What do you think?
Rate this book
Absolute Knowledge #1
Absolute Knowledge
My life changed in a matter of minutes. The choices I made led me to a life of crime and caused me to become the worst sort of criminal; I became a traitor to the country of New York. For better or worse, the path my life has taken is irreversible. I’ve killed, I’ve died, and I’ve risked my life in attempt to destroy a society built on over one hundred years of lies and corruption.
My name is Jacob Ashton, and this is my story.
Absolute Knowledge is the first of a cyberpunk science fiction series which takes place in a dark, futuristic New York City set in 2146. The country of New York is divided into three physical tiers and the faceless Government is working to establish Absolute Knowledge.
Working as Thinkers, the citizens of the Slums are paid for their thoughts and given vouchers needed to sustain their cost of living. Since the Government controls almost everything, most citizens are forced to either work as Thinkers or turn to a life of disconnect from society under the harshest of conditions.
In Absolute Knowledge, every thought has a price.
Drew Cordell's debut novel, Absolute Knowledge, is a new addition to the great cyberpunk sci-fi tradition of William Gibson, Ernest Cline, Bruce Sterling, and John Shirley.
My name is Jacob Ashton, and this is my story.
Absolute Knowledge is the first of a cyberpunk science fiction series which takes place in a dark, futuristic New York City set in 2146. The country of New York is divided into three physical tiers and the faceless Government is working to establish Absolute Knowledge.
Working as Thinkers, the citizens of the Slums are paid for their thoughts and given vouchers needed to sustain their cost of living. Since the Government controls almost everything, most citizens are forced to either work as Thinkers or turn to a life of disconnect from society under the harshest of conditions.
In Absolute Knowledge, every thought has a price.
Drew Cordell's debut novel, Absolute Knowledge, is a new addition to the great cyberpunk sci-fi tradition of William Gibson, Ernest Cline, Bruce Sterling, and John Shirley.
- GenresScience Fiction
383 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 2, 2017
28 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Drew Cordell
13 books23 followersDrew Cordell is an Entrepreneurship and Innovation student at the University of Texas at Dallas in his senior year. In addition to writing, he enjoys reading, PC Gaming, board games, and cycling.
Drew enjoys writing science fiction, particularly a hybrid between the Cyberpunk and Hard Science Fiction sub-genres. His debut novel, Absolute Knowledge, is the first of a trilogy, and the other books in the series will be available soon.
Drew enjoys writing science fiction, particularly a hybrid between the Cyberpunk and Hard Science Fiction sub-genres. His debut novel, Absolute Knowledge, is the first of a trilogy, and the other books in the series will be available soon.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 28, 2017
This science fiction borrows from many dystopian mega-city traditions, but it begins and it finishes with a rather awesome focus on Thoughts.
No, no, not like the thought police, although there *is* a bit of that going on, but on the interesting concretization of thoughts becoming actionable and even becoming possessions that people can trade for basic living expenses in the slums. Let's hook you up and scan you, son. Any original thoughts? No? Oh well, you can get your basic living allowance as long as you tow the line.
Eeek. Not only timely and eerily like what we've already got now, the author takes it to new levels and lets the elite and the big computer that runs the society do some really interesting things... such as the pursuit of Absolute Knowledge... which, you should know, is pretty much a euphemism. :)
This is a dystopia with lots of clandestine and thrilling counter-culture elements, after all, and I can name at least 3 major and pretty awesome plot twists that I'm not going to spoil for your reading pleasure, but rest assured that the story is quite solid and interesting throughout, not just a pretty idea, but a character-driven thriller as well.
The book delivers. Are you looking for some clever SF with cyberpunk elements and a Hard-SF dystopia with a good MC that struggles, strives, against the machine? Look no further. :)
No, no, not like the thought police, although there *is* a bit of that going on, but on the interesting concretization of thoughts becoming actionable and even becoming possessions that people can trade for basic living expenses in the slums. Let's hook you up and scan you, son. Any original thoughts? No? Oh well, you can get your basic living allowance as long as you tow the line.
Eeek. Not only timely and eerily like what we've already got now, the author takes it to new levels and lets the elite and the big computer that runs the society do some really interesting things... such as the pursuit of Absolute Knowledge... which, you should know, is pretty much a euphemism. :)
This is a dystopia with lots of clandestine and thrilling counter-culture elements, after all, and I can name at least 3 major and pretty awesome plot twists that I'm not going to spoil for your reading pleasure, but rest assured that the story is quite solid and interesting throughout, not just a pretty idea, but a character-driven thriller as well.
The book delivers. Are you looking for some clever SF with cyberpunk elements and a Hard-SF dystopia with a good MC that struggles, strives, against the machine? Look no further. :)
May 31, 2017
Great new idea
Finally something fresh! My interest was really captured from start to finish. Good characters. Clever new environment. Original characters. Nice.
Finally something fresh! My interest was really captured from start to finish. Good characters. Clever new environment. Original characters. Nice.
February 27, 2017
That was awesome!! Thrilling, explosive, one wild ride.
January 24, 2017
I was very impressed with this novel. The author explores so many interesting themes...freedom, the role of government, life in a dystopian post-apocalyptic scenario. And most importantly he managed to do this while still making the reader care about the characters. This is smart, very timely science fiction that I highly recommend.
July 18, 2017
What happens when the world isn't what it seems? You are 16, living by yourself, selling your thoughts for food vouchers in a near apopalyptic present. Who do you trust? And, what happens when you find out the horrific truth? Read this book and find out! Gut wrenching writing. Good read!
May 19, 2018
What happens when the world isn't what it seems? You are 16, living by yourself, selling your thoughts for food vouchers in a near apopalyptic present. Who do you trust? And, what happens when you find out the horrific truth? Read this book and find out! Gut wrenching writing. Good read!
March 7, 2019
Great thoughts and good scifi/dystopic themes, wrapped in a messy story line, forced and clunky dialog, tied together by a story arc that mostly resembles that of a video-game: Linear action sequences, split by disconnected "cut-scenes".
December 31, 2017
Tweenish, but compelling
I really enjoyed this. I'm only not giving it five stars because of the number of typos, missing words, etc.
I really enjoyed this. I'm only not giving it five stars because of the number of typos, missing words, etc.
August 28, 2018
Full review here: https://www.neondystopia.com/cyberpun...
December 10, 2022
Drew Cordell is an absolute writing beast! I started this book just to have something to read as I'd just finished reading something else and couldn't find a good read(no pun intended). I absolutely could not put this down! I found myself reading this everywhere and not many books get me in that spirit. Forget on the edge of your seat, I found myself pacing, sweating, anxious, biting my nails while rooting for Jacob. Be warned, once you pick this up, you won't be able to think of anything else until you read the other books in this series. Oh, read Paragon thought last, trust me, it'll make so much sense that way.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews