What do you think?
Rate this book
The Tree of Knowledge #1
The Tree of Knowledge
Albert can see the future...he just doesn't know it yet.
It is said that the greatest chess masters can envision a match’s outcome ten moves before it occurs. Imagine a person who can visualize ten steps ahead, not simply in the game of chess, but in every human interaction.
Imagine a person who could anticipate what you say before you said it, who could see a punch before it was thrown. Imagine a person who could see the chess game of politics, economics, and power itself unfold long before it happens.
Imagine a secret that could make all of this possible.
Mathematics professor Albert Puddles is such a person, and as he is thrust into a murder and burglary investigation on the Princeton campus he finds that there is such a secret buried within an obscure cipher. The discovery leads Albert to team up with an aging mentor, a curious graduate assistant, and an unusual “book club” on a frantic chase across the country to recover the secret and clear his name.
Through this adventure, Albert rediscovers a woman from his past and is forced to confront his own understanding of love, rationality, power, and the limits of the human mind.
The #1 Bestseller and BookLife Editor’s Pick
“The Tree of Knowledge is a dynamite read... reminiscent of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code but smarter, sharper... A thrill ride with no seatbelt but what an incredible view.”—Junot Díaz, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize
It is said that the greatest chess masters can envision a match’s outcome ten moves before it occurs. Imagine a person who can visualize ten steps ahead, not simply in the game of chess, but in every human interaction.
Imagine a person who could anticipate what you say before you said it, who could see a punch before it was thrown. Imagine a person who could see the chess game of politics, economics, and power itself unfold long before it happens.
Imagine a secret that could make all of this possible.
Mathematics professor Albert Puddles is such a person, and as he is thrust into a murder and burglary investigation on the Princeton campus he finds that there is such a secret buried within an obscure cipher. The discovery leads Albert to team up with an aging mentor, a curious graduate assistant, and an unusual “book club” on a frantic chase across the country to recover the secret and clear his name.
Through this adventure, Albert rediscovers a woman from his past and is forced to confront his own understanding of love, rationality, power, and the limits of the human mind.
The #1 Bestseller and BookLife Editor’s Pick
“The Tree of Knowledge is a dynamite read... reminiscent of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code but smarter, sharper... A thrill ride with no seatbelt but what an incredible view.”—Junot Díaz, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize
295 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2021
1326 people are currently reading
4825 people want to read
About the author
Daniel G. Miller
6 books476 followersDaniel G. Miller is a bestselling thriller and adventure novelist. When he's not writing, he enjoys contemplating the "what-ifs" of the world, traveling and celebrating with his wife, and sitting on the couch like an ogre watching NBA basketball. He currently lives in Boca Raton with his wife, Lexi.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews
January 31, 2021
This was intoxicating from beginning to end. The ever-ending riddles, enigmas, and puzzles brought a plot based on rationality to feel like magic. And not only are all those aspects craftingly made but they are explained in a simple tone and diagrams which make you understand every single aspect from beginning to the end. The only disappointing facteur of this book, is the lack of people reading it.
February 5, 2021
4,5 Stars*
A story for lovers of the Da Vinci Code, Logic, secret societies, heists and mathematics.
This story follows Dr. Albert Puddles who gets mixed up in something bigger than himself when he discovers the Tree of Knowledge. This story is a fast-paced and engaging story that catches your attention from page one. The reveals were done amazingly in this book and the ending was also executed very well.
Miller succeeds in interweaving mathematics and logic into the story and makes it approachable to the average reader. The Tree of Knowledge is the most fascinating thing in this story and Miller gives this logic concept an almost magical feeling.
Ying is definitely my favourite character and my favourite quote from her is by far "Ying's guard went up when she heard one old white man celebrating another old white man."
A story for lovers of the Da Vinci Code, Logic, secret societies, heists and mathematics.
This story follows Dr. Albert Puddles who gets mixed up in something bigger than himself when he discovers the Tree of Knowledge. This story is a fast-paced and engaging story that catches your attention from page one. The reveals were done amazingly in this book and the ending was also executed very well.
Miller succeeds in interweaving mathematics and logic into the story and makes it approachable to the average reader. The Tree of Knowledge is the most fascinating thing in this story and Miller gives this logic concept an almost magical feeling.
Ying is definitely my favourite character and my favourite quote from her is by far "Ying's guard went up when she heard one old white man celebrating another old white man."
March 30, 2021
If you’re into mathematics and enjoy puzzles or chess, then this is the book for you. Daniel G Miller’s ‘The Tree of Knowledge’ has quirky university Professor Albert Puddles being investigated for burglary and murder. An unusual teaming up with his mentor, graduate assistant and members of the “book club” makes for an exciting adventure. A gentle crime story with a difference, that builds in tension and discovers heroes in the most unlikely of characters. An enjoyable crime adventure with three-star rating. With thanks to NetGalley and the author for a preview copy for review purposes. All opinions expressed herein are freely given and totally my own.
February 7, 2021
What started as a solid mystery novel turned into one of the most unique and thrilling mystery/adventure books I’ve read in a long time. Miller does a nice job of weaving old fashioned crime with intelligent and thought provoking puzzles that bring a variety of different personalities together to create a consistently surprising narrative. I often found myself becoming Albert Puddles on the hunt to de-code the mysteries of this plot. In the end, I had a hard time putting this one down, and now that I’ve read it once, plan on reading it again soon!
February 11, 2021
A wonderful book. Grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go til the very end. Filled with fun, diverse set of characters. Can't wait for what's next!
April 3, 2021
I want to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here expressed are my own.
This book is a little difficult for me to review, because there were parts that I really liked, and also some parts that didn't quite work for me.
Let's start with what I liked:
The premise sounds amazing, like a cross between the Da Vinci-Code and The Matrix. Following the guidance of the knowledge tree, a concept you might be familiar with from logic and philosophy, it becomes possible to predict the outcome of any situation with eerie accuracy - to the point where it almost begins to border on clairvoyance to the uninitiated layman.
Unsurprisingly, the good guys aren't the only ones interested in this, and when the notebook containing the details on the knowledge tree is stolen, mathematics teacher Dr. Puddles is framed for the theft - and has to race to clear his name and safe the world, before the bad guys manage to shut him up for good.
In the first third, the book does indeed deliver on the premise of a fast-paced thriller with an exciting concept, and it kept me turning the pages. This fast pace and constant action are the novel's saving grace that make it an enjoyable read in spite of some of the flaws that I will mention later on.
And writing action is where Miller really shines - these are the best chapters of the book, and here he has no need to hide behind the big names of the genre.
I also enjoyed the way some of the characters are neurodivergent and POC, and one of them also suffers from a disability (scoliosis). This was really well done and was conveyed with a light touch - at no point did it feel like these things were merely included to tick boxes, nor were they unnecessarily and constantly in the foreground or just introduced and then dropped: they were merely part of who these people were.
Bonus point for the Poirot reference, which I really enjoyed. ;)
What did not work for me, unfortunately, was the prose, which was rather overwrought and kept intruding into my reading - and not in a good way. The dialogue is also wooden in places, although this is not the case everywhere.
Prose style, however, is also a matter of taste, and others have named his style as one of the best points of the book, so this is one of those things where you'll just have to judge for yourself.
Particularly in the first half of the book, when we still keep meeting new characters, there are long... (long!) passages introducing them with scenes from their childhood and upbringing, in long (did I say long?) and uninterrupted info-dumps, and it was here that the book began to lose me a little.
The plot started to fall apart in the second half, with the characters' actions making less and less sense, and the concept of the knowledge tree, which after all carries the plot of the book, not really expanded on further after the initial chapters. The characters go through a series of events and motions that feel disconnected, like mere obstacles on the road to the conclusion of the novel, that may bulk out the page-count but do not really further the plot.
The final climax of the story does, in the end, fall rather flat, without really wrapping the events of the story up - it feels more like a set-up to a second book rather than a neat wrap (even a neat open wrap) of this instalment.
Overall, there were some flaws that marred my enjoyment of the book, but - particularly for a debut - there was much good to be enjoyed, and if you like Dan Brown and his ilk, and thrillers
with a mathematical bent sound interesting to you, this is definitely worth picking up.
If this is indeed the beginning of a series, I imagine that some of the lengthy set-up and worldbuilding that made this one a bit of a slog will have their ultimate pay-off in the following books.
Some of the things that bothered me should have been picked up during editing and proofreading (particularly a few typos here and there, as this is a published book, not an ARC), and I hope Miller's next books will receive more attention on that side, as that could help elevate them from a merely good read to a truly excellent one.
This book is a little difficult for me to review, because there were parts that I really liked, and also some parts that didn't quite work for me.
Let's start with what I liked:
The premise sounds amazing, like a cross between the Da Vinci-Code and The Matrix. Following the guidance of the knowledge tree, a concept you might be familiar with from logic and philosophy, it becomes possible to predict the outcome of any situation with eerie accuracy - to the point where it almost begins to border on clairvoyance to the uninitiated layman.
Unsurprisingly, the good guys aren't the only ones interested in this, and when the notebook containing the details on the knowledge tree is stolen, mathematics teacher Dr. Puddles is framed for the theft - and has to race to clear his name and safe the world, before the bad guys manage to shut him up for good.
In the first third, the book does indeed deliver on the premise of a fast-paced thriller with an exciting concept, and it kept me turning the pages. This fast pace and constant action are the novel's saving grace that make it an enjoyable read in spite of some of the flaws that I will mention later on.
And writing action is where Miller really shines - these are the best chapters of the book, and here he has no need to hide behind the big names of the genre.
I also enjoyed the way some of the characters are neurodivergent and POC, and one of them also suffers from a disability (scoliosis). This was really well done and was conveyed with a light touch - at no point did it feel like these things were merely included to tick boxes, nor were they unnecessarily and constantly in the foreground or just introduced and then dropped: they were merely part of who these people were.
Bonus point for the Poirot reference, which I really enjoyed. ;)
What did not work for me, unfortunately, was the prose, which was rather overwrought and kept intruding into my reading - and not in a good way. The dialogue is also wooden in places, although this is not the case everywhere.
Prose style, however, is also a matter of taste, and others have named his style as one of the best points of the book, so this is one of those things where you'll just have to judge for yourself.
Particularly in the first half of the book, when we still keep meeting new characters, there are long... (long!) passages introducing them with scenes from their childhood and upbringing, in long (did I say long?) and uninterrupted info-dumps, and it was here that the book began to lose me a little.
The plot started to fall apart in the second half, with the characters' actions making less and less sense, and the concept of the knowledge tree, which after all carries the plot of the book, not really expanded on further after the initial chapters. The characters go through a series of events and motions that feel disconnected, like mere obstacles on the road to the conclusion of the novel, that may bulk out the page-count but do not really further the plot.
The final climax of the story does, in the end, fall rather flat, without really wrapping the events of the story up - it feels more like a set-up to a second book rather than a neat wrap (even a neat open wrap) of this instalment.
Overall, there were some flaws that marred my enjoyment of the book, but - particularly for a debut - there was much good to be enjoyed, and if you like Dan Brown and his ilk, and thrillers
with a mathematical bent sound interesting to you, this is definitely worth picking up.
If this is indeed the beginning of a series, I imagine that some of the lengthy set-up and worldbuilding that made this one a bit of a slog will have their ultimate pay-off in the following books.
Some of the things that bothered me should have been picked up during editing and proofreading (particularly a few typos here and there, as this is a published book, not an ARC), and I hope Miller's next books will receive more attention on that side, as that could help elevate them from a merely good read to a truly excellent one.
March 20, 2024
4.65 Rating.
Good mystery, great storyline. Good character development and excellent details throughout. No sexual content nor graphic depiction of violence . Critical thinking fans will appreciate this one. Unexpected zinger near the end may indicate more zingers to come. The first book in this series promises more thrills to come -can't wait!
Good mystery, great storyline. Good character development and excellent details throughout. No sexual content nor graphic depiction of violence . Critical thinking fans will appreciate this one. Unexpected zinger near the end may indicate more zingers to come. The first book in this series promises more thrills to come -can't wait!
August 18, 2021
Somewhat intriguing premise with poor execution. The book reads like an 8th grade fan-fiction adaptation from the A-team television show. After the first few pages, I didn't need a logic tree to tell you how it would end. I finished the book out of a sense of obligation...it's a weakness of mine.
March 3, 2021
This is the worst book I've tried to read in a long time. The premise is that the bad guys want access to a book that will tell them how to use a logic tree to get anyone to do what they want them to do. But for a book about logic, the storyline isn't very logical.
Some examples of bad storyline logic:
*The villain disables a police station by cutting the electricity.
*Police walkie-talkies suddenly don't work without electricity.
*The villain powers up a desktop computer with a portable charger while the electricity is out (said charger would have to be the size of a toaster oven).
*The villain got into the police network while the electricity was down.
*The female villain assaults a police office worker and demands the computer password. Later, she pins the break-in on a male because he was seen in videos entering the building. But the female villain should have been the main suspect because she actually demanded passwords.
The book feels like a bad attempt to parody late 1990s, early 2000s thrillers. The book really lost me when a random group of characters that call themselves the Book Club (because of their study of the famed logic book) decide to train a professor and his jolly Chinese female assistant. That's 2 weeks of intensive logic and fighting training to fight professional baddies. Oh god, make it stop. Please. The reader has to endure pages and pages and pages and pages and pages and pages of this horrible training that starts with paint guns and ends with pink feather boas at a bar.
I ended up speed reading the last 25% because I just couldn't handle reading it slowly anymore. It never got any better. I think maybe the ending was supposed to be a setup for a sequel. Please, no.
I got this book free from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I feel bad being so honest, but it kinda sucked. Now I'm afraid to read any more Net Galley books any time soon lest they be 1-star bad.
Some examples of bad storyline logic:
*The villain disables a police station by cutting the electricity.
*Police walkie-talkies suddenly don't work without electricity.
*The villain powers up a desktop computer with a portable charger while the electricity is out (said charger would have to be the size of a toaster oven).
*The villain got into the police network while the electricity was down.
*The female villain assaults a police office worker and demands the computer password. Later, she pins the break-in on a male because he was seen in videos entering the building. But the female villain should have been the main suspect because she actually demanded passwords.
The book feels like a bad attempt to parody late 1990s, early 2000s thrillers. The book really lost me when a random group of characters that call themselves the Book Club (because of their study of the famed logic book) decide to train a professor and his jolly Chinese female assistant. That's 2 weeks of intensive logic and fighting training to fight professional baddies. Oh god, make it stop. Please. The reader has to endure pages and pages and pages and pages and pages and pages of this horrible training that starts with paint guns and ends with pink feather boas at a bar.
I ended up speed reading the last 25% because I just couldn't handle reading it slowly anymore. It never got any better. I think maybe the ending was supposed to be a setup for a sequel. Please, no.
I got this book free from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I feel bad being so honest, but it kinda sucked. Now I'm afraid to read any more Net Galley books any time soon lest they be 1-star bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2021
“what if we could use math to predict everything in our lives”
I think this one just wasn't for me. I didn't love it, although I did find a few points interesting and I really liked the main character, I just couldn't buy off on predicting through philosophy and mathematics. I just wasn't loving some of magic realism feel of the philosophy and the tree and the predictions. I wish I'd loved it.
I think this one just wasn't for me. I didn't love it, although I did find a few points interesting and I really liked the main character, I just couldn't buy off on predicting through philosophy and mathematics. I just wasn't loving some of magic realism feel of the philosophy and the tree and the predictions. I wish I'd loved it.
August 7, 2021
The major reason for my enthusiasm about this exceptional debut thriller is it's stark originality. Princeton Professor Angus Turner's journal outlining his brilliant "Tree of Knowledge" philosophy has been stolen by Eve Fix, the daughter of his once most promising student. Eva's charismatic mother Christina Culebra is currently running for governor of California with plans to abolish the legislative body and establish an authoritarian state. Mild mannered Professor Albert Puddles and his charismatic Graduate Assistant Ying Koe join Turner in using the logic of his Tree of Knowledge to stop Christina before she uses it to establish an unstoppable power base. How these three academics use the mathematics of logic to that daunting challenge drives the pace. I would have rated this excellent novel five stars but I don't care for cliff hanging endings.
August 10, 2021
One star is about a dozen stars too many for this mess of crap. I only finished this because I kept thinking it would get better, that it HAD to get better. But the joke was on me—it didn’t get better. It got continually worse and worse and worse. So much worse that by the time the troll appeared (yes, there’s a troll), I was half expecting it. The premise sounded good—until it was explained in the book. Wow! Planning out what you are going to do is somehow a brand new idea! Accessing your opposition is also a brand new idea. As for the puzzles most of the descriptions are direct copy/paste from Wikipedia.
GIMME A FREAKIN’ BREAK!
GIMME A FREAKIN’ BREAK!
February 7, 2021
Right from the start, this book has an undeniable gravitational pull. If you're looking for a read that will keep you in suspense and delight, look no further than Tree Of Knowledge. Miller captivates with richly written characters, beautiful scenery & landscapes, and edge-of-seat adventurous turns. Like an amazing dinner, or a trip you can't wait to take, this book is what you will look forward to enjoying with each page's turn. Highly recommend!
March 15, 2021
This is a strange book for me to rate because when it was good, it was actually pretty good, but when it was bad, it was also really bad.
The premise of the book is pretty simple - think Da Vinci code and then change it up a little to make it more math related and you get this book. This is supposed to be a thriller and for the most part the pacing is pretty okay and there is a good amount of suspense that is built from the characters. The action is decent and despite the flaws, I did genuinely enjoy the twists in the story. That being said, the book is also very deeply flawed. For one, the writing is extremely inconsistent. There are moments where it worked well, but for the most part, it was very amateur - from overusing adjectives to childish dialogue - it was very clear that this book need much more polish and editing than it got.
The author also has some sort of Princeton fetish or something, because everyone is a Princeton math genius. On top of that, this book was vaguely men-writing-women-ish. All the female characters were either super geniuses or super attractive or both and the way they're described sometimes was a bit creepy:
"She would wear these light summer dresses like something you would see on a girl skipping rope, yet with this incredibly sensual body underneath."
You can really tell when Miller is writing about something in his expertise and when he isn't because the flow of the writing drastically changes, which is also why I'm a bit conflicted. Sometimes the characters have moments where they feel like real characters with emotions, but then a lot of times they just feel like walking tropes. The logic puzzles were interesting too, but outside of them, it's generally not a very strongly written novel.
My biggest issue with the book stems from the whole thing with the Tree of Knowledge. You find all this out in pretty early in the book so I'm not really spoiling anything, but the Tree of Knowledge is essentially the idea of applying a game theory logic tree that branches to all possible situations to real life scenarios. Now you might be like, wait a minute, so you mean just like, use logic like a normal person would? And you would be entirely right - this so called "Tree of Knowledge" which is supposed to be so amazing and groundbreaking is literally just considering all the options before acting. Had this been some sort of technology instead of some secret superpower brain technique, it would have made more sense, but I was not feeling sold on this whole deal with it being used to manipulate people and the book does a laughable job of displaying how amazing this tree is supposed to be.
The ending was also pretty disappointing - I feel like it was building up to a second book or something, but it doesn't even resolve the main conflict so what was the point of ending the book there? I felt like I just read the first half of a novel - it's not even complete.
If you can ignore the bad writing and issues with the premise, it is a fun read, I'll give it that much. Just don't go in with high expectations.
The premise of the book is pretty simple - think Da Vinci code and then change it up a little to make it more math related and you get this book. This is supposed to be a thriller and for the most part the pacing is pretty okay and there is a good amount of suspense that is built from the characters. The action is decent and despite the flaws, I did genuinely enjoy the twists in the story. That being said, the book is also very deeply flawed. For one, the writing is extremely inconsistent. There are moments where it worked well, but for the most part, it was very amateur - from overusing adjectives to childish dialogue - it was very clear that this book need much more polish and editing than it got.
The author also has some sort of Princeton fetish or something, because everyone is a Princeton math genius. On top of that, this book was vaguely men-writing-women-ish. All the female characters were either super geniuses or super attractive or both and the way they're described sometimes was a bit creepy:
"She would wear these light summer dresses like something you would see on a girl skipping rope, yet with this incredibly sensual body underneath."
You can really tell when Miller is writing about something in his expertise and when he isn't because the flow of the writing drastically changes, which is also why I'm a bit conflicted. Sometimes the characters have moments where they feel like real characters with emotions, but then a lot of times they just feel like walking tropes. The logic puzzles were interesting too, but outside of them, it's generally not a very strongly written novel.
My biggest issue with the book stems from the whole thing with the Tree of Knowledge. You find all this out in pretty early in the book so I'm not really spoiling anything, but the Tree of Knowledge is essentially the idea of applying a game theory logic tree that branches to all possible situations to real life scenarios. Now you might be like, wait a minute, so you mean just like, use logic like a normal person would? And you would be entirely right - this so called "Tree of Knowledge" which is supposed to be so amazing and groundbreaking is literally just considering all the options before acting. Had this been some sort of technology instead of some secret superpower brain technique, it would have made more sense, but I was not feeling sold on this whole deal with it being used to manipulate people and the book does a laughable job of displaying how amazing this tree is supposed to be.
The ending was also pretty disappointing - I feel like it was building up to a second book or something, but it doesn't even resolve the main conflict so what was the point of ending the book there? I felt like I just read the first half of a novel - it's not even complete.
If you can ignore the bad writing and issues with the premise, it is a fun read, I'll give it that much. Just don't go in with high expectations.
June 28, 2021
Albert Puddles is a mathematics professor who is consulted by the local police following a murder where the victim was able to grab part of a written cipher from his assailant.
What follows is a fast paced thriller (that is my best definition of this book's genre) that discovers The Tree of Knowledge - a mathematical/logical process to anticipate the future.
The concept of the book is quite interesting, and I didn't mind Puddles (despite the terrible name). There were just so many tropes in the book and unnecessary everyday sexism that made me feel like this book was written in the 90s. Some more editorial assistance and a mentor wouldn't go astray as there is a lot of potential here. I wavered on the rating, but landed on 3 stars as I did read it easily in a few hours and although I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book, I can see it may have some appeal for readers a bit more forgiving of what I found irritating.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
What follows is a fast paced thriller (that is my best definition of this book's genre) that discovers The Tree of Knowledge - a mathematical/logical process to anticipate the future.
The concept of the book is quite interesting, and I didn't mind Puddles (despite the terrible name). There were just so many tropes in the book and unnecessary everyday sexism that made me feel like this book was written in the 90s. Some more editorial assistance and a mentor wouldn't go astray as there is a lot of potential here. I wavered on the rating, but landed on 3 stars as I did read it easily in a few hours and although I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book, I can see it may have some appeal for readers a bit more forgiving of what I found irritating.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 7, 2021
Move over Dan Brown, a new Dan is in town! This book is a seriously fun tickle for your brain. With scintillating dialogue, puzzles, and characters, you'll be hooked. I'm so excited to read the author's future books (even if he doesn't plan to write anymore, I think demand will exceed his wishes) and see this book turned into a movie. Fair warning, this is binge-worthy so start in the morning if you don't want to disrupt your sleep! I advise against reading it if you're opposed to fun, interesting, and adventurous reads.
March 4, 2021
Having won this book on Goodreads, I looked forward to a good story and was not disappointed.The story contains mystery, science, love, folly, and oh so many riddles and logic puzzles to solve. Good thing these amazing characters were brilliantly talented because I was not able to solve a one! A thoroughly enjoyable read and I look forward to the sequel!
February 6, 2021
Read this one from beginning to end without a break! You just can't put it down. It is smart, charming, devious, and oh so entertaining, all in one book. I loved the puzzles, the character descriptions and overall this one has a great plot to center it all.
February 6, 2021
I LOVED this read. Fast-paced and thrilling, this book contains absolutely unforgettable characters. As a sucker for logic games and puzzles, this was such a compelling novel. I smell a very popular series and am starving for a sequel with Professor Albert Puddles. What a debut!
February 7, 2021
A great foray into the writing world for Mr. Miller.
A smart confluence of humans conflicted by human instinct versus cold hard logical conclusions. A true page turner !
Can’t wait for what comes next
A smart confluence of humans conflicted by human instinct versus cold hard logical conclusions. A true page turner !
Can’t wait for what comes next
February 13, 2021
The Tree of Knowledge grabs your attention from page one and doesn’t let go until the last page. A gripping storyline and well-crafted characters in the vein of The Davinci Code makes for a smart and fun read until the last page. Hoping for a sequel!
February 14, 2021
I obsessively devoured the last few chapters unbridling the accrued momentum, yet I didn’t want this experience to conclude. This author holds promise! I’d enjoy reliving this tangled experience again in a movie theatre. I hope a sequel is being formulated!
February 23, 2021
I received this book as a promotion, was looking for a book to start early in the day and wound up not being able to put it down. Mystery, chess, logic, puzzles... it has it all! The writing is fantastic and the author could easily be the next Dan Brown.
February 28, 2021
Great
Great book. Couldn't put it down. Amazing work please keep up the good work. Would love to see more from author.
Great book. Couldn't put it down. Amazing work please keep up the good work. Would love to see more from author.
April 1, 2021
This is one of those books that I loved from the beginning, but as I kept reading, more and more things started bothering me.
It’s a book about logic and math and puzzles. It feels like The Da Vinci Code meets The Queen’s Gambit with some pretentious Princeton vibes sprinkled on top. I loved the logic games. I was intrigued by the puzzles themselves and because they’re written in a way that makes them easily accessible, even for those of us who haven’t taken math in a long time, it feels exciting to solve them ahead of or alongside the characters.
It’s super fast-paced, which made it hard for me to put down. It’s an intriguing and adventurous murder mystery.
Here’s what I didn’t like:
It’s very dramatic, which I’m all about, but the writing sometimes feels at odds with the content in a way that undermines the story. What I mean is the dialogue tends to undercut the characters’ intelligence and the writing itself seems to try too hard, making it feel that much more unbelievable and ridiculous.
There are other things in the plot that seem way too over the top to be believable, from the 70-something professor’s agility to the giddy, childish behaviour of both Yuri and Albert—two intellectuals.
I don’t think the women are written well. I really don’t like Ying’s characterization. Not only does it feel like she’s a stereotypical “smart Asian” girl, but she’s also somehow presented as the young, giddy (dumb) girl. Ariel specializes in “psychological warfare” AKA manipulation. And both Eva and Christina are painted as the evil Latinas. Not to mention the characterization of the women is mainly physical, focusing on Ying’s short dresses or Eva’s beauty and her eyes, or how attracted Albert is to her, even when she was 14 (like what?? Can we talk about that). Also how distracted the men are by such beauty.
The Tree of Knowledge itself sounded really intriguing at first, but the more I thought about it the more I realized this is how people rationalize things in their everyday life. Maybe they’re not doing it with some elaborate chart on their walls or some fancy glasses that calculate their opponent’s next move, but people with common sense and perception can understand a sequence of events and make an educated guess about what a person’s next move will be (if they’re also a rational person). And the twist and the ending were simultaneously dramatic yet underwhelming and incomplete.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It’s a book about logic and math and puzzles. It feels like The Da Vinci Code meets The Queen’s Gambit with some pretentious Princeton vibes sprinkled on top. I loved the logic games. I was intrigued by the puzzles themselves and because they’re written in a way that makes them easily accessible, even for those of us who haven’t taken math in a long time, it feels exciting to solve them ahead of or alongside the characters.
It’s super fast-paced, which made it hard for me to put down. It’s an intriguing and adventurous murder mystery.
Here’s what I didn’t like:
It’s very dramatic, which I’m all about, but the writing sometimes feels at odds with the content in a way that undermines the story. What I mean is the dialogue tends to undercut the characters’ intelligence and the writing itself seems to try too hard, making it feel that much more unbelievable and ridiculous.
There are other things in the plot that seem way too over the top to be believable, from the 70-something professor’s agility to the giddy, childish behaviour of both Yuri and Albert—two intellectuals.
I don’t think the women are written well. I really don’t like Ying’s characterization. Not only does it feel like she’s a stereotypical “smart Asian” girl, but she’s also somehow presented as the young, giddy (dumb) girl. Ariel specializes in “psychological warfare” AKA manipulation. And both Eva and Christina are painted as the evil Latinas. Not to mention the characterization of the women is mainly physical, focusing on Ying’s short dresses or Eva’s beauty and her eyes, or how attracted Albert is to her, even when she was 14 (like what?? Can we talk about that). Also how distracted the men are by such beauty.
The Tree of Knowledge itself sounded really intriguing at first, but the more I thought about it the more I realized this is how people rationalize things in their everyday life. Maybe they’re not doing it with some elaborate chart on their walls or some fancy glasses that calculate their opponent’s next move, but people with common sense and perception can understand a sequence of events and make an educated guess about what a person’s next move will be (if they’re also a rational person). And the twist and the ending were simultaneously dramatic yet underwhelming and incomplete.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 25, 2021
The Tree of Knowledge - Daniel G. Miller
It is said that the greatest chess grandmasters envision a match’s outcome ten moves before it occurs. Imagine a person who could visualize ten steps ahead not only in the game of chess but in every human interaction.
This novel is great for mystery and puzzle lovers as the storyline is full of riddles and mathematical problems. The Tree of Knowledge is a secret knowledge of how to anticipate all of the possibilities that one may encounter during any given situation and the ability to manipulate others so that your desired outcome is met. This knowledge has fallen into the wrong hands and it is up to a mathematics university professor, his mentor and his graduate assistant to recover the secret back.
The author deals with the enigmas and codes in a really approachable and readable manner that means that even if you don’t like maths or can’t wrap your head around riddles, it is still an easy read.
I enjoyed the novel and feel like I could definitely see this being made into a film that I would watch!
The Tree of Knowledge is released on 30th March 2021 and it is now available for preorder!
Thank you to Houndstooth Books and NetGalley for my advanced copy
It is said that the greatest chess grandmasters envision a match’s outcome ten moves before it occurs. Imagine a person who could visualize ten steps ahead not only in the game of chess but in every human interaction.
This novel is great for mystery and puzzle lovers as the storyline is full of riddles and mathematical problems. The Tree of Knowledge is a secret knowledge of how to anticipate all of the possibilities that one may encounter during any given situation and the ability to manipulate others so that your desired outcome is met. This knowledge has fallen into the wrong hands and it is up to a mathematics university professor, his mentor and his graduate assistant to recover the secret back.
The author deals with the enigmas and codes in a really approachable and readable manner that means that even if you don’t like maths or can’t wrap your head around riddles, it is still an easy read.
I enjoyed the novel and feel like I could definitely see this being made into a film that I would watch!
The Tree of Knowledge is released on 30th March 2021 and it is now available for preorder!
Thank you to Houndstooth Books and NetGalley for my advanced copy
May 13, 2021
I had no idea what to expect from this novel but I was impressed as it deals with SO many things: politics, chess, logic, mythology, and puzzles. I won't even begin to explain the plot as it's wild; it starts with a bank robbery and ends with a political coup. And in between is just a twisty tale of quirky characters: aging academics, talented young women, and ruthless power-hungry individuals determined to gain power in California. Not my usual read but I loved it!
March 30, 2021
As a fellow mathematician, I enjoyed the story. It isn’t often we see ourselves as a lead in the story. I look forward to the sequel.
Portions of the book felt more like a lecture from a textbook than characters working through a puzzle. The author relied heavily on dialogue to share thoughts and feelings, some of which needed more flesh to really stick the landing. It would have been more interesting if the book had been written in alternating viewpoints.
Thank you to NetGalley and Houndstooth Books for the ARC.
Portions of the book felt more like a lecture from a textbook than characters working through a puzzle. The author relied heavily on dialogue to share thoughts and feelings, some of which needed more flesh to really stick the landing. It would have been more interesting if the book had been written in alternating viewpoints.
Thank you to NetGalley and Houndstooth Books for the ARC.
May 25, 2023
It's a shame you can't give half stars when reviewing, as this would be a 3.5 star book - not brilliantly riveting, but interesting and diverting enough to want to definitely know how things pan out for the main characters, and to read the follow-up novel.
A thought-provoking central idea played out well until a brief and slightly flat ending that left a little dissatisfaction.
A thought-provoking central idea played out well until a brief and slightly flat ending that left a little dissatisfaction.
April 12, 2025
Good bedtime read. Take place in Princeton. Also involves code breaking and algorithms. Entertaining. Good writing. Made me think about a childhood friend who became a mathematician (J. Jones). Ends with a cliffhanger, and is good enough that I am moving onto the second book in the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews