts to evangelical religion, it's full of spot-on commentary about the echo chambers some folks exist in, and how fanaticism spreads across borders.
As someone who views the news today with high levels of both cynicism and disdain, I howled at how obvious this satire is and how perfectly it captures the absurdity of life right now. I think I had a highlighted line every three pages.
It's weird and wild and such a blast, and it comes in at a quick 182 pages. Pick it up if you need a reminder that the world isn't fully insane yet... it just feels that way because the sane ones aren't the loudest.
It was such a rest to be part of the Book Sirens campaign for this one. Thanks to Book Sirens and the author for an eARC.
HearRational is a hilarious look at the current world of misinformation and conspiracy. From YouTube to bro podcasts to evangelical religion, it's full of spot-on commentary about the echo chambers some folks exist in, and how fanaticism spreads across borders.
As someone who views the news today with high levels of both cynicism and disdain, I howled at how obvious this satire is and how perfectly it captures the absurdity of life right now. I think I had a highlighted line every three pages.
It's weird and wild and such a blast, and it comes in at a quick 182 pages. Pick it up if you need a reminder that the world isn't fully insane yet... it just feels that way because the sane ones aren't the loudest.
It was such a rest to be part of the Book Sirens campaign for this one. Thanks to Book Sirens and the author for an eARC.
September 7, 2025
This novella by Oliver Davis has to be my favourite debut novel. The 180 page fast paced, contemporary fiction is an excellent read; smart, funny and hosting characters who are well developed and established. It is a brilliantly dark exploration of how people communicate and deal with grief, especially after a significant trauma. It is also a perfect example of British satire at its best.
The story follows an academic who wants to establish herself as a leader in her field and one of her subjects. His journey leads him to becoming a viral conspiracy theorist and peaks with a tour of America.
I enjoyed this book so much, as soon as I closed the page I wanted to read it again..... that and to check that New Zealand is actually real.
The story follows an academic who wants to establish herself as a leader in her field and one of her subjects. His journey leads him to becoming a viral conspiracy theorist and peaks with a tour of America.
I enjoyed this book so much, as soon as I closed the page I wanted to read it again..... that and to check that New Zealand is actually real.
September 15, 2025
I’ve been following Oli Davis for a long time ever since Wrestletalk started on YouTube. When he said he was publishing a book, I knew I had to get it. Reading HearRational, I can feel Oli’s humor and I thoroughly liked his writing style. The story was very different from my usual reads but I feel like this one is gonna stick with me a lot longer. The psychological issues and how society treats people who have platforms to express their wild ideas is a good reflection of the modern world. Also, as a Science teacher, the interview on Top Bro was giving me flashbacks of arguing with a colleague who is a flat earth believer. My only complaint is that I wish it was longer. Really a 4.5 star read. Can’t wait for his next book. Support Wrestletalk, Support Oli Davis.
September 19, 2025
Oliver Davis may be an incredibly good YouTube personality, but he is (and I hate to say it) an incredibly mediocre writer. Stripping away my bias toward Davis and looking solely at the writing, I’m left underwhelmed. HearRational doesn’t even need the disclaimer of being a debut, it’s painfully obvious. The characters are flimsy and one-dimensional, the tone somehow manages to be both verbose and clunky, and the whole story reads like an exercise in overwrought prose. The plot had potential, but HearRational never manages to deliver.
Ollie, you’ll always be my go-to source for wrestling news, but when it comes to science fiction, I’ll have to look elsewhere.
Ollie, you’ll always be my go-to source for wrestling news, but when it comes to science fiction, I’ll have to look elsewhere.
July 22, 2025
Reasonably well written but totally weird. Sort of like listening to someone high on weed having a scientific conversation with someone tripping on LSD. Not a happy ending.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 25, 2025
A fun book, and considering a debut, well written.
October 23, 2025
I was so hyped and then the last 10 pages made me go whaaaaa?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews