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Dare to Know
“A razor-smart sci-fi corporate noir nightmare. Dare to Know is what happens when Willy Loman sees through the Matrix. A heartbreaking, time-bending, galactic mindbender delivered in the mordantly funny clip of a doomed antihero.”—Daniel Kraus, co-author of The Shape of Water
Now in paperback, this mind-bending and emotional speculative thriller is set in a world where the exact moment of your death can be predicted—for a price, featuring an excerpt from the upcoming Bride of the Tornado .
Our narrator is the most talented salesperson at Dare to Know, an enigmatic company that has developed the technology to predict anyone’s death down to the second. Divorced, estranged from his sons, and broke, he's driven to violate the cardinal rule of the business by forecasting his own death day. The his prediction says he died twenty-three minutes ago.
The only person who can confirm its accuracy is Julia, the woman he loved and lost during his rise up the ranks of Dare to Know. As he travels across the country to see her, he’s forced to confront his past, the choices he's made, and the terrifying truth about the company he works for.
Wildly ambitious and highly immersive, this thought-provoking thriller explores the destructive power of knowledge and collapses the boundaries between reality, myth, and conspiracy as it races toward its shocking conclusion.
Now in paperback, this mind-bending and emotional speculative thriller is set in a world where the exact moment of your death can be predicted—for a price, featuring an excerpt from the upcoming Bride of the Tornado .
Our narrator is the most talented salesperson at Dare to Know, an enigmatic company that has developed the technology to predict anyone’s death down to the second. Divorced, estranged from his sons, and broke, he's driven to violate the cardinal rule of the business by forecasting his own death day. The his prediction says he died twenty-three minutes ago.
The only person who can confirm its accuracy is Julia, the woman he loved and lost during his rise up the ranks of Dare to Know. As he travels across the country to see her, he’s forced to confront his past, the choices he's made, and the terrifying truth about the company he works for.
Wildly ambitious and highly immersive, this thought-provoking thriller explores the destructive power of knowledge and collapses the boundaries between reality, myth, and conspiracy as it races toward its shocking conclusion.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 14, 2021
120 people are currently reading
12957 people want to read
About the author
James Kennedy
3 books224 followersJames Kennedy is the author of the adult horror thriller BRIDE OF THE TORNADO, the sci-fi novel DARE TO KNOW, and the YA fantasy THE ORDER OF ODD-FISH. James is also the founder of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival, an annual video contest in which kid filmmakers create short movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in about 90 seconds, with yearly screenings in New York, Chicago, Boston, and 10+ other cities. In addition, he co-hosts the Secrets of Story podcast with Matt Bird. He lives in Chicago.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 381 reviews
November 1, 2025
After this one, you'd know anything can be sold at the right price, even "hope". A very interesting and different point of view on death. Surprisingly good.
October 20, 2021
3.5 stars: “Dare To Know” is a fun sci-fi thriller that has a narrator who I found similar to “Up in the Air” Ryan Bingham. It is silly and quirky. This is a goofy story about a businessman who represents the company, Dare To Know. This company has an algorithm that can accurately pinpoint the moment of your death…to the very second.
We get to know the narrator as he reflects upon his life. He’s a science nerd, majoring in Physics and Philosophy. As a boy, he went to physics camp where he and his BFF, Renard, enjoyed many hijinks. Although Renard was not a main character in the narrator’s life, he became a significant character. Renard’s friendship significantly affects the narrator’s perceptions through life.
The story gets very interesting when the narrator has a snowy car wreck. As he’s waiting for the tow truck, he decides to calculate his own death. Oddly, his calculations show that he died twenty-three minutes ago. Shocked, he determines to find his old girlfriend who calculated his death date as well decades ago. In his journey to find her, he reminisces on his relationship with her and other relationships he’s had.
This is a fun premise. Who would want to know the exact time of their death? Certainly, insurance companies would, but the cost is prohibitive. In fact, our narrator finds many ethical issues on demanding payment for information that can be absolutely horrible (think mother finding out her baby will die of cancer in 2 years).
I listened to the audio, performed by Bradford Hastings. I LOVE his voice for this. He has the right amount of sarcasm that makes this a fun listen. I’m not sure if I’d enjoy it as much if I read it. Hastings’s performance definitely made this a romp of a listen.
We get to know the narrator as he reflects upon his life. He’s a science nerd, majoring in Physics and Philosophy. As a boy, he went to physics camp where he and his BFF, Renard, enjoyed many hijinks. Although Renard was not a main character in the narrator’s life, he became a significant character. Renard’s friendship significantly affects the narrator’s perceptions through life.
The story gets very interesting when the narrator has a snowy car wreck. As he’s waiting for the tow truck, he decides to calculate his own death. Oddly, his calculations show that he died twenty-three minutes ago. Shocked, he determines to find his old girlfriend who calculated his death date as well decades ago. In his journey to find her, he reminisces on his relationship with her and other relationships he’s had.
This is a fun premise. Who would want to know the exact time of their death? Certainly, insurance companies would, but the cost is prohibitive. In fact, our narrator finds many ethical issues on demanding payment for information that can be absolutely horrible (think mother finding out her baby will die of cancer in 2 years).
I listened to the audio, performed by Bradford Hastings. I LOVE his voice for this. He has the right amount of sarcasm that makes this a fun listen. I’m not sure if I’d enjoy it as much if I read it. Hastings’s performance definitely made this a romp of a listen.
February 4, 2022
Well, this started out with a good premise. The main character is a salesman for a company that has an algorithm that can 100% accurately predict the exact time of your death. When one day, he decided to go against company policy and look up his own death date, he finds that he was supposed to die 23 minute ago.
That's what the blurb tells you. However, the blurb leaves out that due to the constant flashbacks to boring shit that nobody cares about, he doesn't actually look up his death date until about a third of the way thru the book. At this point, you're ready for things to get interesting, but they don't. Not much of anything happens in the middle third of the book. Things happen in the final third, but I'm not smart enough to tell you what they were.
Honestly, the final third of the book just went completely off the rails for me. Someone smarter than me can probably tell you what was supposed to have happened, but I am absolutely lost. I'm just going to go with the main character went cuckoo for cocoa puffs because that's about the only thing that makes even the slightest bit of sense. There's a minor "twist" that doesn't make sense based on the rest of the book. Either we have an unreliable narrator that is so unreliable that the entire book is called into question (rather than just the last part) or we have a major continuity error. If the MC is supposed to be one of the top guys in his fields, business-wise and the science side, then how did he not know about the prediction?
In the end, this book comes across as trying way too hard to be a sci-fi version of Death of a Salesman. That's fine, but the sci-fi could use a bit more real science. The "science" of the book requires so much suspension of disbelief that you really don't know where to draw the line. If this "science" works, then magic probably does too.
For most of the book, I kind of had an "it's not you, it's me" relationship going with the story, but that ending solidified for me that I wasn't the problem. This is a book that I'd definitely recommend skipping.
That's what the blurb tells you. However, the blurb leaves out that due to the constant flashbacks to boring shit that nobody cares about, he doesn't actually look up his death date until about a third of the way thru the book. At this point, you're ready for things to get interesting, but they don't. Not much of anything happens in the middle third of the book. Things happen in the final third, but I'm not smart enough to tell you what they were.
Honestly, the final third of the book just went completely off the rails for me. Someone smarter than me can probably tell you what was supposed to have happened, but I am absolutely lost. I'm just going to go with the main character went cuckoo for cocoa puffs because that's about the only thing that makes even the slightest bit of sense. There's a minor "twist" that doesn't make sense based on the rest of the book. Either we have an unreliable narrator that is so unreliable that the entire book is called into question (rather than just the last part) or we have a major continuity error. If the MC is supposed to be one of the top guys in his fields, business-wise and the science side, then how did he not know about the prediction?
In the end, this book comes across as trying way too hard to be a sci-fi version of Death of a Salesman. That's fine, but the sci-fi could use a bit more real science. The "science" of the book requires so much suspension of disbelief that you really don't know where to draw the line. If this "science" works, then magic probably does too.
For most of the book, I kind of had an "it's not you, it's me" relationship going with the story, but that ending solidified for me that I wasn't the problem. This is a book that I'd definitely recommend skipping.
January 3, 2025
Note: I received a free copy of this book. In exchange here is my honest review.
An interesting concept for a book. 🤓 I wouldn’t dare to know 😝
An interesting concept for a book. 🤓 I wouldn’t dare to know 😝
July 3, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
This is, for better or worse, an entirely modern book. We have a shady scientific company, speculative aspects in an otherwise normal society, a deteriorating relationship, a joke-y narrator, and too many damn anecdotes and allegories to tell the reader HERE'S WHAT THE BOOK REALLY MEANS because the plot itself isn't good enough to do the job.
There are elements of interest here, and I admire Kennedy's imagination. However, for a book about the tension of knowing your own death timeline (or would you rather live in ignorance?), there is a paucity of insight about our own mortality. The timeline is shaky, especially in the first half, where the backstory is cut up with little blips of the present. We already understand where the plot is headed, so the supposed mystery of the present isn't enough to buoy us as we explore the past.
The greatest sin, however, is represented by our narrator in his relationship to Julia. They are the type of couple that you feel obligated to invite to the party, but deeply, deeply hope never show up. The narrator obsesses over her, although I was never convinced of the appeal, nor his appeal to her.
They are, in short, boring. Thoroughly, unshakably, soul-numbingly boring people. And, no matter how zany the plot becomes, the boringness permeates every aspect of the novel. In short, the contrast only highlights how hard he is reaching for an intriguing plot and how the characters are cyphers for flat reflections.
This is, for better or worse, an entirely modern book. We have a shady scientific company, speculative aspects in an otherwise normal society, a deteriorating relationship, a joke-y narrator, and too many damn anecdotes and allegories to tell the reader HERE'S WHAT THE BOOK REALLY MEANS because the plot itself isn't good enough to do the job.
There are elements of interest here, and I admire Kennedy's imagination. However, for a book about the tension of knowing your own death timeline (or would you rather live in ignorance?), there is a paucity of insight about our own mortality. The timeline is shaky, especially in the first half, where the backstory is cut up with little blips of the present. We already understand where the plot is headed, so the supposed mystery of the present isn't enough to buoy us as we explore the past.
The greatest sin, however, is represented by our narrator in his relationship to Julia. They are the type of couple that you feel obligated to invite to the party, but deeply, deeply hope never show up. The narrator obsesses over her, although I was never convinced of the appeal, nor his appeal to her.
They are, in short, boring. Thoroughly, unshakably, soul-numbingly boring people. And, no matter how zany the plot becomes, the boringness permeates every aspect of the novel. In short, the contrast only highlights how hard he is reaching for an intriguing plot and how the characters are cyphers for flat reflections.
August 14, 2022
This is a Science Fiction/Dystopia/Magical Realism/Mystery Suspense. I loved the idea behind this book, and I really wanted to love this book. I have always loved math, and I loved that this book uses a lot of math. I liked the characters, but I did not love them. I have to say I did not love the ending, and the ending was my biggest issue with the book. I do not read a ton of science fiction/dystopia books, and It is not my go to type of book that I know I will love. This book may me think about a lot of things while reading this book which I really enjoyed. I won an ARC Copy of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway, but this review is 100% my own feelings about this book.
September 8, 2021
This book was like being inside a video game. Our storyteller is a salesman who will calculate the exact time of your death for the going rate. His company began as Sapere Aude and catered to an elite clientele. Now the company has mainstream clients and changed the name to Dare To Know Essentially our storyteller seems to have his life flashing before his eyes. According to his calculations, his death has already happened. Kennedy weaves the technology and philosophy of the company linking it to Cahokia, a lost civilization in southern Illinois. The date 7/4/1054 looms large as the beginning of the end for them. Phrases like "Dead beef. Bad food" and "Now you are in Cahokia combine with a black drink (Starbucks?), the Flickering Man, and a bedtime story. It reminded me a bit of the book "It" with birds and caves and psychedelic dreams. You know what? This book was just plain weird. Maybe it just went over my head. Not really my cup of tea -- Starbucks or otherwise.
Thank you to Quirk Books and Shelf Awareness for my paperback ARC won in a sweepstakes. Also to Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Quirk Books and Shelf Awareness for my paperback ARC won in a sweepstakes. Also to Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
September 6, 2021
Going into this book, the premise seemed really interesting and something that I thought I’d like.
The MC works as a salesman to sell the exact time of someone’s death. Using science and physics and charts and books, the date is ALWAYS 100% accurate. At least it’s always been accurate until the MC calculates his own death and finds he was meant to die 23 minutes ago.
For the first 40% of the book, I kept up with the story. The writing was hard to keep up with, to be honest, as it was told in chunks of sentences, and kept delving back into the past and then to present day and then to several different past memories, and then back to present day. I finally figured out I really disliked the MC and his past girlfriend, who he seemed to still be obsessed with.
But then it just went downhill from there and I had no idea what was going on. I had read some reviews that said the twists were really good, so I forced myself to stay with it. I should have trusted my instincts and DNF’d this book as it seriously went down a rabbit hole and I had no idea what was really happening.
The ending, oh my. No clue what happened. This book was nothing like a Dark Matters meets Annihilation. I LOVED Dark Matters. I didn’t like anything, except maybe the initial premise, about Dare to Know.
*Thanks to Quirk Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.*
The MC works as a salesman to sell the exact time of someone’s death. Using science and physics and charts and books, the date is ALWAYS 100% accurate. At least it’s always been accurate until the MC calculates his own death and finds he was meant to die 23 minutes ago.
For the first 40% of the book, I kept up with the story. The writing was hard to keep up with, to be honest, as it was told in chunks of sentences, and kept delving back into the past and then to present day and then to several different past memories, and then back to present day. I finally figured out I really disliked the MC and his past girlfriend, who he seemed to still be obsessed with.
But then it just went downhill from there and I had no idea what was going on. I had read some reviews that said the twists were really good, so I forced myself to stay with it. I should have trusted my instincts and DNF’d this book as it seriously went down a rabbit hole and I had no idea what was really happening.
The ending, oh my. No clue what happened. This book was nothing like a Dark Matters meets Annihilation. I LOVED Dark Matters. I didn’t like anything, except maybe the initial premise, about Dare to Know.
*Thanks to Quirk Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.*
September 3, 2021
*Thank you to PRH International for sending me an ARC of this book for review!*
I’m going to be honest I don’t really know what on earth happened in this book overall but what I do know is that I was really engaged throughout and I enjoyed it a lot, so there’s that.
This book kind of reminded me of Ready Player One in the sense that it was super science focused, dystopian and nerdy, only instead of cheesy 80s references we had cheesy 70s references. I can’t expand on this comparison but it genuinely just gave the same kind of vibes. It was very trippy and geeky and quite a gripping and fast paced read. I don’t really think I’ve ever read anything quite like this before, it was definitely unique to me.
The concept and narrative for this was so interesting. It had me gripped with the storyline from the beginning and my attention never really wanted. I liked the style of letting us see present day and past events to lead up to the final moments, I think it worked really well. I feel like I started to understand what was going on the less the more I read and by the end honestly did I have a clue? No. But it was still fun and it probably had some profound meaning, but it was kind of lost on me which is a bit of a shame. There were also a lot of philosophical elements peppered throughout which I felt way too stupid to understand, but it sounded good I’ll give it that.
The writing style was short and snappy, though it lacked chapters it had small manageable sections to read in which made it more digestible. It had a lot of conversations and ideas that made me stop and think, sometimes it felt a bit non-fiction in the science and theory it was discussing, but in an accessible way.
I had fun with this book. It was like nothing I’ve read before and thought it was a bit of a brain scramble, I left it with positive feelings.
I’m going to be honest I don’t really know what on earth happened in this book overall but what I do know is that I was really engaged throughout and I enjoyed it a lot, so there’s that.
This book kind of reminded me of Ready Player One in the sense that it was super science focused, dystopian and nerdy, only instead of cheesy 80s references we had cheesy 70s references. I can’t expand on this comparison but it genuinely just gave the same kind of vibes. It was very trippy and geeky and quite a gripping and fast paced read. I don’t really think I’ve ever read anything quite like this before, it was definitely unique to me.
The concept and narrative for this was so interesting. It had me gripped with the storyline from the beginning and my attention never really wanted. I liked the style of letting us see present day and past events to lead up to the final moments, I think it worked really well. I feel like I started to understand what was going on the less the more I read and by the end honestly did I have a clue? No. But it was still fun and it probably had some profound meaning, but it was kind of lost on me which is a bit of a shame. There were also a lot of philosophical elements peppered throughout which I felt way too stupid to understand, but it sounded good I’ll give it that.
The writing style was short and snappy, though it lacked chapters it had small manageable sections to read in which made it more digestible. It had a lot of conversations and ideas that made me stop and think, sometimes it felt a bit non-fiction in the science and theory it was discussing, but in an accessible way.
I had fun with this book. It was like nothing I’ve read before and thought it was a bit of a brain scramble, I left it with positive feelings.
May 30, 2021
This book was definitely not for me. It started out with an interesting story: a man works for a company that can accurately tell you when you will die, down to the second. The company he works for is able to charge a huge fee for the service and is very successful, but then others figure out the method for predicting death so with competition comes a fall in the amount they can charge. The narrator is now in his 40s, divorced, somewhat estranged from his children, and no longer a hot-shot at his company. In fact, his job is definitely on the line if he can't manage to make more sales. It is strictly against company policy for employees to work out their own death dates, but while waiting for a tow truck after an accident, the narrator grows bored and does so anyway. When he discovers he should have died 23 minutes ago, he goes on a quest to find an old girlfriend. In the early days of the company they had calculated each other's death dates, but not looked at their own results. So he wants to find out if he is truly supposed to be dead or if he made an error in his calculations. Or something. About 2/3 of the way through, the book seemed to totally unravel. There were long rambling sequences about nothing much, about a fairy tale that "the math can be translated into," and dreams. It was just gibberish to me. I really was intrigued by the storyline, but it fizzled out instead of . . . whatever it was trying to accomplish.
I received an advanced reader's copy of the book from the publisher.
I received an advanced reader's copy of the book from the publisher.
May 28, 2022
3.5 Stars
This is an entertaining sci-fi thriller than explored the question… what would you do if you knew when you would die?
While the premise sounds cliche, the actual story felt quite fresh. I particularly enjoyed the earlier flashbacks to the protagonist's childhood, which gave the story a nostalgic coming of age narrative. Other reviewers have described the main character as unlikeable, but I didn't see it. Maybe because I read about a lot of unlikeable people
I would recommend this one to readers who enjoy a fun, quirky story. You don't need to be an SFF reader to enjoy this one.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This is an entertaining sci-fi thriller than explored the question… what would you do if you knew when you would die?
While the premise sounds cliche, the actual story felt quite fresh. I particularly enjoyed the earlier flashbacks to the protagonist's childhood, which gave the story a nostalgic coming of age narrative. Other reviewers have described the main character as unlikeable, but I didn't see it. Maybe because I read about a lot of unlikeable people
I would recommend this one to readers who enjoy a fun, quirky story. You don't need to be an SFF reader to enjoy this one.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
June 25, 2021
Wait a minute. That’s the ending? But I have so many questions!
UPDATED REVIEW: Once the top salesperson for a phenomenally successful tech company called Dare to Know, the unnamed narrator’s career has crashed and burned, leaving him short on funds and desperate to close a deal. Dare to Know sells death dates. That’s right, their formula will predict with 100% accuracy exactly when their client’s time is up. Stealing their potential clients is a company that will predict not only when, but also how. Yikes! Are people really interested? You bet they are! After a nightmare sales call and a spinout into a snowbank during a blizzard, our embittered narrator violates the very first rule of Dare to Know: he calculates his own time of death. What follows becomes an unnerving slide into chaos, because the formula is never wrong, and it predicted he died twenty-three minutes ago. And while there is someone from his past smart enough that she might be able to make sense of all this, unfortunately he broke her heart decades earlier, lending a whole lot of self-realization and regret to our narrator’s current mess. Twisty, thought provoking, and delightfully quirky doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of this wild thrill ride of a novel. Set aside a day and the better part of a night, because putting your copy of Dare to Know aside won’t be an option.
UPDATED REVIEW: Once the top salesperson for a phenomenally successful tech company called Dare to Know, the unnamed narrator’s career has crashed and burned, leaving him short on funds and desperate to close a deal. Dare to Know sells death dates. That’s right, their formula will predict with 100% accuracy exactly when their client’s time is up. Stealing their potential clients is a company that will predict not only when, but also how. Yikes! Are people really interested? You bet they are! After a nightmare sales call and a spinout into a snowbank during a blizzard, our embittered narrator violates the very first rule of Dare to Know: he calculates his own time of death. What follows becomes an unnerving slide into chaos, because the formula is never wrong, and it predicted he died twenty-three minutes ago. And while there is someone from his past smart enough that she might be able to make sense of all this, unfortunately he broke her heart decades earlier, lending a whole lot of self-realization and regret to our narrator’s current mess. Twisty, thought provoking, and delightfully quirky doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of this wild thrill ride of a novel. Set aside a day and the better part of a night, because putting your copy of Dare to Know aside won’t be an option.
January 2, 2022
QUICK TAKE: very cool idea (people being able to predict someone's death down to the day), but ultimately execution left me wanting more. There's a lot of flashbacks that I just had trouble getting into, and was craving more of the present day story. Ultimately not for me.
April 6, 2021
** I read an advance reader copy of this book. **
I have to admit I struggled quite a bit with the number of stars to give this book. It reminded me a bit of 'John Dies at the End' in that I have absolutely NO idea what in the hell I just read but I had to keep reading because even though it was rather like what I imagine a completely psychotic acid trip would be like, I needed to know what was going to happen, or not happen, next. It also reminded me a bit of 'Annihilation', another book I couldn't say if I loved or hated but needed to read just to see where it was going to go next. So, there is no satisfaction to be had in finishing this book, the ending is......insane. However, the book is like a really cool accident scene -- you know you shouldn't enjoy looking at it but you can't stop yourself. So, did I enjoy this book? I really have no idea but I enjoyed reading this book and I couldn't stop reading this book and I will probably try other books by this author. This is the type of book that would definitely ensure some wild discussions during a book club, especially is there was alcohol available. It's also the type of book that those people who like poking at sore spots (because yeah, it hurts, but it's also a type of relieving hurt) would enjoy. Okay, I liked it and I didn't like it. But I'll probably tell people to read it just because. My mind is totally off kilter now but, hey, that's not always a bad thing!
** I decided to upgrade to 5 stars from 4 because I can't get this book out of my head!!!
I have to admit I struggled quite a bit with the number of stars to give this book. It reminded me a bit of 'John Dies at the End' in that I have absolutely NO idea what in the hell I just read but I had to keep reading because even though it was rather like what I imagine a completely psychotic acid trip would be like, I needed to know what was going to happen, or not happen, next. It also reminded me a bit of 'Annihilation', another book I couldn't say if I loved or hated but needed to read just to see where it was going to go next. So, there is no satisfaction to be had in finishing this book, the ending is......insane. However, the book is like a really cool accident scene -- you know you shouldn't enjoy looking at it but you can't stop yourself. So, did I enjoy this book? I really have no idea but I enjoyed reading this book and I couldn't stop reading this book and I will probably try other books by this author. This is the type of book that would definitely ensure some wild discussions during a book club, especially is there was alcohol available. It's also the type of book that those people who like poking at sore spots (because yeah, it hurts, but it's also a type of relieving hurt) would enjoy. Okay, I liked it and I didn't like it. But I'll probably tell people to read it just because. My mind is totally off kilter now but, hey, that's not always a bad thing!
** I decided to upgrade to 5 stars from 4 because I can't get this book out of my head!!!
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May 6, 2021I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this title and I read it all in one sitting because I couldn't put it down--and this hardly ever happens to me.
This book is a heady mix. It reminded me of early Stephen King, with an everyman protagonist being thrown into exceptional circumstances, while still being wholly original and completely James Kennedy. The storytelling in this book is exceptional, with a lot of complex threads all coming together in an utterly bonkers yet wholly satisfying conclusion.
Sometimes high concept books are nothing more than the concept, and leave you feeling a bit hollow--not so with this book. The concept is definitely intriguing, but it works in tandem with an emotional core that crept up on me and left me stunned at the conclusion of the book.
Anyway! James is a consummate storyteller and this book is a triumph. Highly recommended for fans of the strange and the grotesque and the heartbreaking.
This book is a heady mix. It reminded me of early Stephen King, with an everyman protagonist being thrown into exceptional circumstances, while still being wholly original and completely James Kennedy. The storytelling in this book is exceptional, with a lot of complex threads all coming together in an utterly bonkers yet wholly satisfying conclusion.
Sometimes high concept books are nothing more than the concept, and leave you feeling a bit hollow--not so with this book. The concept is definitely intriguing, but it works in tandem with an emotional core that crept up on me and left me stunned at the conclusion of the book.
Anyway! James is a consummate storyteller and this book is a triumph. Highly recommended for fans of the strange and the grotesque and the heartbreaking.
August 18, 2021
Dare to Know is literally mind bending- I raced through its speculative, incredibly addictive story and whilst I'm fairly sure the finale went straight over my head in so many ways I absolutely LOVED this.
If you could learn in advance the date and time of your death would you? I'm not sure. What if you were one of the people who understood the science and did the calculations? Would you calculate your own?
Well our main character here goes on a bit of a twisted journey in Dare To Know and he'll drag you along with him all the way, until in the end the entirety of everything will bash you over the head with a clever, surreal and explosive finale.
Apart from that I know nothing. What about you. Do you Dare To Know?
Recommended.
If you could learn in advance the date and time of your death would you? I'm not sure. What if you were one of the people who understood the science and did the calculations? Would you calculate your own?
Well our main character here goes on a bit of a twisted journey in Dare To Know and he'll drag you along with him all the way, until in the end the entirety of everything will bash you over the head with a clever, surreal and explosive finale.
Apart from that I know nothing. What about you. Do you Dare To Know?
Recommended.
February 9, 2022
This book was bonkers. It’s about a man who lives past the mathematically predicted date of his death, but it’s also about Schrödinger’s cat and video games and human sacrifice and Plato’s allegory of the cave.
[Thank you to Quirk Books for providing a copy for review! I’ll hopefully be posting a video review soon.]
[Thank you to Quirk Books for providing a copy for review! I’ll hopefully be posting a video review soon.]
August 18, 2023
Started out with a strong premise until it just fell apart at the seams. And the ending went completely over my head…
March 12, 2021
This book is really wild. The "Dark Matter meets Annihilation" pitch is perfect - fans of both those books will be attracted to this one. The nameless narrator works for Dare to Know, a company that can predict when you're going to die. Salespeople do this by way of analyzing thanatons, particles that are attracted to death, through a complex mathematical algorithm. The narrator had started in the company super early, when the tech was new, and now he's more of a wash-up. It starts out more straightforward, but starts to get weird really fast. Very metaphysical and brain-bending - a book that will stay with you.
September 6, 2021
I really have no idea what I just read.
Updated review:
Thank you to NetGalley and to Quirk Books for this ARC.
This is the most baffling book. I was into it, like a proper physics nerd (which cohort/demographic is probably the target market for this), for about ¾ of the book; and then, everything fell apart for me.
The narrator is unreliable (I decided after a while). Much of the book is his stream of consciousness. The premise is interesting: he can calculate when people die, and then he’s dead (not a spoiler), but not. It’s when all of the possible science meets fantasy/myth that I lose the plot. (Cahokia/king and princess as mathematical solution/what??)
I don’t know how I expected things to go, but this book went all the way left, and you really should have seen my face when I skimmed over the last few pages. I feel a bit cheated, because the early part was so good that I got really invested. The rest of it–I really don’t know what the book is about, in the end. Have I said this clearly enough?
Sigh.
So, probably not for me. Rated: 5/10 for all the mind-bending concepts, and even for the protagonist, who’s unlikeable and weird in a good way. I guess I would read it again, if it weren’t for the extremely weird bits.
Such a nice cover, too 🥲
Updated review:
Thank you to NetGalley and to Quirk Books for this ARC.
This is the most baffling book. I was into it, like a proper physics nerd (which cohort/demographic is probably the target market for this), for about ¾ of the book; and then, everything fell apart for me.
The narrator is unreliable (I decided after a while). Much of the book is his stream of consciousness. The premise is interesting: he can calculate when people die, and then he’s dead (not a spoiler), but not. It’s when all of the possible science meets fantasy/myth that I lose the plot. (Cahokia/king and princess as mathematical solution/what??)
I don’t know how I expected things to go, but this book went all the way left, and you really should have seen my face when I skimmed over the last few pages. I feel a bit cheated, because the early part was so good that I got really invested. The rest of it–I really don’t know what the book is about, in the end. Have I said this clearly enough?
Sigh.
So, probably not for me. Rated: 5/10 for all the mind-bending concepts, and even for the protagonist, who’s unlikeable and weird in a good way. I guess I would read it again, if it weren’t for the extremely weird bits.
Such a nice cover, too 🥲
April 29, 2021
A company can tell you, with 100% accuracy, when you are going to die. But what happens when you live beyond your expiration date? We meet our narrator as his life and grasp of reality are crumbling around him. As you read along, your sense of reality will melt away too. I dare you to read, Dare to Know.
August 30, 2021
That was a trippy book! Interesting book - the main character is a sales person fir a company who claims to be able to predict your death date, and the main character has never got a date wrong.
We follow along with his life from being a young boy to beyond his own death date, which he looks up (which is a no no) after he has a bad car accident.
After he seems to live beyond his own death date - he starts to question if there’s something wrong with the calculation or with him and things start to get really weird really fast.
It brings some folklore and history and scientific methods all into the story. Over all I did enjoy it.
We follow along with his life from being a young boy to beyond his own death date, which he looks up (which is a no no) after he has a bad car accident.
After he seems to live beyond his own death date - he starts to question if there’s something wrong with the calculation or with him and things start to get really weird really fast.
It brings some folklore and history and scientific methods all into the story. Over all I did enjoy it.
August 17, 2021
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Oh my god. I thought this book was crazy, and then I hit the last 60 pages. I'd been reading it on my lunch break and had to put it down just as the true insanity hit. It was the longest afternoon of my life, I was so desperate to get back to this book!
James Kennedy has crafted a premise and a novel that starts in one place, and ends up somewhere completely and utterly different. It only takes 300 pages but it works perfectly and at no point does it feel rushed, or like anything is missing. We follow our narrator in across almost his entire life. Intertwined with the present day parts are bits and pieces from his past. It ranges from Physics camp with his new best friend, days out with his ex-girlfriend and affairs while he travels. Every moment is important, every moment somehow leads into that ending. You get something entirely different to what the blurb promises, but in the best possible way.
We don't meet a crazy huge cast of characters. Everything mainly centres around a few of the narrators friends and co-workers. Renard, a boy he meets at Physics camp while he is also a child, and who seems to influence his life a lot more than expected. Julia, his ex-girlfriend who seems to keep a hold over his life long after they break up. And the narrators co-workers, who all play a vital role in helping us understand what is going on.
The idea of knowing your death date is a scary one. Kennedy lets us see the birth of this trade, all the way to present day when anyone can now afford to find out. This book is a lot less about why people decide to find this out, and more about the theory behind it, and how it actually works. But not in a dull science way. What could be insanely difficult concepts are explained with confidence and clarity, and the important parts come up again and again.
I won't spoil anything but those last 60 pages are truly pulse-pounding. Kennedy grabs you and just runs, his sentences become snappy, what should be leaps in logic make perfect sense and my god I loved it.
This is spec fic at its finest. If you love a story that starts weird and gets WEIRD, this is for you.
Oh my god. I thought this book was crazy, and then I hit the last 60 pages. I'd been reading it on my lunch break and had to put it down just as the true insanity hit. It was the longest afternoon of my life, I was so desperate to get back to this book!
James Kennedy has crafted a premise and a novel that starts in one place, and ends up somewhere completely and utterly different. It only takes 300 pages but it works perfectly and at no point does it feel rushed, or like anything is missing. We follow our narrator in across almost his entire life. Intertwined with the present day parts are bits and pieces from his past. It ranges from Physics camp with his new best friend, days out with his ex-girlfriend and affairs while he travels. Every moment is important, every moment somehow leads into that ending. You get something entirely different to what the blurb promises, but in the best possible way.
We don't meet a crazy huge cast of characters. Everything mainly centres around a few of the narrators friends and co-workers. Renard, a boy he meets at Physics camp while he is also a child, and who seems to influence his life a lot more than expected. Julia, his ex-girlfriend who seems to keep a hold over his life long after they break up. And the narrators co-workers, who all play a vital role in helping us understand what is going on.
The idea of knowing your death date is a scary one. Kennedy lets us see the birth of this trade, all the way to present day when anyone can now afford to find out. This book is a lot less about why people decide to find this out, and more about the theory behind it, and how it actually works. But not in a dull science way. What could be insanely difficult concepts are explained with confidence and clarity, and the important parts come up again and again.
I won't spoil anything but those last 60 pages are truly pulse-pounding. Kennedy grabs you and just runs, his sentences become snappy, what should be leaps in logic make perfect sense and my god I loved it.
This is spec fic at its finest. If you love a story that starts weird and gets WEIRD, this is for you.
September 26, 2023
Trippy science fiction novel about math, particle physics, death, and the end of the world.
September 17, 2021
This Novel reminded me of the awesome work of Blake Crouch!
Who knew all it took was a few crappy sales, a little bit of snow, & planting your car in a ditch to make you rethink all the rules that have governed your life?
The narrator has had a run of bad luck. A failed marriage, kids that might not even like him, a downward spiral in sales of death dates have brought him to the moment of crossing the line. The Books of the Dead are right there and after his near-death experience he has nothing but time. Except he's not supposed to look up his death date.
Folding to temptation, our narrator looks up his death date. Only one problem: he died 23 minutes ago, and Dare to Know has a 100% accuracy rate. So why is he still alive?
Told through a series of memories and present experiences, the narrator sets off to discover what caused this failure of the algorithm.
What follows is a fast-paced story exploring the bounds of time and physics and concludes with an explosive ending.
Also, I love that this book is set in #Illinois. Especially the references to Bloomington which is just a few miles from me. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Who knew all it took was a few crappy sales, a little bit of snow, & planting your car in a ditch to make you rethink all the rules that have governed your life?
The narrator has had a run of bad luck. A failed marriage, kids that might not even like him, a downward spiral in sales of death dates have brought him to the moment of crossing the line. The Books of the Dead are right there and after his near-death experience he has nothing but time. Except he's not supposed to look up his death date.
Folding to temptation, our narrator looks up his death date. Only one problem: he died 23 minutes ago, and Dare to Know has a 100% accuracy rate. So why is he still alive?
Told through a series of memories and present experiences, the narrator sets off to discover what caused this failure of the algorithm.
What follows is a fast-paced story exploring the bounds of time and physics and concludes with an explosive ending.
Also, I love that this book is set in #Illinois. Especially the references to Bloomington which is just a few miles from me. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
January 2, 2022
This book wasn't what I expected. Based on the description, I thought there would be thrills, and a race to uncover a conspiracy. That is not the story. It's a much stranger tale, and most of the book is spend winding back in time, and very little going forward. The publisher blurb calls this an "adrenaline-filled thriller," which simply does not feel accurate to me. It is bizarre and speculative and high-concept, not fast-paced and thrilling. The excitement of the story comes from following slowly unwinding concepts, not from a thrilling chase for answers. The answers bloom and unravel in a sometimes Lynchian fashion, filled with unsettling 'is this real?' imagery. None of these things are criticisms, but they do not align with how the book is currently being marketed. I'm afraid this may cause the book to miss its audience!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quirk Books for the advance copy - I always enjoy reading the newest from Quirk!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quirk Books for the advance copy - I always enjoy reading the newest from Quirk!
May 3, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. It's terrifying (in a good way). Here is my official review:
James Kennedy’s fascinating novel Dare to Know starts with a sci-fi speculation: what if science could pinpoint the exact date and time of your death? That’s an intriguing proposal; however, this novel isn’t satisfied by simply exploring this question. What could have been simply a societal sci-fi story turns into something else entirely—a very personal and riveting horror story full of terrors like sagging careers and failed relationships), oddly specific Gen X fears (bearded 1970s hippies and Don Henley songs), and universal horrors like death and the end of the world.
James Kennedy’s fascinating novel Dare to Know starts with a sci-fi speculation: what if science could pinpoint the exact date and time of your death? That’s an intriguing proposal; however, this novel isn’t satisfied by simply exploring this question. What could have been simply a societal sci-fi story turns into something else entirely—a very personal and riveting horror story full of terrors like sagging careers and failed relationships), oddly specific Gen X fears (bearded 1970s hippies and Don Henley songs), and universal horrors like death and the end of the world.
May 31, 2021
Compelling for sure. Even though I don't understand half of it, I had to finish. I guess my closest analogy would be when everyone is on the boat in Willy Wonka and Gene Wilder is singing and the lights and visions are getting faster and weirder and you don't know what the H is going on, but you are there for the ride.
Great work Mr. Kennedy.
Thanks to the publisher and the ABA for the advanced copy.
Great work Mr. Kennedy.
Thanks to the publisher and the ABA for the advanced copy.
September 10, 2022
definitely written by a philosophy dude. I did enjoy the horror elements tho. The incesty twist with the demon ghost of your aborted daughter was unexpected, you got me there, author! You silly goose
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2021
This book reminds me of Ray Bradbury decided to write like Stephen king . Engrossing and thrilling I can promise you you’ve never read anything like this
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