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Labyrinth
From the bestselling author of Lost in Time and Quantum Radio comes a new mind-bending thriller: a group of strangers with tinnitus begins seeing numbers--numbers they soon realize are a code that will change the world.
Alan Norris has lost everything. Except for his daughter. And he's willing to do anything to protect her.
The day of his wife's funeral, as he's walking to give the eulogy, the ringing in his ears starts. His tinnitus began when he was in the Marines, the day a roadside bomb went off. Usually, it's a low whine - a tea kettle that never quite boils. But as his prosthetic and his good leg sink into the soggy grass, the ringing changes. That afternoon, the ringing only he can hear sounds like three jagged rocks dropped in a tin can and shaken.
When the rattling hits a crescendo, he sees a series of numbers: 12122518914208.
He assumes it's a stress reaction. A hallucination. He's wrong about that. And several other things.
The ringing and the numbers are a mystery, but the worst part is that when that unseen hand shakes the can, Alan begins to lose time.
A few minutes at first.
Then longer.
Until one night, he wakes up next to a dead body.
He could call the police. Or run. He doesn't do either. Because he doesn't know what happened to his daughter during the time he lost, leaving him no choice but to dig deeper.
Alan soon discovers he's not the only one seeing the numbers. And that the sequence is key to a conspiracy with far-reaching consequences. For him and the entire world.
736 pages, Paperback
First published October 21, 2025
1143 people are currently reading
534 people want to read
About the author
A.G. Riddle
21 books5,759 followersA.G. Riddle spent ten years starting internet companies before retiring to pursue his true passion: writing fiction.
His debut novel, The Atlantis Gene, is the first book in The Origin Mystery, the trilogy that has sold a million copies in the US, is being translated into 19 languages, and is in development at CBS Films to be a major motion picture. The trilogy will be in bookstores (in hardcover and paperback) around the world in 2015.
His recently released fourth novel, Departure, follows the survivors of a flight that takes off in 2014 and crash-lands in a changed world. The hardcover will be published by HarperCollins in the fall of 2015, and 20th Century Fox is developing the novel for a feature film.
Riddle grew up in a small town in the US (Boiling Springs, North Carolina) and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill. During his sophomore year of college, he started his first company with a childhood friend. He currently lives in Florida with his wife, who endures his various idiosyncrasies in return for being the first to read his new novels.
No matter where he is, or what's going on, he tries his best to set aside time every day to answer emails and messages from readers. You can reach him at: ag@agriddle.com
** For a sneak peek at new novels, free stories, and more, join the email list at:
www.agriddle.com/email
If you don't want to miss any Riddle news, you can:
Like the A.G. Riddle Facebook page:
facebook.com/agriddle
Follow A.G. Riddle on Twitter:
twitter.com/riddlist
For more, please visit:
AGRiddle.com
* * *
His debut novel, The Atlantis Gene, is the first book in The Origin Mystery, the trilogy that has sold a million copies in the US, is being translated into 19 languages, and is in development at CBS Films to be a major motion picture. The trilogy will be in bookstores (in hardcover and paperback) around the world in 2015.
His recently released fourth novel, Departure, follows the survivors of a flight that takes off in 2014 and crash-lands in a changed world. The hardcover will be published by HarperCollins in the fall of 2015, and 20th Century Fox is developing the novel for a feature film.
Riddle grew up in a small town in the US (Boiling Springs, North Carolina) and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill. During his sophomore year of college, he started his first company with a childhood friend. He currently lives in Florida with his wife, who endures his various idiosyncrasies in return for being the first to read his new novels.
No matter where he is, or what's going on, he tries his best to set aside time every day to answer emails and messages from readers. You can reach him at: ag@agriddle.com
** For a sneak peek at new novels, free stories, and more, join the email list at:
www.agriddle.com/email
If you don't want to miss any Riddle news, you can:
Like the A.G. Riddle Facebook page:
facebook.com/agriddle
Follow A.G. Riddle on Twitter:
twitter.com/riddlist
For more, please visit:
AGRiddle.com
* * *
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
December 2, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¼ (4.75/5) — Riddle, writes a Labyrinth.. it was always surely meant to be then! But this effort by one of my Favourite contemporary authors is no pun, it’s a potential classic. One other riddle is what happened to my original review I thought I’d published weeks ago.. 😡
A.G. Riddle has long been one of those reliably inventive authors whose blend of science, speculation, and high-concept plotting scratches the exact itch I look for in modern sci-fi. I’ve covered much of his bibliography here on Goodreads — from the globe-spanning viral intrigue of The Atlantis Gene to the cerebral, quietly affecting ambition of Winter World and its sequels — and I’ve always admired his ability to fuse accessibility with scale. But Labyrinth is something altogether different: both recognisably Riddle and also, intriguingly, a departure. In this sprawling, meticulously constructed novel, he veers into more overt thriller territory, weaving tension, mystery, and a distinctly propulsive energy through the narrative without sacrificing the intellectual heft that defines his earlier work.
What’s most surprising, and most rewarding, is how seamlessly this hybridisation works. Labyrinth is a long book — properly long — yet it doesn’t waste a single page. Every chapter feels intentionally placed, every reveal carefully measured, and every moment of stillness purposeful. Riddle has always been good at pacing, but here he shows a newfound precision: even when the narrative detours, it does so with deliberateness, as though the reader needs that slight spiral to appreciate the ultimate straight line.
Part of that sharpness is no doubt the result of what Riddle himself reveals in the afterword. He speaks candidly about the difficulties he experienced while writing the book — the doubt, the rewrites, the endless reshaping of a story that refused to settle until it became the version we now hold. You can feel that struggle in the best way possible: the prose has a density to it, a refined quality suggesting that everything extraneous was pared away in the crucible of revision. The book carries the imprint of labour, of someone wrestling a complex idea into something both gripping and gracefully accessible. It’s rare to see that kind of vulnerability from an author, and it adds a layer of appreciation for the craft behind the narrative.
The thriller elements — the heightened danger, the knife-edge pacing, the claustrophobic sense of not knowing who to trust — are where the book’s evolution truly shines. Riddle experiments with structure and tension more boldly than in his prior works, often favouring immediacy over slow world-building. Yet he never abandons the intellectual spark that long-time readers (myself included) look for. Instead, he melds his signature SF frameworks with temporal puzzles, psychological complexity, and the kind of breathless momentum that keeps you turning pages long past midnight.
For me, Labyrinth falls just shy of a perfect 5-star rating, but only because there are a handful of moments where its sheer ambition threatens to spill over its narrative edges. These are minor quibbles — barely scratches, really — but enough to stop me from committing to the absolute top score.
Still, this is Riddle at his most daring, his most polished, and arguably his most emotionally resonant. It feels like the work of an author who pushed himself into discomfort and emerged sharper for it.
A labyrinth worth getting lost in — and one I’ll be thinking about for a long while after closing the final page.
A.G. Riddle has long been one of those reliably inventive authors whose blend of science, speculation, and high-concept plotting scratches the exact itch I look for in modern sci-fi. I’ve covered much of his bibliography here on Goodreads — from the globe-spanning viral intrigue of The Atlantis Gene to the cerebral, quietly affecting ambition of Winter World and its sequels — and I’ve always admired his ability to fuse accessibility with scale. But Labyrinth is something altogether different: both recognisably Riddle and also, intriguingly, a departure. In this sprawling, meticulously constructed novel, he veers into more overt thriller territory, weaving tension, mystery, and a distinctly propulsive energy through the narrative without sacrificing the intellectual heft that defines his earlier work.
What’s most surprising, and most rewarding, is how seamlessly this hybridisation works. Labyrinth is a long book — properly long — yet it doesn’t waste a single page. Every chapter feels intentionally placed, every reveal carefully measured, and every moment of stillness purposeful. Riddle has always been good at pacing, but here he shows a newfound precision: even when the narrative detours, it does so with deliberateness, as though the reader needs that slight spiral to appreciate the ultimate straight line.
Part of that sharpness is no doubt the result of what Riddle himself reveals in the afterword. He speaks candidly about the difficulties he experienced while writing the book — the doubt, the rewrites, the endless reshaping of a story that refused to settle until it became the version we now hold. You can feel that struggle in the best way possible: the prose has a density to it, a refined quality suggesting that everything extraneous was pared away in the crucible of revision. The book carries the imprint of labour, of someone wrestling a complex idea into something both gripping and gracefully accessible. It’s rare to see that kind of vulnerability from an author, and it adds a layer of appreciation for the craft behind the narrative.
The thriller elements — the heightened danger, the knife-edge pacing, the claustrophobic sense of not knowing who to trust — are where the book’s evolution truly shines. Riddle experiments with structure and tension more boldly than in his prior works, often favouring immediacy over slow world-building. Yet he never abandons the intellectual spark that long-time readers (myself included) look for. Instead, he melds his signature SF frameworks with temporal puzzles, psychological complexity, and the kind of breathless momentum that keeps you turning pages long past midnight.
For me, Labyrinth falls just shy of a perfect 5-star rating, but only because there are a handful of moments where its sheer ambition threatens to spill over its narrative edges. These are minor quibbles — barely scratches, really — but enough to stop me from committing to the absolute top score.
Still, this is Riddle at his most daring, his most polished, and arguably his most emotionally resonant. It feels like the work of an author who pushed himself into discomfort and emerged sharper for it.
A labyrinth worth getting lost in — and one I’ll be thinking about for a long while after closing the final page.
November 3, 2025
So. Many. Details. I do realize that in some of my reviews I have complained about the lack of details and that things are too hand wavy. Let that be a lesson to me, be careful what you complain about. Labyrinth is a 700 page book that goes into mind numbing detail on how to clean up a crime, the types of military gear needed to prevent a crime, the financial details needed to make a bunch of money in the stock market, buy things with cash, do a hostile takeover of a huge company, etc.
I wanted more thriller in my thriller, not a how to about creating my own. 2.5 rounded up, I zoned out enough of the boring parts to enjoy it a little. Not sure I will try another Riddle book soon.
Thank you to LibroFM for the ALC
I wanted more thriller in my thriller, not a how to about creating my own. 2.5 rounded up, I zoned out enough of the boring parts to enjoy it a little. Not sure I will try another Riddle book soon.
Thank you to LibroFM for the ALC
October 12, 2025
Alan Norris is a history teacher with tinnitus and PTSD. And he keeps seeing a set of numbers. He wakes up after a bad bout of tinnitus caused him to black out, and believes he may have killed someone.
His attempts to solve the puzzle of the numbers - whilst not being arrested for murder- lead him down a rabbit hole involving artificial intelligence, tech billionaires, and a terrifying vision of the future of humanity (no, it’s not Terminator!) and eventually on a ‘quest’. A bit like a modern day Lord of the Rings, only with laptops.
Without wanting to give anything away, the premise of the story is good, with a frighteningly plausible future for humanity. And AG Riddle certainly lives up to his surname as the plot takes many twists and turns. Good characterisation too.In many ways a solid 4*. And it had lots of Star Trek references, which made me smile.
But….. it was so, so long. At the point where I felt the story ought to be starting to build up to a conclusion, I was less than 40% in. And then it began to meander. Unnecessarily long descriptions, conversations and events which really slowed the pace. And a very long section where little vignettes of story jumped from scene to scene, and character to character and which I ended up skimming. Hence the 3*
His attempts to solve the puzzle of the numbers - whilst not being arrested for murder- lead him down a rabbit hole involving artificial intelligence, tech billionaires, and a terrifying vision of the future of humanity (no, it’s not Terminator!) and eventually on a ‘quest’. A bit like a modern day Lord of the Rings, only with laptops.
Without wanting to give anything away, the premise of the story is good, with a frighteningly plausible future for humanity. And AG Riddle certainly lives up to his surname as the plot takes many twists and turns. Good characterisation too.In many ways a solid 4*. And it had lots of Star Trek references, which made me smile.
But….. it was so, so long. At the point where I felt the story ought to be starting to build up to a conclusion, I was less than 40% in. And then it began to meander. Unnecessarily long descriptions, conversations and events which really slowed the pace. And a very long section where little vignettes of story jumped from scene to scene, and character to character and which I ended up skimming. Hence the 3*
November 19, 2025
Now this was wild. This is my second book by this author and omg. I will say it is long but it’s worth it. It’s needed. It’s so complex and science heavy but there’s also history, Greek mythology, AI and computer science. It’s so crazy to think this could be our world. We could very much lead ourselves to extinction. My mind is blown. Alan was bad ass. The whole team was I don’t think I’d be able to leave my kid and go on boat for six months trying to find answers. I had to know how it all tied together in the end and I’m glad the ending was good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A.G. Riddle takes an ambitious swing with his latest novel. In the author’s typical fashion, we meet our protagonist in a personal, contained setting before widening to a much larger scope.
Unfortunately, it’s quite a bit of slog through the first 40-45% of the novel, and this is not a short read by anyone’s standard. Overlong descriptions and periods of mundane activity in Alan Norris’s life weigh things down.
As relatable as Norris may be, he’s not instantly likable nor overly intriguing. It was a struggle to connect and root for him as he made puzzling decisions time and again.
There’s a wide cast of characters and Riddle gets more comfortable once the science and mythology of the story take center stage. The aforementioned ambition exists in some grounded, near-future creativity blended with some fantastical, wide-reaching implications. All things Riddle has tackled before but in lengthier fashion.
Labyrinth could benefit from stronger editing in tightening things up. Again, this was a long read that felt long.
Ultimately, things come together in a pleasing fashion, not dissimilar to one of Riddle’s best works, Lost in Time, and this is a solid step up from the previous effort, Antarctica Station.
Fans of near-future mysteries and thrillers with a heavy sci-fi emphasis should find things they like here.
A solid 3.75 rounding up to 4.
A.G. Riddle takes an ambitious swing with his latest novel. In the author’s typical fashion, we meet our protagonist in a personal, contained setting before widening to a much larger scope.
Unfortunately, it’s quite a bit of slog through the first 40-45% of the novel, and this is not a short read by anyone’s standard. Overlong descriptions and periods of mundane activity in Alan Norris’s life weigh things down.
As relatable as Norris may be, he’s not instantly likable nor overly intriguing. It was a struggle to connect and root for him as he made puzzling decisions time and again.
There’s a wide cast of characters and Riddle gets more comfortable once the science and mythology of the story take center stage. The aforementioned ambition exists in some grounded, near-future creativity blended with some fantastical, wide-reaching implications. All things Riddle has tackled before but in lengthier fashion.
Labyrinth could benefit from stronger editing in tightening things up. Again, this was a long read that felt long.
Ultimately, things come together in a pleasing fashion, not dissimilar to one of Riddle’s best works, Lost in Time, and this is a solid step up from the previous effort, Antarctica Station.
Fans of near-future mysteries and thrillers with a heavy sci-fi emphasis should find things they like here.
A solid 3.75 rounding up to 4.
November 22, 2025
I’m very disappointed, I usually like A.G ridde books but this one felt long, filled with details that don’t add to the story, i did not like any of the characters, there wa a huge lack of spark and natural bonding moments between the characters, the reveal at last chapters was also very long so the events felt weird.
October 21, 2025
At times when reading this book I felt quite overwhelmed by what I was reading. I can understand why it took the author a lot longer to write it than he expected. It is such a complex read, that takes you to places and times and scenarios that you can’t image, but in another way it’s all too plausible. I’m not very tech savvie so felt a bit bewildered at some parts, and up until about 50% of the way through the book I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish it, but I also knew I had to find out how it all came together. It was a glimpse into our future but I still needed to know what happened to all of the characters, particularly Alan and Riley.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
November 16, 2025
Was this written by AI?
I feel like this was an experiment. The writer or published wanted to see how successful a book would be when written mostly using AI tools.
This book belt exactly like what you get when you use ChatGPT to write anything. It can be very insightful, but completely lacks that spark of novelty that so a signature or great authors.
I have really enjoyed all of Riddle's other books. But this just felt like a rehash of every other major sci-fi plot all mixed together in a blender.
Was enjoyment too long and slow.
I would skip this one.
I feel like this was an experiment. The writer or published wanted to see how successful a book would be when written mostly using AI tools.
This book belt exactly like what you get when you use ChatGPT to write anything. It can be very insightful, but completely lacks that spark of novelty that so a signature or great authors.
I have really enjoyed all of Riddle's other books. But this just felt like a rehash of every other major sci-fi plot all mixed together in a blender.
Was enjoyment too long and slow.
I would skip this one.
October 15, 2025
After Antarctica Station, I was excited to read another book by A.G. Riddle. I’m just not entirely sure where my opinion lands and it’s difficult to write a full review without sharing spoilers.
I found Labyrinth a little slow to get started, though the build up was important in building the foundations of the story. By halfway through I was hooked and enjoying every second. Until about three quarters of the way through when it tapered off a bit. I understand why it happened the way it happened, and in theory it was a great idea, I just didn’t enjoy a big part of the final section.
All in all I really enjoyed the concept of this story, and like Antarctica Station, it was well executed. I enjoyed many of the characters and the world building.
I especially like the journey Alan takes in the second half of the book.
But most of all, I really enjoyed the moral and ethical issues brought up in this story. The debate over technology’s role in society and how far that can go. I think there were some really important and topical themes that would create fantastic discussions in book clubs and between people generally.
Despite not being entirely enthralled by the entire story, I still think it’s worthy of a higher star rating for the reasons outlined above.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley and while I was expected to leave a review, it is my honest opinion on this book.
I found Labyrinth a little slow to get started, though the build up was important in building the foundations of the story. By halfway through I was hooked and enjoying every second. Until about three quarters of the way through when it tapered off a bit. I understand why it happened the way it happened, and in theory it was a great idea, I just didn’t enjoy a big part of the final section.
All in all I really enjoyed the concept of this story, and like Antarctica Station, it was well executed. I enjoyed many of the characters and the world building.
I especially like the journey Alan takes in the second half of the book.
But most of all, I really enjoyed the moral and ethical issues brought up in this story. The debate over technology’s role in society and how far that can go. I think there were some really important and topical themes that would create fantastic discussions in book clubs and between people generally.
Despite not being entirely enthralled by the entire story, I still think it’s worthy of a higher star rating for the reasons outlined above.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley and while I was expected to leave a review, it is my honest opinion on this book.
December 5, 2025
This book was so so enjoyable!! And really timely too especially given the current rise of both AI and Virtual Reality. The setting felt eerily resemblant of current society which made it even more interesting to read. Story-wise the plot was great - very interesting characters (although Meredith seemed somewhat bland to me and I just could not pick her personality).
Despite it being a long book it did feel like every paragraph and chapter really played a part. I also found the ending particularly enjoyable and fitting, so I really have very few complaints about this book! It was an awesome read
Despite it being a long book it did feel like every paragraph and chapter really played a part. I also found the ending particularly enjoyable and fitting, so I really have very few complaints about this book! It was an awesome read
December 5, 2025
WTH did I just read?
Riddle’s previous works spoiled me. This one (and the one before, coincidentally) has left me sadly unimpressed. But, what I find compelling and a page turner is my own preference - your mileage may vary.
Riddle’s previous works spoiled me. This one (and the one before, coincidentally) has left me sadly unimpressed. But, what I find compelling and a page turner is my own preference - your mileage may vary.
December 2, 2025
Okay characters and a nice but odd father-daughter dynamic. It tends to drag at several parts, like it could have used a bit more trimming to tighten it up. Some conversations are mundane and go on and on. Some scenes follow Alan's thought process in exhaustive detail only for him to explain his decision later to another character in a few words that end up being all we needed. If this were shorter, I think I still wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as other A.G. Riddle books.
November 24, 2025
Riddles books tend to follow a set recipe. Dealing with world changing events, blurring between reality and technology, and humanities role as a cog in a larger universal system. I am one who usually prefers his stand alone books to his series and I have read them all but Labyrinth just falls short on a few fronts. The story is convoluted and flimsy at best. While other books are far shorter than this one they felt more connected and carefully woven with bread crumbs for the reader and fascinating payoffs. Labyrinth lacks a sense of clarity and I just feel like the word salad if it all left me disappointed. This was not it for me but I would suggest many of his other stand alone books as well as his best series The Solar Wars. 2.5 out of 5 stars
November 11, 2025
The book was decent, and the storyline had some interesting moments, but those were few and far between. There was way too much detail, about…well… nothing. Felt like I was invited to a fireworks show, but spent pages and pages describing the match that would set them off. The fireworks, when they finally arrived, were unfortunately lackluster. I had to scan over pages and pages of descriptions just to keep myself engaged. Because so much time was spent on the world the characters lived in (hey, look at this match!), it left no room to add depth to them. I also know too much about boats now.
September 21, 2025
Alan Norris, a widowed veteran who suffers from PTSD, begins to see a series of numbers whenever his tinnitus worsens. He also starts losing periods of time, so when he wakes up next to a dead body and has no idea what has happened, he decides to investigate.. He is heart of the story. His journey through the labyrinth kept me turning pages, eager to see where it would lead. Ancient science, advanced AI, and even Greek mythology somehow come together seamlessly within the group’s struggle. It sounds like a lot, but in Riddle’s hands, it works. the middle and especially the ending veer deep into heavy science—a signature Riddle move. I’ll admit, much of it went over my head. At times, it felt confusing, but the reward came when the pieces finally clicked together. The novel becomes more than just a thrilling story—it feels like a meditation on humanity itself, with hints of a chilling prediction for our future.
#netgalley .
#netgalley .
October 30, 2025
WOW! Just LOVED this smart, thrilling and highly original sci-fi thriller! It’s a lengthy read, and SO SO worth it!
Alan Norris, a single-dad vet who recently lost his wife to cancer, is raising his daughter by himself and working as a middle school history teacher. He lost the bottom half of one of his legs in an IED explosion and returned home with both an artificial leg and PTSD.
He and his daughter are still grieving this loss of his wife and her mother, though Alan reconnects a friendship with an old girlfriend who has taken the P.E. instructor at his school. She emerges to play a pivotal back-up parenting role for Alan and romance rekindles.
Alan also suffers bout of ringing in the inner ears, tinnitus. During one night-time episode of tinnitus, he wakes up in an abandoned warehouse with a dead body of a soldier he knows next to him and no memory of how he got there or what happened. He covers things up and rushes home, shocked. He also sees a set string of numbers that keep re-appearing when he hears this clanging noise as tinnitus sets in and he loses his memory.
Trying to figure out what’s going on, Alan stumbles onto a web site which is the string of numbers. There, he connects with a small elusive group both experiencing tinnitus, memory loss, and seeing the same string of numbers. The group slowly begins to interact with Alan, and part of what they ask him to do to prove they can trust him is to join a trial for sufferers of PTSD and tinnitus.
The company Amersa (this “a-mersion”) has developed a virtual reality world designed to increase humanity’s brain capacity, and ability to handle complex, multi-variable thinking. They’ve designed this world, called the Labyrinth, to be experienced fully immersed in sensory clothing and equipment. Ultimately, they hope that humanity will find the virtual reality way more rewarding than real life, and spend money to spend all their time within it. Alan applies for the trial, and to his surprise gets accepted.
Alan’s experiences in the Labyrinth start to eerily parallel those in his life outside of the virtual reality session, and clearly something mysterious and massive is happening in connection with the Labyrinth. The tension keeps ratcheting up as the book races to a completely surprising end.
Ultimately, Riddle blends the plot intensity with thought-provoking and haunting philosophical musings about the future of AI, humans, and both of their evolutions.
Thanks to Head of Zeus, AdAstra, and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.
Alan Norris, a single-dad vet who recently lost his wife to cancer, is raising his daughter by himself and working as a middle school history teacher. He lost the bottom half of one of his legs in an IED explosion and returned home with both an artificial leg and PTSD.
He and his daughter are still grieving this loss of his wife and her mother, though Alan reconnects a friendship with an old girlfriend who has taken the P.E. instructor at his school. She emerges to play a pivotal back-up parenting role for Alan and romance rekindles.
Alan also suffers bout of ringing in the inner ears, tinnitus. During one night-time episode of tinnitus, he wakes up in an abandoned warehouse with a dead body of a soldier he knows next to him and no memory of how he got there or what happened. He covers things up and rushes home, shocked. He also sees a set string of numbers that keep re-appearing when he hears this clanging noise as tinnitus sets in and he loses his memory.
Trying to figure out what’s going on, Alan stumbles onto a web site which is the string of numbers. There, he connects with a small elusive group both experiencing tinnitus, memory loss, and seeing the same string of numbers. The group slowly begins to interact with Alan, and part of what they ask him to do to prove they can trust him is to join a trial for sufferers of PTSD and tinnitus.
The company Amersa (this “a-mersion”) has developed a virtual reality world designed to increase humanity’s brain capacity, and ability to handle complex, multi-variable thinking. They’ve designed this world, called the Labyrinth, to be experienced fully immersed in sensory clothing and equipment. Ultimately, they hope that humanity will find the virtual reality way more rewarding than real life, and spend money to spend all their time within it. Alan applies for the trial, and to his surprise gets accepted.
Alan’s experiences in the Labyrinth start to eerily parallel those in his life outside of the virtual reality session, and clearly something mysterious and massive is happening in connection with the Labyrinth. The tension keeps ratcheting up as the book races to a completely surprising end.
Ultimately, Riddle blends the plot intensity with thought-provoking and haunting philosophical musings about the future of AI, humans, and both of their evolutions.
Thanks to Head of Zeus, AdAstra, and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.
November 2, 2025
Interesting - Yet Long - Provocative Look At Actual AI. This is one of those scifi tales that in 2025 feels like it could be a year or two from being reality, that indeed there are very likely companies working on exactly the kind of tech used in this tale - and indeed, there are and have been. I know for a fact that one of the Computer Science *part time* professors at Kennesaw State University was working on immersive computer simulated therapy as far back as 2000, when I started there as a 16yo kid. (Hi Dr. North! :D)
The tale told here is suspenseful yet reasonably realistic while still clearly being fiction. (We hope?) In its more suspense elements in the front half of the book, it works particularly well.
Where it starts going off the rails a touch - and becoming ever less realistic, while also maintaining a fairly stunning amount of realism in how things actually play out, to a degree - is more with the events of the second half. Indeed, there is one seemingly rather long section that seems like it could have been cut entirely and a few - rather than seemingly a few hundred - pages used to cover that part of the tale, similar to the 80 page "Galt's Speech" in Atlas Shrugged, except more actually integral to the story here, which is where the "yet long" bit in the title of this review comes in to play. Even through this section though, there is a touch of an homage to The Odyssey, which is unclear if was the intent or not - but cool either way.
Overall, I'd say this is one of Riddle's better works as a whole. You've got the near future scifi. You've got the almost domestic thriller level suspense in the front half in particular -which I've never really seen Riddle even attempt, and thus shows a fair amount of growth as a writer. You've got enough of a romance tale here that technically this satisfies all known RWA rules to be ruled a "romance novel". You've got a few different homages to classic tales from Crichton (Disclosure in particular) to Homer. And yet you've also got an 800+ page book whose halves wouldn't work quite as well - at least as written here - as separate books, and where another 200-300 pages to make a trilogy could be excessively long to boot, making this feel like the perfect way to present this particular story even if the one book feels (and is) long.
Very much recommended.
The tale told here is suspenseful yet reasonably realistic while still clearly being fiction. (We hope?) In its more suspense elements in the front half of the book, it works particularly well.
Where it starts going off the rails a touch - and becoming ever less realistic, while also maintaining a fairly stunning amount of realism in how things actually play out, to a degree - is more with the events of the second half. Indeed, there is one seemingly rather long section that seems like it could have been cut entirely and a few - rather than seemingly a few hundred - pages used to cover that part of the tale, similar to the 80 page "Galt's Speech" in Atlas Shrugged, except more actually integral to the story here, which is where the "yet long" bit in the title of this review comes in to play. Even through this section though, there is a touch of an homage to The Odyssey, which is unclear if was the intent or not - but cool either way.
Overall, I'd say this is one of Riddle's better works as a whole. You've got the near future scifi. You've got the almost domestic thriller level suspense in the front half in particular -which I've never really seen Riddle even attempt, and thus shows a fair amount of growth as a writer. You've got enough of a romance tale here that technically this satisfies all known RWA rules to be ruled a "romance novel". You've got a few different homages to classic tales from Crichton (Disclosure in particular) to Homer. And yet you've also got an 800+ page book whose halves wouldn't work quite as well - at least as written here - as separate books, and where another 200-300 pages to make a trilogy could be excessively long to boot, making this feel like the perfect way to present this particular story even if the one book feels (and is) long.
Very much recommended.
Read
January 3, 2026A 2026 goal is to reflect on books and post thoughts so I can remember what I read and how I felt about it. Here is the first one of the year...
Reflections on Labyrinth
Themes/Vibes: Life is a Journey, Grief, Relationships (friendships, familial, romantic, co-working), The Implications of AI/VR/Technology on Humanity's Present and Future, Mental Health, Greek Mythology
Reminiscent of: Dark Matter / The Hike / Ready Player One / Inception / Donnie Darko
✅ MC is a father and teacher and had some great quips
✅ Loved the surreal vibes inside of the Labyrinth
❎ Information overload. the multiple pages of statistics, facts, and details got in the weeds and I ended up skimming
❎ Went off the rails in the second half and did a 180 from where the story seemed to be headed.
Notes and Highlights:
"I looked down at the page in my hand and realized that the wind had carried a few raindrops past the umbrella. Ink ran like blood from a dozen small cuts."
"Moments like this— when you see how parents discipline their children and how they look at what’s fair and decent— reveal true character."
"What occurs to me then is how music has an almost magical ability to resurrect memories and to connect moments in time as if the sounds and vibrations can transport you back there like a string across two points."
“We travelers gotta stick together. We’re all going to the same place, after all. Figure, if I help you get there, maybe somewhere down the road, you’ll help me get there.”
"we set off toward one of the most daunting labyrinths in modern American life: Costco… on the weekend."
"A pebble dropped in a sea that will be a tsunami that redraws the shoreline of humanity."
"I’m not exactly sure how I’ve gotten to this point— where I now have to bribe my daughter to do things I know she actually wants to do, but I consent. Because I’m emotionally exhausted." (lol same)
"What if the world ends not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with everyone simply quietly quitting reality because it sucks and they have a better option?”
"you may get a second chance but you can’t always get back what you’ve lost. Especially time."
Reflections on Labyrinth
Themes/Vibes: Life is a Journey, Grief, Relationships (friendships, familial, romantic, co-working), The Implications of AI/VR/Technology on Humanity's Present and Future, Mental Health, Greek Mythology
Reminiscent of: Dark Matter / The Hike / Ready Player One / Inception / Donnie Darko
✅ MC is a father and teacher and had some great quips
✅ Loved the surreal vibes inside of the Labyrinth
❎ Information overload. the multiple pages of statistics, facts, and details got in the weeds and I ended up skimming
❎ Went off the rails in the second half and did a 180 from where the story seemed to be headed.
Notes and Highlights:
"I looked down at the page in my hand and realized that the wind had carried a few raindrops past the umbrella. Ink ran like blood from a dozen small cuts."
"Moments like this— when you see how parents discipline their children and how they look at what’s fair and decent— reveal true character."
"What occurs to me then is how music has an almost magical ability to resurrect memories and to connect moments in time as if the sounds and vibrations can transport you back there like a string across two points."
“We travelers gotta stick together. We’re all going to the same place, after all. Figure, if I help you get there, maybe somewhere down the road, you’ll help me get there.”
"we set off toward one of the most daunting labyrinths in modern American life: Costco… on the weekend."
"A pebble dropped in a sea that will be a tsunami that redraws the shoreline of humanity."
"I’m not exactly sure how I’ve gotten to this point— where I now have to bribe my daughter to do things I know she actually wants to do, but I consent. Because I’m emotionally exhausted." (lol same)
"What if the world ends not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with everyone simply quietly quitting reality because it sucks and they have a better option?”
"you may get a second chance but you can’t always get back what you’ve lost. Especially time."
September 19, 2025
I’ve always admired A.G. Riddle’s ability to craft a fantastic novel, and this one is no exception. For me, it all begins with the characters. Riddle has a way of creating people I either identify with or simply can’t help but love. Alan, in particular, stood out—he’s the quintessential underdog, the one you instantly root for, and ultimately the heart of the story. His journey through the labyrinth kept me turning pages, eager to see where it would lead.
What struck me most was the fascinating blend of elements woven into the narrative. Ancient science, advanced AI, and even Greek mythology somehow come together seamlessly within the group’s struggle. It sounds like a lot, but in Riddle’s hands, it works beautifully.
That said, the middle and especially the ending veer deep into heavy science—a signature Riddle move. I’ll admit, much of it went over my head at first. I had to slow down, reread passages, and really think through what was happening. At times, it felt confusing, but the reward came when the pieces finally clicked together. The novel becomes more than just a thrilling story—it feels like a meditation on humanity itself, with hints of a chilling prediction for our future.
As with all of Riddle’s books, I finished with mixed feelings along the way but realized, once I closed the final page, that I loved it as a whole. It’s the kind of book that lingers.
I’d highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys science fiction and mystery—even if you only dip into the genre occasionally.
My sincere thanks to Head of Zeus—an AdAstra Book—and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
December 11, 2025
Life hadn't been going all that well for Alan Norris. He lost a leg to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, and then he lost the woman who helped get him through his recovery and later married him to cancer. Their little girl, 6, desperately misses her mother and like Alan is trying to figure out how to navigate the way forward. That's how the incomparable A.G. Riddle starts his latest novel, "Labyrinth." Then Riddle really turns the screws on Alan. While delivering his wife's eulogy, Alan's tinnitus roars up from simple background noise to a clanging that gives him a headache and makes him lose track of time. It returns again, but this time he loses consciousness and wakes up next to a dead body of a guy he knew in the Marines. Nothing makes sense, especially the numbers he keeps seeing in his head. Over and over. As Alan tries to avoid getting arrested — he cleans the blood from the crime scene — he also attempts to investigate what exactly is happening to him and why. The quest leads him to a company, Amersa, that's about to debut a paradigm shifting technology. This is typical Riddle. I had no idea, like Alan, where the story was going. But I couldn't put it down, taking every spare minute to hunker down and read. The twists kept me going. And the overall theme is downright scary. Unsettling like a Stephen King novel. But way different, of course. Riddle likes to blow his readers' minds. And then again. And again. I just insisted a coworker (he's an art teacher) read Labyrinth after he came to tell me about another novel he finished about one man saving mankind.
December 22, 2025
A Promising Premise Gives Way to a Laughable Philosophy & Ending
This started with intrigue, which drags the reader immediately, and revelations came slowly, so, one is kept hooked. The main scientific premises turned out to be fine as well, but there ends the fun. Conflicts are simplistic and anticlimactic hollow suspension hastily progressed, as if the author doesn't want to complicate things or is running out of time and pages. This led to a lot of missed opportunities of plot twists.
Then the ending, a silly resolution based on using the same source of the main problem - technology, and handing over our fate to it, so, you end up where you started, with a cosmetic change, because God forbid we use an ethical framework. or, God forbid twice, refer to an all wise omniscient God who has provided us with all the guardrails and wisdom we seek in AI and end up being its prophets, receiving enlightenment visits every now and then from!
Materialism is laughable when it faces the consequence of its mandates. Like that atheist (true story) who insists on dismissing any signs of a design or designer in the universe but in the face of the so obvious intelligence underlying everything and the multitude of unanswered questions, resorts to accepting the idea of a Super Mega Computer controlling everything (but you can't call it God, because you'll have to obey it as a consequence, and man wants only to live without duties or liabilities).
This started with intrigue, which drags the reader immediately, and revelations came slowly, so, one is kept hooked. The main scientific premises turned out to be fine as well, but there ends the fun. Conflicts are simplistic and anticlimactic hollow suspension hastily progressed, as if the author doesn't want to complicate things or is running out of time and pages. This led to a lot of missed opportunities of plot twists.
Then the ending, a silly resolution based on using the same source of the main problem - technology, and handing over our fate to it, so, you end up where you started, with a cosmetic change, because God forbid we use an ethical framework. or, God forbid twice, refer to an all wise omniscient God who has provided us with all the guardrails and wisdom we seek in AI and end up being its prophets, receiving enlightenment visits every now and then from!
Materialism is laughable when it faces the consequence of its mandates. Like that atheist (true story) who insists on dismissing any signs of a design or designer in the universe but in the face of the so obvious intelligence underlying everything and the multitude of unanswered questions, resorts to accepting the idea of a Super Mega Computer controlling everything (but you can't call it God, because you'll have to obey it as a consequence, and man wants only to live without duties or liabilities).
October 17, 2025
I received an ecopy from NetGalley for a free and unbiased opinion.
Alan, is the main point of view character, and it is hard not to feel for him- a former veteran left with disabling tinnitus and PTSD following an incident when deployed. He is also a widower and doting Dad to a lovely daughter with ADHD. If that wasn’t enough, he is now blacking out and losing time, seeing numbers ultimately leading to him waking up to a dead body. All of this would have formed a fascinating plot of a book in itself but of course there is more.
Alan makes contact with shadowy group who promises answers if he agrees to infiltrate a company pioneering new technology to help with PTSD. With the stakes so high ( a single Dad really doesn’t want go jail) and new romance on the horizon, Alan has no choice but to go along with the whole thing.
The rest of the book is a complicated and thrilling ride into virtual reality, corporate shenanigans evil CEO’s and a group trip on the run. The world building and the science fiction elements of the book are detailed and fascinating. The various different plotlines and characters come together by the end to create an emotionally satisfying ending with everything explained. I was truly surprised by the ending and the whole explanation of what was happening which was definitely original
Perfect for Fans of
Complicated science fiction with a twist
Alan, is the main point of view character, and it is hard not to feel for him- a former veteran left with disabling tinnitus and PTSD following an incident when deployed. He is also a widower and doting Dad to a lovely daughter with ADHD. If that wasn’t enough, he is now blacking out and losing time, seeing numbers ultimately leading to him waking up to a dead body. All of this would have formed a fascinating plot of a book in itself but of course there is more.
Alan makes contact with shadowy group who promises answers if he agrees to infiltrate a company pioneering new technology to help with PTSD. With the stakes so high ( a single Dad really doesn’t want go jail) and new romance on the horizon, Alan has no choice but to go along with the whole thing.
The rest of the book is a complicated and thrilling ride into virtual reality, corporate shenanigans evil CEO’s and a group trip on the run. The world building and the science fiction elements of the book are detailed and fascinating. The various different plotlines and characters come together by the end to create an emotionally satisfying ending with everything explained. I was truly surprised by the ending and the whole explanation of what was happening which was definitely original
Perfect for Fans of
Complicated science fiction with a twist
October 29, 2025
This is the second or third book by A.G. Riddle I have picked up and I am captivated every time. I love the adventure and mystery of the way things play out. My biggest critique is the length and I do feel as though we lulled somewhere in the middle which could have been edited to speed things back up.
As with many other reviews I've seen, it is hard to write a thorough review without revealing any spoilers. Alan awakes in a warehouse with little memory of how he got there or why there is a familiar, yet deceased, person near by. As he struggles to clean the scene as best as he can, he tries to remember what he was doing before he found himself in that predicament. He lost his wife, is trying to raise their daughter, and is suffering from PTSD as well. His world is a bit of a mess but he wants to try and put the pieces together and make sense of what is happening to him. You want to root for him to succeed and figure things out; he has a lot on the line, and the labyrinth he must traverse kept me engaged.
There are echoes of Greek mythology, AI, science, and a bit of science fiction. I think the reason I tend to pick up this author's books is their ability to weave myth and lore and even conspiracy theories with an intriguing story set in the not too distant future. If you enjoy a bit of sci-fi, mystery, and myth, I think this is a great one to add to your TBR.
As with many other reviews I've seen, it is hard to write a thorough review without revealing any spoilers. Alan awakes in a warehouse with little memory of how he got there or why there is a familiar, yet deceased, person near by. As he struggles to clean the scene as best as he can, he tries to remember what he was doing before he found himself in that predicament. He lost his wife, is trying to raise their daughter, and is suffering from PTSD as well. His world is a bit of a mess but he wants to try and put the pieces together and make sense of what is happening to him. You want to root for him to succeed and figure things out; he has a lot on the line, and the labyrinth he must traverse kept me engaged.
There are echoes of Greek mythology, AI, science, and a bit of science fiction. I think the reason I tend to pick up this author's books is their ability to weave myth and lore and even conspiracy theories with an intriguing story set in the not too distant future. If you enjoy a bit of sci-fi, mystery, and myth, I think this is a great one to add to your TBR.
November 9, 2025
I don’t often read science fiction, so I was really happy to dive into this (long!) book, and I was pleasantly surprised. I’ll admit, I probably had some prejudices about sci-fi, assuming it focused more on action than character development. But this book proved me wrong: the characters are multilayered, which was a massive bonus.
The main character, Alan, especially stood out. He’s dealing with a difficult past and PTSD, juggling two jobs while raising his daughter as a single dad. And if that wasn’t enough, he soon starts experiencing some very strange events.
The pacing is steady throughout, though the action can feel a bit cyclical at times, alternating regularly between the different aspects of Alan’s life.
All in all, this was a thrilling read, and while I’m not a full sci-fi convert yet, it definitely made me want to explore more of the genre. And it got me reading about some physics theories too as I wanted to learn about one of the concepts mentioned in the book (not going to mention which one in case it's a spoiler)!
Thank you very much to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. This is my honest opinion of the book.
The main character, Alan, especially stood out. He’s dealing with a difficult past and PTSD, juggling two jobs while raising his daughter as a single dad. And if that wasn’t enough, he soon starts experiencing some very strange events.
The pacing is steady throughout, though the action can feel a bit cyclical at times, alternating regularly between the different aspects of Alan’s life.
All in all, this was a thrilling read, and while I’m not a full sci-fi convert yet, it definitely made me want to explore more of the genre. And it got me reading about some physics theories too as I wanted to learn about one of the concepts mentioned in the book (not going to mention which one in case it's a spoiler)!
Thank you very much to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. This is my honest opinion of the book.
December 9, 2025
Did not finish.
I stopped at 66% because I never developed an emotional connection with the characters and mostly found them annoying. The author overloaded the story with unnecessary details. At one point, the main character launches into a lengthy lecture on boating terminology: "'Aft' is the rear of the boat. 'Bow' is the front of the boat. 'Port' is the left side of the boat when facing forward. 'Starboard' is the right side of the boat when facing forward." It went on and on, making me feel like I was stuck in a sailing class I never signed up for and never wanted to attend.
Multiple times I found myself thinking, "Can we please move on with the story?"
Another odd choice was the characters referring to their blackouts as "losing time." Lines like, "Did anyone lose time since we last spoke?" felt unnatural.
I am honestly baffled by the book’s high ratings, currently a 4.19 average with 47% five-star reviews, but taste varies. There are books I love that others cannot stand, so I suppose this is just one of those cases.
I stopped at 66% because I never developed an emotional connection with the characters and mostly found them annoying. The author overloaded the story with unnecessary details. At one point, the main character launches into a lengthy lecture on boating terminology: "'Aft' is the rear of the boat. 'Bow' is the front of the boat. 'Port' is the left side of the boat when facing forward. 'Starboard' is the right side of the boat when facing forward." It went on and on, making me feel like I was stuck in a sailing class I never signed up for and never wanted to attend.
Multiple times I found myself thinking, "Can we please move on with the story?"
Another odd choice was the characters referring to their blackouts as "losing time." Lines like, "Did anyone lose time since we last spoke?" felt unnatural.
I am honestly baffled by the book’s high ratings, currently a 4.19 average with 47% five-star reviews, but taste varies. There are books I love that others cannot stand, so I suppose this is just one of those cases.
October 27, 2025
Review by
Tasha S, Reviewer
Last updated on Oct 07 2025
4 stars
4 stars
4 stars
4 stars
4 stars
I have read a lot of A.G. Riddle's novels, and I am always in awe of how they can write such amazing stories. I have yet to be disappointed in any novel written by Riddle. Labyrinth is no small feat.
Riddle loves to spend a very large portion of the story introducing us to the characters that play a significant role in the story. This forms a bond between the reader and the characters. They become family, and the reader forms an attachment, so all of the trials and accomplishments the characters achieve, the reader gets the same emotional response.
The second portion of the story is when stuff gets real. The suspense kicks up a notch, and so much happens. The story is such a rollercoaster of a ride!
If you enjoyed this one, I highly recommend checking out more by A.G. Riddle. Especially the Atlantis Trilogy!
Tasha S, Reviewer
Last updated on Oct 07 2025
4 stars
4 stars
4 stars
4 stars
4 stars
I have read a lot of A.G. Riddle's novels, and I am always in awe of how they can write such amazing stories. I have yet to be disappointed in any novel written by Riddle. Labyrinth is no small feat.
Riddle loves to spend a very large portion of the story introducing us to the characters that play a significant role in the story. This forms a bond between the reader and the characters. They become family, and the reader forms an attachment, so all of the trials and accomplishments the characters achieve, the reader gets the same emotional response.
The second portion of the story is when stuff gets real. The suspense kicks up a notch, and so much happens. The story is such a rollercoaster of a ride!
If you enjoyed this one, I highly recommend checking out more by A.G. Riddle. Especially the Atlantis Trilogy!
November 21, 2025
I really liked this book, even though it has a few flaws.
All of the characters are quite well developed.
Many people found the basic idea behind the novel very original. In my opinion, as someone who has been reading science fiction for about 60 years, it's not that original. Other authors have imagined that we live in a totally virtual universe and that we ourselves are virtual characters without knowing it. Others have imagined their characters moving from one dimension to another and then to yet another. And time travel is almost too common in science fiction.
And the idea of humanity destroying itself is certainly not new. Nor is the idea that it does so through its lifestyle habits. The idea that this is due to its addiction to video games is a little newer, but considering, as the author does, the combination of advanced AI and video game booths, it makes the idea a little more credible.
Except that the author seems not to know that some people, like me, are not gamers at heart. In my entire long life, I have only ever played Tetris, and even then, not enough to become any good at it. I will never develop an addiction to such games or to the virtual world, as wonderful as it may seem. So, humanity as a whole could not disappear by spending time in gaming booths. People like me will not disappear.
As many have noted, the book drags on. It's not that I'm afraid of long books. I've read books over 1,200 pages long without finding them too long or boring. But here, the author gets lost in the trivial details of everyday life. Even the message that the main character wants to leave his daughter for fear of never seeing her again goes on and on (a whole long chapter). And it's a moralizing speech about the need to live in the real world and do it well. I could have summarized it in a few lines.
And the author explains at length the dangers of the virtual world, going so far as to use the Fermi paradox and string theory to do so. It wasn't necessary. The rest of his novel made it clear to us. I know that this kind of scientific or pseudoscientific commentary impresses a lot of people, and the authors mistakenly believe that this justifies these explanations. But most people often just skip over them, thinking, “Yeah, if he says so, it must be true.” Don't they say that showing is better than explaining? Here, the author did both. All he had to do was show and have one of his characters comment in a few well-chosen words on what was essential for us to understand but that he couldn't show.
In short, a good editor could reduce this 833-page novel to 633 pages. An average editor could at least remove 100 pages.
All in all, I still really liked this novel, its theme, and its characters. With a tighter plot, it could make for an excellent novel.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a virtual copy of this book
All of the characters are quite well developed.
Many people found the basic idea behind the novel very original. In my opinion, as someone who has been reading science fiction for about 60 years, it's not that original. Other authors have imagined that we live in a totally virtual universe and that we ourselves are virtual characters without knowing it. Others have imagined their characters moving from one dimension to another and then to yet another. And time travel is almost too common in science fiction.
And the idea of humanity destroying itself is certainly not new. Nor is the idea that it does so through its lifestyle habits. The idea that this is due to its addiction to video games is a little newer, but considering, as the author does, the combination of advanced AI and video game booths, it makes the idea a little more credible.
Except that the author seems not to know that some people, like me, are not gamers at heart. In my entire long life, I have only ever played Tetris, and even then, not enough to become any good at it. I will never develop an addiction to such games or to the virtual world, as wonderful as it may seem. So, humanity as a whole could not disappear by spending time in gaming booths. People like me will not disappear.
As many have noted, the book drags on. It's not that I'm afraid of long books. I've read books over 1,200 pages long without finding them too long or boring. But here, the author gets lost in the trivial details of everyday life. Even the message that the main character wants to leave his daughter for fear of never seeing her again goes on and on (a whole long chapter). And it's a moralizing speech about the need to live in the real world and do it well. I could have summarized it in a few lines.
And the author explains at length the dangers of the virtual world, going so far as to use the Fermi paradox and string theory to do so. It wasn't necessary. The rest of his novel made it clear to us. I know that this kind of scientific or pseudoscientific commentary impresses a lot of people, and the authors mistakenly believe that this justifies these explanations. But most people often just skip over them, thinking, “Yeah, if he says so, it must be true.” Don't they say that showing is better than explaining? Here, the author did both. All he had to do was show and have one of his characters comment in a few well-chosen words on what was essential for us to understand but that he couldn't show.
In short, a good editor could reduce this 833-page novel to 633 pages. An average editor could at least remove 100 pages.
All in all, I still really liked this novel, its theme, and its characters. With a tighter plot, it could make for an excellent novel.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a virtual copy of this book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2025
Did I finish this book or did it finish me?
That remains to be seen.
By God almighty this book was sooooo long. Like the whole labyrinth plot line didn’t make any sense, especially once they went on the run and basically abandoned it. How ELEE was controlling them and the “string” and… yall. I’m not smart enough for all the science talk this book had.
For a good chunk of time, I was going to rate this three stars, especially after that almost hundred page “explanation” with ELEE cause damn was I CONFUSED. like almost quit the book confused. Nothing made any sense and I felt stupid with all the science talk.
And then the pieces fell into place.
So yeah. Four stars. But also… maybe take out the H*rry P*tter references. Like… you’d have to be living under a rock to not know what’s going on with that author and there are soo many other good books for kids that could be used (Percy Jackson, for example).
That remains to be seen.
By God almighty this book was sooooo long. Like the whole labyrinth plot line didn’t make any sense, especially once they went on the run and basically abandoned it. How ELEE was controlling them and the “string” and… yall. I’m not smart enough for all the science talk this book had.
For a good chunk of time, I was going to rate this three stars, especially after that almost hundred page “explanation” with ELEE cause damn was I CONFUSED. like almost quit the book confused. Nothing made any sense and I felt stupid with all the science talk.
And then the pieces fell into place.
So yeah. Four stars. But also… maybe take out the H*rry P*tter references. Like… you’d have to be living under a rock to not know what’s going on with that author and there are soo many other good books for kids that could be used (Percy Jackson, for example).
October 6, 2025
Received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for a review. This is my fourth novel by this author and they are all great. A. G. Riddle has the uncanny ability to take real life, compelling premises and turn them into twisty, thrilling novels. And this is no exception. The novel asks one of the most important questions of our time: how is technology and the leaps we are making impacting society and humanity.
The characters are very strong. The plot is compelling and complex, like you would expect with Riddle. It is just. too. long. Even the big “reveal” at the end was around 70 pages and just too much. I found myself skimming most of it to be honest.
Overall a great read, but not an easy one. It’s going to take you a minute to get through it all.
Would have been 5 stars had it not been so long.
The characters are very strong. The plot is compelling and complex, like you would expect with Riddle. It is just. too. long. Even the big “reveal” at the end was around 70 pages and just too much. I found myself skimming most of it to be honest.
Overall a great read, but not an easy one. It’s going to take you a minute to get through it all.
Would have been 5 stars had it not been so long.
October 21, 2025
This book. Whether it be the stunning cover, the enticing blurb or the absolute chonk that is the thickness of this book, there is so much pulling you in to r ad this beauty.
From the start, this book offers a stunning story that is a clever blend of science and science fiction and thriller. It offers up something unique happening to people and then a mastery that starts to crop up. As our main character tries to find his daughter, we are thrown into this crazy set of circumstances that all start unfolding into what is happening, but we still have unexpected twists,.giving such an exciting read. For a very long long book, this one seemed to flow so well that I completely flew through the book and did not even realize it until we were reaching the excellent ending! I really liked this book.
From the start, this book offers a stunning story that is a clever blend of science and science fiction and thriller. It offers up something unique happening to people and then a mastery that starts to crop up. As our main character tries to find his daughter, we are thrown into this crazy set of circumstances that all start unfolding into what is happening, but we still have unexpected twists,.giving such an exciting read. For a very long long book, this one seemed to flow so well that I completely flew through the book and did not even realize it until we were reaching the excellent ending! I really liked this book.
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