What do you think?
Rate this book
Exhumation
IT'S NOT JUST THE DEAD WE BURY
Private Investigator Arlo Abbas is broke, between cases, and running out of reasons to get off the couch. Then £10,000 lands in his bank account from a stranger, with a note: Find Sophie Banik. But Sophie Banik is dead. No suspects, no family, the case forgotten.
His investigation pulls him underground through London’s tunnels and into the orbit of an organization whose strange experiments blur the boundaries between sleep and wakefulness, between life and death. Whoever sent the money didn’t just want Arlo to find Sophie. They wanted him to find what she’d discovered.
Now Arlo must decide how deep he’s willing to dig into the case, the conspiracy, and the parts of his past he’s spent years trying to bury. Because he’s starting to suspect Sophie Banik might not be as dead as everyone thinks.
Private Investigator Arlo Abbas is broke, between cases, and running out of reasons to get off the couch. Then £10,000 lands in his bank account from a stranger, with a note: Find Sophie Banik. But Sophie Banik is dead. No suspects, no family, the case forgotten.
His investigation pulls him underground through London’s tunnels and into the orbit of an organization whose strange experiments blur the boundaries between sleep and wakefulness, between life and death. Whoever sent the money didn’t just want Arlo to find Sophie. They wanted him to find what she’d discovered.
Now Arlo must decide how deep he’s willing to dig into the case, the conspiracy, and the parts of his past he’s spent years trying to bury. Because he’s starting to suspect Sophie Banik might not be as dead as everyone thinks.
448 pages, ebook
First published October 22, 2026
About the author
Nicholas Binge
8 books748 followersNicholas Binge is a bestselling author of speculative thrillers that blend big sci-fi concepts with psychological horror. He also writes crime and thriller novels under the pseudonym Nick Brucker, with his debut White Smoke set to release in 2027.
In 2023, his breakout novel Ascension was a New York Times Editor's Choice Pick, finalist for the Goodreads' Choice Awards and Ignotus Award, and named a ‘best book of the year’ by Vulture, Goodreads, The LA Times, and The Sunday Times. His sophomore novel, Dissolution, was hailed as one of the best thrillers of 2025 by The New York Times and other leading outlets, and was followed swiftly by the critically acclaimed novellas Extremity and Abyss.
His work has been, or is being, translated into 30 languages and several of his novels are in active development for either film or TV. Notably, Dissolution is being adapted into a major motion picture by Sony Pictures, with Oscar-nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer (Arrival, Birdbox) penning the script, and White Smoke is being adapted into a prestige TV series by A24, with Benedict Cumberbatch starring in the lead. Ascension and Extremity are also in active development for film and TV, respectively. He is also creating and writing a TV show for Netflix entitled Understudy, alongside Steven Yeun, Phil Lord, and Chris Miller.
Binge has lived across Asia and Europe — from Singapore to Switzerland to Hong Kong —before settling in the UK, where he writes and co-hosts the Binge Reading Book Club podcast. Beyond fiction, he has written for The Guardian, Literary Hub, and other leading outlets, and is a regular speaker at book festivals across the UK and internationally.
His next book, Exhumation, arrives October 2026. To stay updated on new releases and appearances, sign up to his newsletter or follow him on Bluesky.
In 2023, his breakout novel Ascension was a New York Times Editor's Choice Pick, finalist for the Goodreads' Choice Awards and Ignotus Award, and named a ‘best book of the year’ by Vulture, Goodreads, The LA Times, and The Sunday Times. His sophomore novel, Dissolution, was hailed as one of the best thrillers of 2025 by The New York Times and other leading outlets, and was followed swiftly by the critically acclaimed novellas Extremity and Abyss.
His work has been, or is being, translated into 30 languages and several of his novels are in active development for either film or TV. Notably, Dissolution is being adapted into a major motion picture by Sony Pictures, with Oscar-nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer (Arrival, Birdbox) penning the script, and White Smoke is being adapted into a prestige TV series by A24, with Benedict Cumberbatch starring in the lead. Ascension and Extremity are also in active development for film and TV, respectively. He is also creating and writing a TV show for Netflix entitled Understudy, alongside Steven Yeun, Phil Lord, and Chris Miller.
Binge has lived across Asia and Europe — from Singapore to Switzerland to Hong Kong —before settling in the UK, where he writes and co-hosts the Binge Reading Book Club podcast. Beyond fiction, he has written for The Guardian, Literary Hub, and other leading outlets, and is a regular speaker at book festivals across the UK and internationally.
His next book, Exhumation, arrives October 2026. To stay updated on new releases and appearances, sign up to his newsletter or follow him on Bluesky.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 7, 2026
4.5 stars
EXHUMATION is the type of book I love to read but hate to review. To quote Noel Harrison, the plot is
"A circle in a spiral, a wheel within a wheel
Never ending nor beginning on an ever-spinning reel
As the images unwind like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind"
How do you talk about a story like that without accidentally spoiling it? (Sorry for the earworm.)
Here's what I can say: EXHUMATION is a speculative sci-fi detective story. Arlo is a great POV character. He's not quite as hardboiled as a true noir detective but he's sardonic, pragmatic, tortured by the ghosts of own past bad decisions, and he goes with his gut. Reading this is like solving a puzzle box. Opening one drawer triggers a hidden switch to a secret compartment and so on. When a story winds itself into an ever iterating, esoteric Möbius strip it can be hard to stick the landing (NIGHT FILM, I'm looking at you.) I think EXHUMATION did a good job. Initially, I had a brief moment of "that's it?" but Binge didn't stop at the superficial. He, as the kids say, 'did the work' and by the final pages, I was quite satisfied with how he pulled everything together. Speaking of, don't skip the Acknowledgements. There's a nice post-credits Easter Egg.
Perfect for fans of Marisha Pessl, Blake Crouch, and Dennis Lehane.
EXHUMATION is the type of book I love to read but hate to review. To quote Noel Harrison, the plot is
"A circle in a spiral, a wheel within a wheel
Never ending nor beginning on an ever-spinning reel
As the images unwind like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind"
How do you talk about a story like that without accidentally spoiling it? (Sorry for the earworm.)
Here's what I can say: EXHUMATION is a speculative sci-fi detective story. Arlo is a great POV character. He's not quite as hardboiled as a true noir detective but he's sardonic, pragmatic, tortured by the ghosts of own past bad decisions, and he goes with his gut. Reading this is like solving a puzzle box. Opening one drawer triggers a hidden switch to a secret compartment and so on. When a story winds itself into an ever iterating, esoteric Möbius strip it can be hard to stick the landing (NIGHT FILM, I'm looking at you.) I think EXHUMATION did a good job. Initially, I had a brief moment of "that's it?" but Binge didn't stop at the superficial. He, as the kids say, 'did the work' and by the final pages, I was quite satisfied with how he pulled everything together. Speaking of, don't skip the Acknowledgements. There's a nice post-credits Easter Egg.
Perfect for fans of Marisha Pessl, Blake Crouch, and Dennis Lehane.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a copy of this book for review consideration from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinion expressed here are my own.
I honestly do try to be disciplined in my approach to ARC reading and prioritize books by release date. But when I had the absurdly good luck to get approved for Exhumation by Nicholas Binge, I kind of threw my reading plans out the window and indulged in yet another mind-bending sci-fi thriller from an author who has quickly become one of my favorites in the genre.
The first few chapters had me a little worried that this book would be missing the unconventional narrative structure I've come to associate with Binge. Ascension unfolded through out-of-order letters from a doomed mountain expedition. Dissolution relied on interview transcripts with the feistiest pensioner ever to get dragged into time-travel shenanigans. So when Exhumation initially played out like a fairly straightforward (if admittedly weird) detective novel, I found myself a little disappointed.
But I should have trusted Binge. He layers this story with journal entries and recording transcripts that lead the reader down into the rabbit hole of this underground story. And, of course, there's exactly the kind of Christopher Nolan-esque sci-fi that I've come to expect from his novels. If you loved the dreams-within-dreams-within-dreams of Inception but wished the story went to even stranger places... then I have some very good news for you and an excellent book recommendation.
Binge has now delivered three delightfully strange, intellectually playful sci-fi thrillers, and with each one my admiration for his work has only grown. Exhumation firmly cements him among my favorite authors working in the genre today, and I have a feeling it won't be long before his name starts showing up on a lot of "best of the year" lists.
I honestly do try to be disciplined in my approach to ARC reading and prioritize books by release date. But when I had the absurdly good luck to get approved for Exhumation by Nicholas Binge, I kind of threw my reading plans out the window and indulged in yet another mind-bending sci-fi thriller from an author who has quickly become one of my favorites in the genre.
The first few chapters had me a little worried that this book would be missing the unconventional narrative structure I've come to associate with Binge. Ascension unfolded through out-of-order letters from a doomed mountain expedition. Dissolution relied on interview transcripts with the feistiest pensioner ever to get dragged into time-travel shenanigans. So when Exhumation initially played out like a fairly straightforward (if admittedly weird) detective novel, I found myself a little disappointed.
But I should have trusted Binge. He layers this story with journal entries and recording transcripts that lead the reader down into the rabbit hole of this underground story. And, of course, there's exactly the kind of Christopher Nolan-esque sci-fi that I've come to expect from his novels. If you loved the dreams-within-dreams-within-dreams of Inception but wished the story went to even stranger places... then I have some very good news for you and an excellent book recommendation.
Binge has now delivered three delightfully strange, intellectually playful sci-fi thrillers, and with each one my admiration for his work has only grown. Exhumation firmly cements him among my favorite authors working in the genre today, and I have a feeling it won't be long before his name starts showing up on a lot of "best of the year" lists.
September 27, 2026
What an awesome read! Incredible what the human mind can come up with.
Full of twists and turns I was confused most of the time and that’s fine by me cause I felt like I was part of the book.
Yet another Nicholas binge book I absolutely loved!
Full of twists and turns I was confused most of the time and that’s fine by me cause I felt like I was part of the book.
Yet another Nicholas binge book I absolutely loved!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. I’m rounding my 3.5 stars up so I don’t have to have the displeasure of giving the first <4 star review.
If we are doing rankings of Nicholas Binge’s three big novels, I’m firmly Ascension -> Exhumation -> Dissolution. Idk if Professor Everywhere counts, but I even liked that more, I think. And at one point, I really thought this would get all of my neurons firing like Ascension did, but it never quite got there for me.
People will like almost certainly adore this novel for all the twists, turns, the POV shifts and the way the story wraps in on itself. For me, at some point I had to stop trying to keep track of these things, and enjoy the ride. But for someone who likes to think HARD, I think I needed more of the iceberg here to have a vested interest that didn’t require a large suspension of disbelief, particularly after what I consider to be the big “reveal” of the book.
The red herrings thrown in are sort of predictable. And there are some reveals that happen so late that, to have to recontextualize everything I read prior, sort of pushed me out. Looking back, they make SENSE. The groundwork was laid out, but I’m not sure it’s enough for my personal taste.
This is more trope-filled than previous Binge novels, from my point of view, and I think it sort of suffers in that regard. Anyway, this is reading as a review from someone who didn’t enjoy themselves, which is NOT the case. I read it in 3 days after all - I needed to know how it ended. I just wanted to have that lightning-in-a-bottle feeling I got reading Ascension.
In a lot of ways, this is a return-to-form after Dissolution, and I can’t wait to see where Nicholas Binge goes next.
If we are doing rankings of Nicholas Binge’s three big novels, I’m firmly Ascension -> Exhumation -> Dissolution. Idk if Professor Everywhere counts, but I even liked that more, I think. And at one point, I really thought this would get all of my neurons firing like Ascension did, but it never quite got there for me.
People will like almost certainly adore this novel for all the twists, turns, the POV shifts and the way the story wraps in on itself. For me, at some point I had to stop trying to keep track of these things, and enjoy the ride. But for someone who likes to think HARD, I think I needed more of the iceberg here to have a vested interest that didn’t require a large suspension of disbelief, particularly after what I consider to be the big “reveal” of the book.
The red herrings thrown in are sort of predictable. And there are some reveals that happen so late that, to have to recontextualize everything I read prior, sort of pushed me out. Looking back, they make SENSE. The groundwork was laid out, but I’m not sure it’s enough for my personal taste.
This is more trope-filled than previous Binge novels, from my point of view, and I think it sort of suffers in that regard. Anyway, this is reading as a review from someone who didn’t enjoy themselves, which is NOT the case. I read it in 3 days after all - I needed to know how it ended. I just wanted to have that lightning-in-a-bottle feeling I got reading Ascension.
In a lot of ways, this is a return-to-form after Dissolution, and I can’t wait to see where Nicholas Binge goes next.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!
With an incredible mystery and deep (ha) worldbuilding, Exhumation pulled me underground and didn’t let me up for air until the last page. The mystery is well paced, the cult is scary, the worldbuilding is ambitious, and I teared up at the ending - what more could you want?
The key to Exhumation’s genius is the mystery. I can’t count the times I asked myself what on earth was going on, and the gripping but well thought out pacing and placement of information and clues had me turning pages like crazy. Binge juggles so many threads and names and bits of information, and yet they all pull together perfectly by the end. Binge scattered enough clues and built up to his ending so well that I had fun guessing what was going to happen, and managed to get some of it right, but he still had a few twists up his sleeve that knocked me off my feet! The ending felt like a revelation, and yet, it all made so much sense.
The mystery is supported perfectly by Binge’s ambitious worldbuilding. The weirdness is built layer by layer (like rock strata? xD) making you initially question whether anything supernatural is actually going on, or if it’s just Cult Rhetoric. The cult is a highlight of the book because it’s clear Binge has done research into how cults operate and draw people in, how they keep people in line and keep the belief going, because all of that feels believably sinister and manipulative. I loved all the underground imagery and mythological references Binge worked in, and the way he built up a simple idea like “this cult lives underground, and no one sleeps” into something so huge and fascinating, without any of the worldbuilding ever feeling like a stretch. It all felt like it built up logically, and I loved discovering the answers to the mystery along with the characters.
I was also really affected by Liz, one of the main secondary characters. It was her actions at the end that made me tear up and almost cry - using the healing of generational female trauma to save the world absolutely got to me and moved me in a good way. The relationship between Liz and her mother felt so real and raw and painful - “I don’t forgive you, but you apologising means everything” is such a complicated and real mood for a traumatic relationship.
I’ll be 100% honest, I didn’t love Arlo, the main character, at the beginning. He felt like a bundle of detective and PI clichés wrapped up in a leather jacket and held together by chain smoking. By the end, though, Binge had managed to pull me into his head enough that I grew fond of him!
My only real critique was that I found the prose a little choppy in places, especially in Arlo’s POV. Binge starts a lot of sentences with verbs in a way that ends up feeling repetitive and clunky, like the sentences are fragmented or incomplete. This is especially annoying when it happens several times in a row. Other than this, though, I really enjoyed the writing, especially in Liz’s sections and in the transcripts. There was some really lovely imagery used, especially in the portions where Liz was describing the caves and her dreams.
I massively enjoyed the mystery and the worldbuilding of Exhumation; this book is a seriously fun ride with a lot of big ideas and a core of real, moving human relationships. Easy 5/5!
With an incredible mystery and deep (ha) worldbuilding, Exhumation pulled me underground and didn’t let me up for air until the last page. The mystery is well paced, the cult is scary, the worldbuilding is ambitious, and I teared up at the ending - what more could you want?
The key to Exhumation’s genius is the mystery. I can’t count the times I asked myself what on earth was going on, and the gripping but well thought out pacing and placement of information and clues had me turning pages like crazy. Binge juggles so many threads and names and bits of information, and yet they all pull together perfectly by the end. Binge scattered enough clues and built up to his ending so well that I had fun guessing what was going to happen, and managed to get some of it right, but he still had a few twists up his sleeve that knocked me off my feet! The ending felt like a revelation, and yet, it all made so much sense.
The mystery is supported perfectly by Binge’s ambitious worldbuilding. The weirdness is built layer by layer (like rock strata? xD) making you initially question whether anything supernatural is actually going on, or if it’s just Cult Rhetoric. The cult is a highlight of the book because it’s clear Binge has done research into how cults operate and draw people in, how they keep people in line and keep the belief going, because all of that feels believably sinister and manipulative. I loved all the underground imagery and mythological references Binge worked in, and the way he built up a simple idea like “this cult lives underground, and no one sleeps” into something so huge and fascinating, without any of the worldbuilding ever feeling like a stretch. It all felt like it built up logically, and I loved discovering the answers to the mystery along with the characters.
I was also really affected by Liz, one of the main secondary characters. It was her actions at the end that made me tear up and almost cry - using the healing of generational female trauma to save the world absolutely got to me and moved me in a good way. The relationship between Liz and her mother felt so real and raw and painful - “I don’t forgive you, but you apologising means everything” is such a complicated and real mood for a traumatic relationship.
I’ll be 100% honest, I didn’t love Arlo, the main character, at the beginning. He felt like a bundle of detective and PI clichés wrapped up in a leather jacket and held together by chain smoking. By the end, though, Binge had managed to pull me into his head enough that I grew fond of him!
My only real critique was that I found the prose a little choppy in places, especially in Arlo’s POV. Binge starts a lot of sentences with verbs in a way that ends up feeling repetitive and clunky, like the sentences are fragmented or incomplete. This is especially annoying when it happens several times in a row. Other than this, though, I really enjoyed the writing, especially in Liz’s sections and in the transcripts. There was some really lovely imagery used, especially in the portions where Liz was describing the caves and her dreams.
I massively enjoyed the mystery and the worldbuilding of Exhumation; this book is a seriously fun ride with a lot of big ideas and a core of real, moving human relationships. Easy 5/5!
October 1, 2026
Thank you to Riverhead Books for an advanced copy of this book for consideration of review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Nicholas Binge, you are a mastermind and have done it again. I will never understand how your brilliant brain works, but I’m so grateful for it and the insane stories it provides us.
I’ll start by saying much like Binge’s other books, I spent a good chunk of the story utterly confused and thinking I may just not be smart enough to understand this one. Yet, magically, the pieces start to click together and by the end I (pun intended) binged most of book in one sitting as everything started making sense and I needed to know what happened! Basically, if you also find yourself a little lost and considering DNF - don’t! The connections make more sense as you go just like the characters in the book are also trying to figure out what’s going on.
There are a few storylines/timelines/POVs in this book. We start with a detective who is given an odd note to “find Sophie Banik” with a sizable payment discovered in his bank account for a case he didn’t agree to take. We learn a little about his life and start to uncover a bit about some top secret research. POV then alternates in with researchers trying to uncover why sleep is necessary for life - especially for those who have a genetic disease that doesn’t allow them to sleep. Then things get really interesting (like they aren’t already!), and we hear from a journalist who attempts to go undercover (and literally underground) to join a cult where people never sleep but instead gets wrapped up into it herself.
I’ll stop here in the plot description as I don’t want to divulge any spoilers, but let’s just say things get a whole lot weirder and interconnected and it’s a brilliant piece of work that comes together in the end. Also - did I detect a hint somewhere in there that there will be a sequel or continuation of some of the characters in future books!?! I’m already excited and this book hasn’t even officially launched yet! Ha!
Lastly, don’t skip the Acknowledgments at the end, which is written from the POV of the detective and highly amusing.
Nicholas Binge, you are a mastermind and have done it again. I will never understand how your brilliant brain works, but I’m so grateful for it and the insane stories it provides us.
I’ll start by saying much like Binge’s other books, I spent a good chunk of the story utterly confused and thinking I may just not be smart enough to understand this one. Yet, magically, the pieces start to click together and by the end I (pun intended) binged most of book in one sitting as everything started making sense and I needed to know what happened! Basically, if you also find yourself a little lost and considering DNF - don’t! The connections make more sense as you go just like the characters in the book are also trying to figure out what’s going on.
There are a few storylines/timelines/POVs in this book. We start with a detective who is given an odd note to “find Sophie Banik” with a sizable payment discovered in his bank account for a case he didn’t agree to take. We learn a little about his life and start to uncover a bit about some top secret research. POV then alternates in with researchers trying to uncover why sleep is necessary for life - especially for those who have a genetic disease that doesn’t allow them to sleep. Then things get really interesting (like they aren’t already!), and we hear from a journalist who attempts to go undercover (and literally underground) to join a cult where people never sleep but instead gets wrapped up into it herself.
I’ll stop here in the plot description as I don’t want to divulge any spoilers, but let’s just say things get a whole lot weirder and interconnected and it’s a brilliant piece of work that comes together in the end. Also - did I detect a hint somewhere in there that there will be a sequel or continuation of some of the characters in future books!?! I’m already excited and this book hasn’t even officially launched yet! Ha!
Lastly, don’t skip the Acknowledgments at the end, which is written from the POV of the detective and highly amusing.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
For fans of Blake Crouch, this thriller is very hard to describe and review and categorise.
I don’t know how I feel about it.
The broadest synopsis I can give you is: Why pay a private investigator you’ve never met to find a dead woman who clearly hasn’t been buried, if she even actually died?
Binge knows how to keep your attention. He also can get into his protagonist’s head, changing writing style, language, and even descriptions.
People are like mirrors: If they don’t give you a sense of who you are, how would you know?
What starts out as a mystery becomes existential and blends other genres I’m hesitant to name in case of spoilers.
That was my main issue. I don’t think this book knew what it wanted to be or do. Or maybe the author knew, but the readers were left scratching their head at each new revelation.
I don’t know how to recommend this to people, so I’m going to list a few words that might grab your attention: sleep, tunnels, cult, Hades, death.
There was also some thought processes and opinions from the protagonist that had me raising my eyebrow.
Remember that if it’s not their own home, nobody cares. There are some exceptions to this. If you live in a closely knit neighborhood out in the country, which London is not. If you’re Black and the person looking at you is a Tory and over sixty‑five. But for the most part, it’s pretty safe.
This is definitely my least favourite from this author. It is a very quick read with audio transcripts, dream sequences, and three main perspectives. However, the further I read, the less sure I was.
2.75 stars.🌟
Arc gifted by Harper Voyager.
Bookstagram
Tiktok
I don’t know how I feel about it.
The broadest synopsis I can give you is: Why pay a private investigator you’ve never met to find a dead woman who clearly hasn’t been buried, if she even actually died?
Binge knows how to keep your attention. He also can get into his protagonist’s head, changing writing style, language, and even descriptions.
People are like mirrors: If they don’t give you a sense of who you are, how would you know?
What starts out as a mystery becomes existential and blends other genres I’m hesitant to name in case of spoilers.
That was my main issue. I don’t think this book knew what it wanted to be or do. Or maybe the author knew, but the readers were left scratching their head at each new revelation.
I don’t know how to recommend this to people, so I’m going to list a few words that might grab your attention: sleep, tunnels, cult, Hades, death.
There was also some thought processes and opinions from the protagonist that had me raising my eyebrow.
Remember that if it’s not their own home, nobody cares. There are some exceptions to this. If you live in a closely knit neighborhood out in the country, which London is not. If you’re Black and the person looking at you is a Tory and over sixty‑five. But for the most part, it’s pretty safe.
This is definitely my least favourite from this author. It is a very quick read with audio transcripts, dream sequences, and three main perspectives. However, the further I read, the less sure I was.
2.75 stars.🌟
Arc gifted by Harper Voyager.
Bookstagram
Tiktok
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book is a DOOZY. It's long. It's speculative. There's three different timelines, and it's not clear what's going on in a single one of them. One of the main characters is a grown man who has changed his name for no obvious reason and now has to keep reminding people he knows that he has a new name--look, I am all for people doing what they want, but in a book with this many crazy details, a random double name with no plot payoff felt like too much.
I am so grateful for having received a digital arc of this book, but this one would have been better for me to read physically, with the ability to flip back and re-read certain passages/chapters, because I kept losing track of details in all the chaos, which made me less excited to pick the book up, which made reading it take longer, which made me forget even more things.... Certain books just work better for me in specific formats, and unfortunately, I think I had the wrong one for this read, and it negatively affected my experience. BUT I did still like this book. Overall, I think the author manages to pull off the insane concept. It's intriguing, and I was invested in the characters and their individual story lines. Everything comes together and ties up in a satisfying way. It's unusual enough to feel fresh and different, but there are enough familiar threads (a detective working a mysterious case, scientists on the verge of a breakthrough, a cult member beginning to question things) to keep from feeling like the author was trying to be weird for the sake of it. This is my second book by this author, and he has a unique style of speculative-meets-psychological mystery that I would recommend for anyone looking to branch out.
I am so grateful for having received a digital arc of this book, but this one would have been better for me to read physically, with the ability to flip back and re-read certain passages/chapters, because I kept losing track of details in all the chaos, which made me less excited to pick the book up, which made reading it take longer, which made me forget even more things.... Certain books just work better for me in specific formats, and unfortunately, I think I had the wrong one for this read, and it negatively affected my experience. BUT I did still like this book. Overall, I think the author manages to pull off the insane concept. It's intriguing, and I was invested in the characters and their individual story lines. Everything comes together and ties up in a satisfying way. It's unusual enough to feel fresh and different, but there are enough familiar threads (a detective working a mysterious case, scientists on the verge of a breakthrough, a cult member beginning to question things) to keep from feeling like the author was trying to be weird for the sake of it. This is my second book by this author, and he has a unique style of speculative-meets-psychological mystery that I would recommend for anyone looking to branch out.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
Let me start by saying, you can go into this book feeling ready & prepared, but you will never be ready & prepared for this book.
This reading experience was a complete fever dream, in such a good way.
From the blurb of this book, I felt like this was essentially a detective thriller, with maybe a dystopian vibe? Wrong. We start with our MMC Arlo, who is a lonely broke P.I. who one night gets £10,000 transferred into his account by a stranger, with the message ‘find Sophie Banik’. This then leads him on a journey to find who this woman is, and why he’s been tasked with this job.
This book is, at its core, a science fiction novel. We head into buried manuscripts, underworlds, Greek myths, and so much more. If you enjoyed ‘inception’ and the mind bending world of dreams inside dreams inside dreams, then I think you would definitely like Exhumation.
The thing that really let me down with this book, is how confusing it was at times. I get that that is the whole point, to confuse you into not knowing what world you’re living it, but sometimes it just felt too much. I also didn’t quite understand the whole reason for all of this in the end, as if my questions weren’t answered. I also felt that I didn’t connect with any of the characters & I understand that this isn’t the point of this book, it’s more the world building and plot, but as a character driven reader, I did notice this.
That being said, I really did enjoy this book. I think Binge has a great writing style, his brain is super complex and I enjoyed getting lost in his world. I’d be interested to try more from this author.
Let me start by saying, you can go into this book feeling ready & prepared, but you will never be ready & prepared for this book.
This reading experience was a complete fever dream, in such a good way.
From the blurb of this book, I felt like this was essentially a detective thriller, with maybe a dystopian vibe? Wrong. We start with our MMC Arlo, who is a lonely broke P.I. who one night gets £10,000 transferred into his account by a stranger, with the message ‘find Sophie Banik’. This then leads him on a journey to find who this woman is, and why he’s been tasked with this job.
This book is, at its core, a science fiction novel. We head into buried manuscripts, underworlds, Greek myths, and so much more. If you enjoyed ‘inception’ and the mind bending world of dreams inside dreams inside dreams, then I think you would definitely like Exhumation.
The thing that really let me down with this book, is how confusing it was at times. I get that that is the whole point, to confuse you into not knowing what world you’re living it, but sometimes it just felt too much. I also didn’t quite understand the whole reason for all of this in the end, as if my questions weren’t answered. I also felt that I didn’t connect with any of the characters & I understand that this isn’t the point of this book, it’s more the world building and plot, but as a character driven reader, I did notice this.
That being said, I really did enjoy this book. I think Binge has a great writing style, his brain is super complex and I enjoyed getting lost in his world. I’d be interested to try more from this author.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Exhumation is a psychological tour de force for fans of Inception and the novel Night Film.
The book follows 3 stories - a former detective, now PI, that's been tasked with a very mysterious new case involving a missing woman and strange cult; a young woman that has joined a literally underground religion that somehow never sleeps, but she is beginning to question some of their practices; and a team of sisters trying to find a cure for people that lose the ability to sleep. You might think you know how the stories connect, but the twists and turns of this book would say otherwise.
Like Binge's previous book Ascension, there are some unique writing devices employed to tell these stories. Through a combination of journals and recording transcripts, as well as typical prose, we experience the three different perspectives.
I absolutely loved this book. I'll admit that it started out a little slow, but once I got into the story I couldn't put it down. Binge manages to write a compelling and confusing mystery, while at the same time dislodging the reader with magical dreamworlds. There were many moments that shocked me, satisfying payouts, and strong character work that solidified this book as a five-star read. This is easily one of my favorites of the year.
Thank you to NetGalley for loaning me an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.
The book follows 3 stories - a former detective, now PI, that's been tasked with a very mysterious new case involving a missing woman and strange cult; a young woman that has joined a literally underground religion that somehow never sleeps, but she is beginning to question some of their practices; and a team of sisters trying to find a cure for people that lose the ability to sleep. You might think you know how the stories connect, but the twists and turns of this book would say otherwise.
Like Binge's previous book Ascension, there are some unique writing devices employed to tell these stories. Through a combination of journals and recording transcripts, as well as typical prose, we experience the three different perspectives.
I absolutely loved this book. I'll admit that it started out a little slow, but once I got into the story I couldn't put it down. Binge manages to write a compelling and confusing mystery, while at the same time dislodging the reader with magical dreamworlds. There were many moments that shocked me, satisfying payouts, and strong character work that solidified this book as a five-star read. This is easily one of my favorites of the year.
Thank you to NetGalley for loaning me an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.
September 30, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an advance copy in exhange for an honest review.
Exhumation sits in a strange place for me. It was really engrossing and engaging, like a good thriller should be, but I don’t feel like I was ever surprised by the twists and turns it took.
Exhumation starts like a classic noir thriller: we have a broke P.I. who is a loner and almost misanthropic -- which is nothing new in the tradition of noir protagonists – who receives a new job via an anonymous £10,000 deposit into his bank account. This job, to find Sophie Banik, leads him to a set of buried journals where her grave should be. He seems to be stumbling into an occult conspiracy that spreads into the police force and government. It takes a twist away from a typical noir when the protagonist starts reading the journals. They tell the tale of a young woman living among a cult in a strange underground world, and alongside these are excerpts from a clandestine medical experiment.
I mentioned in the introduction to this review that whilst there are dramatic twists and reveals, I was never surprised by them. I don’t think this is necessarily a negative – they are very much earned and make sense in context, and part of what the novel is doing is a twist on the nature of a mystery novel. There are some aspects of the writing that feel weird or clumsy in the first part of the book – for example, it felt a lot like reading a sequel to a book you’ve not read – but I think these are deliberate choices when the nature of the novel’s reality becomes clear.
I really hope the end means we might get more strange mysteries in Arlo Abbas’ London. A Sherlock Holmes style story collection would be a lot of fun.
Overall, this is a good, engaging read. It’s an unconventional thriller where the mystery is reality itself, and if that sounds appealing, then I you’ll have fun with this!
Exhumation sits in a strange place for me. It was really engrossing and engaging, like a good thriller should be, but I don’t feel like I was ever surprised by the twists and turns it took.
Exhumation starts like a classic noir thriller: we have a broke P.I. who is a loner and almost misanthropic -- which is nothing new in the tradition of noir protagonists – who receives a new job via an anonymous £10,000 deposit into his bank account. This job, to find Sophie Banik, leads him to a set of buried journals where her grave should be. He seems to be stumbling into an occult conspiracy that spreads into the police force and government. It takes a twist away from a typical noir when the protagonist starts reading the journals. They tell the tale of a young woman living among a cult in a strange underground world, and alongside these are excerpts from a clandestine medical experiment.
I mentioned in the introduction to this review that whilst there are dramatic twists and reveals, I was never surprised by them. I don’t think this is necessarily a negative – they are very much earned and make sense in context, and part of what the novel is doing is a twist on the nature of a mystery novel. There are some aspects of the writing that feel weird or clumsy in the first part of the book – for example, it felt a lot like reading a sequel to a book you’ve not read – but I think these are deliberate choices when the nature of the novel’s reality becomes clear.
I really hope the end means we might get more strange mysteries in Arlo Abbas’ London. A Sherlock Holmes style story collection would be a lot of fun.
Overall, this is a good, engaging read. It’s an unconventional thriller where the mystery is reality itself, and if that sounds appealing, then I you’ll have fun with this!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A fantastically fresh read that takes you in completely unexpected directions. This starts off as a noir style gumshoe detective novel, the tone very Raymond Chandler/Maltese Falcon, although set in modern day London. The world weary detective narrator is a fun voice to follow, and the mystery intriguing from the start. Little hints that all is not quite what it seems are so subtle that you don't worry too much about them until much later. But with each new twist, you start to question more what on earth is going on, until the massive reveal that feels like a surprise, even though all the ground work has been very carefully laid along the way.
I haven't read Binge's previous novels, but the direction this turns in shouldn't really have surprised me given the genre he writes in. It's best not to know any plot details that aren't given on the cover, so I won't write any details, but this is a beautifully constructed novel, that takes a massive turn as you learn along with the narrator what is going on. Exploring crazy, mind-bending ideas, and huge themes, it's a really satisfying read that keeps you gripped and guessing.
Once everything is made clear, the ending goes a little more abstract than I would have preferred. I think for me, I might have preferred it if it actually stopped after revealing things, rather than continue that adventure, but even so, I still found moments of brilliance in the conclusion that I still really enjoyed. There's not many books that keep me thinking so much when I'm not reading them, or leave me looking for the next possible moment I can pick it up again to carry on reading.
I already own his previous 2 books, but haven't got round to them yet, but they're definitely shooting up to the top of my reading list after this one.
Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins for a pre-publication copy in return for an honest review.
I haven't read Binge's previous novels, but the direction this turns in shouldn't really have surprised me given the genre he writes in. It's best not to know any plot details that aren't given on the cover, so I won't write any details, but this is a beautifully constructed novel, that takes a massive turn as you learn along with the narrator what is going on. Exploring crazy, mind-bending ideas, and huge themes, it's a really satisfying read that keeps you gripped and guessing.
Once everything is made clear, the ending goes a little more abstract than I would have preferred. I think for me, I might have preferred it if it actually stopped after revealing things, rather than continue that adventure, but even so, I still found moments of brilliance in the conclusion that I still really enjoyed. There's not many books that keep me thinking so much when I'm not reading them, or leave me looking for the next possible moment I can pick it up again to carry on reading.
I already own his previous 2 books, but haven't got round to them yet, but they're definitely shooting up to the top of my reading list after this one.
Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins for a pre-publication copy in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Another fantastic mind blowing novel written by Nicolas Binge!
I've been a fan of his work with Ascenscion and Dissolution and this one didnt disappoint.
It's a mystery wrapped around a secret experiment related to sleeplessness and dreamlessness states. Honestly, though a lot of science is explained in the book, I am still unable to wrap my head around this dreamworld that separates the living from the dead, coupled with some theories tying to mythology. It is a grand idea, well written and heart warming in a way as you watch the characters go thru the motions through the story.
The mind is such a big mystery and the author uses this as the basis of his story, and not just this, but his other ones as well. It's deep and thought provoking, made easy creating a story around it and makes you think about life. It was kind of a slow burn, but still engaging. However, towards the end, a lot of bonuses with a few plot twists I didnt expect that gripped me and kept me reading through non-stop.
It's a great read and recommend this book to avid Binge fan readers and new ones alike.
I've been a fan of his work with Ascenscion and Dissolution and this one didnt disappoint.
It's a mystery wrapped around a secret experiment related to sleeplessness and dreamlessness states. Honestly, though a lot of science is explained in the book, I am still unable to wrap my head around this dreamworld that separates the living from the dead, coupled with some theories tying to mythology. It is a grand idea, well written and heart warming in a way as you watch the characters go thru the motions through the story.
The mind is such a big mystery and the author uses this as the basis of his story, and not just this, but his other ones as well. It's deep and thought provoking, made easy creating a story around it and makes you think about life. It was kind of a slow burn, but still engaging. However, towards the end, a lot of bonuses with a few plot twists I didnt expect that gripped me and kept me reading through non-stop.
It's a great read and recommend this book to avid Binge fan readers and new ones alike.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Nicholas Binge's first two novels blew me away so when I was invited to read his newest in advance, I jumped at the opportunity. Unfortunately this one did not blow my mind as much as the others did, but I still enjoyed it for what it was.
We are following Arlo, a broke PI desperately in need of a new case, so when an unexpected sum of £10,000 lands in his bank account overnight with only a simple message to find a certain Sophie Banik, he gets on the case right away. It turns out that the case is not at straightforward as it seems at first though, and someone out there does not want Sophie to be found. The book is also interspersed with journal entries from Liz, who joined a cult that skips sleeping and lives deep underground, along with recordings from a doctor who works at a mysterious facility trying to help people who can't sleep. The whole thing seems like three different stories until they connect with a very satisfying click.
This was a great story and I wonder how Binge comes up with these ideas, and always executes them so well. It was fast paced and a very quick read. The thing that bothered me most throughout reading this novel is the style the author used when writing the character of Arlo. It felt very choppy because the sentences describing his internal thoughts almost always started with verbs and he seemed to avoid wanting to say "I" altogether. This took me out of the story every time. It felt very unnatural. I got a bit more used to it the longer I read, but it was still annoying me the whole time. I did predict most of the twists, but not all, and it seems like Binge always has another surprise up his sleeve.
The book reminded me a lot of the movie Inception, as some of the other readers mentioned as well and I do believe if you liked that movie you would enjoy this book too. I'm excited to see what Binge has in store for us next!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
We are following Arlo, a broke PI desperately in need of a new case, so when an unexpected sum of £10,000 lands in his bank account overnight with only a simple message to find a certain Sophie Banik, he gets on the case right away. It turns out that the case is not at straightforward as it seems at first though, and someone out there does not want Sophie to be found. The book is also interspersed with journal entries from Liz, who joined a cult that skips sleeping and lives deep underground, along with recordings from a doctor who works at a mysterious facility trying to help people who can't sleep. The whole thing seems like three different stories until they connect with a very satisfying click.
This was a great story and I wonder how Binge comes up with these ideas, and always executes them so well. It was fast paced and a very quick read. The thing that bothered me most throughout reading this novel is the style the author used when writing the character of Arlo. It felt very choppy because the sentences describing his internal thoughts almost always started with verbs and he seemed to avoid wanting to say "I" altogether. This took me out of the story every time. It felt very unnatural. I got a bit more used to it the longer I read, but it was still annoying me the whole time. I did predict most of the twists, but not all, and it seems like Binge always has another surprise up his sleeve.
The book reminded me a lot of the movie Inception, as some of the other readers mentioned as well and I do believe if you liked that movie you would enjoy this book too. I'm excited to see what Binge has in store for us next!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Based on this book and Dissolution, by the same author, all I can think is that Binge must be fascinated by memory and the human brain. (So am I. If anyone can tell me why I can remember song melodies but not lyrics let me know!).
In Exhumation, we first meet detective Arlo Abbass, a classic noir sort of guy who's down on his luck and likes sticking to the shadows. One day he gets a surprise 10k dropped into his bank account, along with a request: find Sophie Banik.
Searching for Sophie takes him to a grave without a body inside it, only transcripts talking about cults, sleep experiments, and even weirder things. We end up following three stories instead of one, at first unable to tell where they'll end up.
And where they end up is odd and mind-bending in ways I can barely explain. It hurts your brain to read this one, trying to hold all the different threads together. I read it as fast as possible just so I wouldn't forget details.
At one point I asked myself is this even science fiction or more speculative fiction, mixed in with myths? But there definitely are scientific experiments and surgeries aplenty, so SF it is!
A really enjoyable rollercoaster.
In Exhumation, we first meet detective Arlo Abbass, a classic noir sort of guy who's down on his luck and likes sticking to the shadows. One day he gets a surprise 10k dropped into his bank account, along with a request: find Sophie Banik.
Searching for Sophie takes him to a grave without a body inside it, only transcripts talking about cults, sleep experiments, and even weirder things. We end up following three stories instead of one, at first unable to tell where they'll end up.
And where they end up is odd and mind-bending in ways I can barely explain. It hurts your brain to read this one, trying to hold all the different threads together. I read it as fast as possible just so I wouldn't forget details.
At one point I asked myself is this even science fiction or more speculative fiction, mixed in with myths? But there definitely are scientific experiments and surgeries aplenty, so SF it is!
A really enjoyable rollercoaster.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
✨Thank you to Riverhead and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!✨
Binge's latest novel pulled me into the story from the beginning and didn't ever let go! I was a fan of Dissolution, so my expectations were high - so glad that they were exceeded! There were parts that required a bit more patience from me to navigate through (particularly lengthy sections from the journal entries/transcripts), but the payoff was worth it.
Pick this one up if you like:
- Recursion by Blake Crouch (or Dark Matter for that matter)
- Christopher Nolan's Inception.
- Stories about dreams
- A story within a story
- Sci-fi related to alternative reality
This was one of my favorite reads of this year so far!
Binge's latest novel pulled me into the story from the beginning and didn't ever let go! I was a fan of Dissolution, so my expectations were high - so glad that they were exceeded! There were parts that required a bit more patience from me to navigate through (particularly lengthy sections from the journal entries/transcripts), but the payoff was worth it.
Pick this one up if you like:
- Recursion by Blake Crouch (or Dark Matter for that matter)
- Christopher Nolan's Inception.
- Stories about dreams
- A story within a story
- Sci-fi related to alternative reality
This was one of my favorite reads of this year so far!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Something of a roller coaster for me but often very enjoyable.
In full
A somewhat world weary London based PI, Arlo Abbas, discovers that rather than being almost broke he has £10,000 in his bank account. The mystery is why? Ok there's a clue because he finds a note saying "Find Sophie Banik" which would have been more helpful if he hadn't quickly discovered that she died 5 months ago so this is not simply a missing person case. Apart from the fact that he needs to call in some major favours from people who are a little reluctant to help, this leads him to Brookwood cemetery. All credit to the historical accuracy of this - I didn't know anything about it but the cemetery is quite a unique place.
There's a couple of threads running here. There's Arlo's investigation into Sophie and all that surrounds that however there's also another (at times to me bizarre) thread about people who no longer sleep and live underground as part of an experiment. As with almost any book you need to work on the assumption that things will join up at some stage! In addition to these two threads there are some transcripts that appear to be from the experiment that come up from time to time. I can't put my finger on exactly why but these didn't works as well for me as the other aspects of the story.
This story is not what it sometimes seems, and even when you think you know what it is, it changes and I guess that was refreshing in an era where stories can be rather mundane and predictable. There was a lot to like here and in the main the pace was decent. In the end I thought Arlo was a great character and I really like the twisted nature of his story.
My thanks to the author and the publisher for an advance copy of this book
In full
A somewhat world weary London based PI, Arlo Abbas, discovers that rather than being almost broke he has £10,000 in his bank account. The mystery is why? Ok there's a clue because he finds a note saying "Find Sophie Banik" which would have been more helpful if he hadn't quickly discovered that she died 5 months ago so this is not simply a missing person case. Apart from the fact that he needs to call in some major favours from people who are a little reluctant to help, this leads him to Brookwood cemetery. All credit to the historical accuracy of this - I didn't know anything about it but the cemetery is quite a unique place.
There's a couple of threads running here. There's Arlo's investigation into Sophie and all that surrounds that however there's also another (at times to me bizarre) thread about people who no longer sleep and live underground as part of an experiment. As with almost any book you need to work on the assumption that things will join up at some stage! In addition to these two threads there are some transcripts that appear to be from the experiment that come up from time to time. I can't put my finger on exactly why but these didn't works as well for me as the other aspects of the story.
This story is not what it sometimes seems, and even when you think you know what it is, it changes and I guess that was refreshing in an era where stories can be rather mundane and predictable. There was a lot to like here and in the main the pace was decent. In the end I thought Arlo was a great character and I really like the twisted nature of his story.
My thanks to the author and the publisher for an advance copy of this book
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Riverhead and Netgalley for an eARC of Exhumation by Nicholas Binge. I just finished Exhumation, and I am completely amazed by what I read over the past few days. Exhumation was a perfect sci-fi thriller that slowly unfurled the mystery at its core. The novel begins with private investigator Arlo Abbas being sent down a perplexing rabbit hole that gets weirder and weirder as the plot progresses. Interspersed with Arlo's POV is another main character told through journal entries, as well as audio transcripts from two more supporting characters. All of that adds to the incredible world-building done by Binge and kept me glued to my chair reading on to what happened next. The best sci-fi blends monolithic worlds and mythos with human emotion at its center, and Exhumation did that in spades.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Soooooo, a missing woman wasn't enough of a problem, so Nicholas Binge decided to add secret cults, underground laboratories, questionable science, multiple timelines, and enough reality-bending nonsense to make me wonder if I was reading a thriller or slowly losing my grip on reality. And I liked it
The detective noir vibe was great, the mystery kept me turning pages, and every time I thought I had things figured out, the book gleefully kicked the table over. Some twists landed better than others, and there were definitely moments when I had absolutely no idea what was going on. Always reassuring when a book starts making you question your own reading comprehension. But I was entertained. Very entertained.
Four stars for being creepy, ambitious, weird as hell, and just convoluted enough to make me feel like I deserved a small certificate for finishing it.
The detective noir vibe was great, the mystery kept me turning pages, and every time I thought I had things figured out, the book gleefully kicked the table over. Some twists landed better than others, and there were definitely moments when I had absolutely no idea what was going on. Always reassuring when a book starts making you question your own reading comprehension. But I was entertained. Very entertained.
Four stars for being creepy, ambitious, weird as hell, and just convoluted enough to make me feel like I deserved a small certificate for finishing it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Nicholas Binge is an excellent writer with a huge imagination. His latest, Exhumation, is full of fun, craziness and big ideas.
It starts off feeling like a Chandler-esque private eye tale, which isn't really my thing. But despair not, as things soon start twisting and turning and generally spiralling towards the wonderfully bat-shit crazy.
I did feel with this one things got a little confusing and I'd lost the thread a bit at times. So when the denouement came, it didn't land with as much impact as it might have, as I was still trying to work out what the hell was going on!
An entertaining ride which will be enjoyed by those who like mind-bending speculative fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.
It starts off feeling like a Chandler-esque private eye tale, which isn't really my thing. But despair not, as things soon start twisting and turning and generally spiralling towards the wonderfully bat-shit crazy.
I did feel with this one things got a little confusing and I'd lost the thread a bit at times. So when the denouement came, it didn't land with as much impact as it might have, as I was still trying to work out what the hell was going on!
An entertaining ride which will be enjoyed by those who like mind-bending speculative fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
If "jumping the shark" were a book, it would be this one. I honestly don't know what happened, it had everything it needed to become one of my favorites, but it got way too weird just for the sake of being weird.
To be fair though, it reads super fast. Short chapters, constant momentum, and my neurodivergent brain definitely appreciated not having to fight for focus, I got through it in a couple of sittings even while not loving it. So if you like Binge's high concept thrillers and you're fine with things going completely off the rails, you might enjoy this way more than I did. For me it was a solid 3, entertaining enough, but not something that's going to stick with me.
To be fair though, it reads super fast. Short chapters, constant momentum, and my neurodivergent brain definitely appreciated not having to fight for focus, I got through it in a couple of sittings even while not loving it. So if you like Binge's high concept thrillers and you're fine with things going completely off the rails, you might enjoy this way more than I did. For me it was a solid 3, entertaining enough, but not something that's going to stick with me.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy.
Exhumation is my favorite Nicholas Binge novel yet, having previously read and enjoyed both Ascension and Dissolution. The story within a story told from multiple characters worked really well here, and the Inception-like dream elements made it hard to put down. Don’t want to get into too many details here because this one will reel you in from the start!
If you haven’t read Binge yet, any of the three is a great starting point — but this one is the best of the bunch.
Exhumation is my favorite Nicholas Binge novel yet, having previously read and enjoyed both Ascension and Dissolution. The story within a story told from multiple characters worked really well here, and the Inception-like dream elements made it hard to put down. Don’t want to get into too many details here because this one will reel you in from the start!
If you haven’t read Binge yet, any of the three is a great starting point — but this one is the best of the bunch.
October 7, 2026
Here’s an absolute mind bender for you! Nothing has changed with me, I’m always a sucker for a book that makes you question everything you know. This one did exactly that, and then some. It’s difficult to leave no spoilers but let’s just say there are elements of several of my favorite sci-fi things (underground living, cults, the power of our minds, loopholes of time, the underworld). Throw a relentless private investigator in there as our protagonist and boom, magic. I never want to forget this one!!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A mindbender of a book. I can't even begin to explain anything as it's best to go in knowing as little as possible. Overall for me this wasn't as good as Dissolution which was my first Nicholas Binge read, but it still has some good reveals along the way. as long as you hang in there If you're a fan of some Blake Crouch then this one will be right up your alley!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 15, 2026
I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.
I really enjoy this author’s work. He does something quite playful and really interesting in the sci-fi genre with his ideas and book structures. His books tend to be speculative, exploring one or two core ideas with excellent reveals.
This book is multi-layered. It starts off with a bit of noir, a disillusioned private investigator receiving a bunch of money and a curious instruction from a mysterious client. But then as he starts to discover more about his case, we bring in new perspectives through discovered artefacts. The story isn’t linear, it shifts around with perspective and time.
The book does get quite weird. There’s some scientific experimentation which is fascinating, but then there’s a specific community with odd beliefs. I liked how unsettling this was. It’s easy to feel unmoored reading this all the way through.
I’d definitely read more from this author, his books are always thought-provoking, exciting and feel quite different.
I really enjoy this author’s work. He does something quite playful and really interesting in the sci-fi genre with his ideas and book structures. His books tend to be speculative, exploring one or two core ideas with excellent reveals.
This book is multi-layered. It starts off with a bit of noir, a disillusioned private investigator receiving a bunch of money and a curious instruction from a mysterious client. But then as he starts to discover more about his case, we bring in new perspectives through discovered artefacts. The story isn’t linear, it shifts around with perspective and time.
The book does get quite weird. There’s some scientific experimentation which is fascinating, but then there’s a specific community with odd beliefs. I liked how unsettling this was. It’s easy to feel unmoored reading this all the way through.
I’d definitely read more from this author, his books are always thought-provoking, exciting and feel quite different.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
oh boy this one was a fun ride! a slowly unfolding mystery seeded with plenty of clues that hint at the full tale. three converging timelines - a story within a story within a story. love the hard boiled noir narration - a very distinctive voice - and of course existential horror and mommy issues. the best one i've seen from nicholas binge yet
thanks to riverhead and netgalley for the e-arc!
thanks to riverhead and netgalley for the e-arc!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley for this advance ACR!
This was a new to me author, the book is not in my genre but I stuck with it. It’s very twisty and confusing and long (for me). Overall I enjoyed it! It’s just not my style.
This was a new to me author, the book is not in my genre but I stuck with it. It’s very twisty and confusing and long (for me). Overall I enjoyed it! It’s just not my style.
Did Not Finish
October 2, 2026DNF @ 20%
This just took long to get going for me. I loved the premise of this book, but it just didn’t deliver in the way that I had hoped. Essentially I don’t think this book was for me.
***Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for a honest review!
This just took long to get going for me. I loved the premise of this book, but it just didn’t deliver in the way that I had hoped. Essentially I don’t think this book was for me.
***Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for a honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Well, that was a wild ride. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a while.
On another note, it's been a great year for weird genre detective novels.
On another note, it's been a great year for weird genre detective novels.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This book is incredible - it will quite literally blow you away
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews