Bold and thought-provoking.
In Pausback’s novel, a journalist conducts a three-day interview with a reclusive game designer who just might have the answers to life’s biggest questions.
The author has structured this work of fiction in an interview format. The interviewer, called “D,” never reveals his subject’s identity, electing instead to refer to him simply as “K.” Readers learn that, at one time, K was a millionaire game designer and professor of game theory living in the United States who seemingly “had it all.” Like many ascetics and spiritual seekers before him, K decided to give it all up and live a life of quiet solitude, in this case on the outskirts of Panama. That’s where D crosses his path. What follows is an extended conversation between the two in which K is more than happy to share his thoughts on life, love, death, immortality, and everything in between. According to K, we are all living in a kind of “simulation.” Unlike other proponents of similar theories, K posits that the point of this simulation is to become “Love.” That might sound lofty and a bit woo-woo at first blush, but the discourse between the two comes across as grounded and sober: “Lots of people are confident tech will save us. Like believing in the second coming of Christ,” the anonymous interviewee says. “In reality though, the only thing that’s kept us from total annihilation so far has been cool-headed, rational, mature thinking (along with a good measure of dumb luck).” Their discourse is fascinating and lucid, with welcome doses of humor along the way. (“Do you believe in reincarnation?” the interviewer asks at one point. “Not this time around,” his subject replies.) K gives hope to those fearing that AI will “wake up” one day and decide to destroy humanity; he asserts that AI will never achieve true consciousness—and without true consciousness, there can be no free will. However, there’s the “burden of eternity” to contend with—K says it’s the one thing we really must learn to reconcile. It’s all very heady stuff, but, as Pausback’s ideas are rendered here, engaging with them feels as effortless as passing the time with your favorite barstool philosopher.
Bold and thought-provoking.Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2024
ISBN: 9798991333009
Page Count: 386
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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