David Jacob KnightRecensioni

I had such hopes for The Phone Company"The Phone Company" when I started reading it. The writing had a gritty immediacy that was unpleasant but compelling.

The story was centred around things that interest me: the online disinhibition effect and the dark side of social media which enables and even encourages us to be our worst selves.The mass voluntary sacrifice of privacy in order to be always on and always connected or just to get a better deal or a better ap.

With me, David Knight should have been preaching to the choir. I use a Samsung Smart Phone because I can easily take the battery out and kill the thing. I use duckduckgo as my default search engine and I have ghostery on both my browsers. Instead, he almost made me a fan of The Phone Company.

In the beginning I was pulled in by David Knight's world building. I liked that the Smart Phone was called a Tether (that's pretty much how I experience mine). I liked the evocation of life in a small town in Montana. I enjoyed the hinted at conspiracies and the smooth movement of the narrative backwards and forwards along the time line.

Sadly, after a while, it seemed that the book just lost its way.

The big bad Phone Company was TOO bad. It became pointlessly evil and ridiculously powerful, able to ignore the laws of physics. This changed it from a scary adversary into a force of nature with no personality and no agenda, just a huge potential for destruction.

The good guy, a local school teacher, widower, single parent and ludite was so boring and so weak, and so self-pitying that I wanted to help the Phone Company cut out his ineffectual but self-congratulatory liberal bleeding heart.

The good guy's best friend, a local Sheriff, started off interesting and then just faded to a plot device.

When we went on a pointless trip to Mount Rushmore just so I could be lectured on how terrible it was that this sacred place had been vandalised, I nearly added "The Phone Company" to my DNF pile.

I stuck with it because the writing was good and I foolishly believed that the story had to go somewhere eventually.

By the end of the book, the gritty edge had given way to nasty, but surprisingly coy, voyeurism mixed with a maudlin sentimental view of how much our hero loves his family.

I don't think I'll be reaching for any other David Jacob Knight books in the near future.

I loved this book! Very well written with excellent pacing. Steve and Bill we’re both realistic protagonists. Highly recommend!

2.5 Stars

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

When will people ever learn it? If a deal seems like it's way too good to be true, that's usually what it is. Stay away from it. When Ben is asked to co-write a book with a famous author, he jumps at the opportunity immediately. Soon, he finds out that wasn't such a good idea.

This was a weird book, but not really in the good way. A lot was going on. The stalking/bullying together with a lot of mysterious (and unfortunately completely unexplained) things and more than a touch of fantasy and horror as well. It takes a wonderful conclusion to fit all these different elements together in the right way, but that's not what happened. The ending let the book down, as it didn't explain most of what happened and only left me with more questions. The last twist on the final page just left me with another sigh.

Ben is also a very annoying character. He felt like the character you love to hate, as he is portrayed as a jerk making fun of literally everyone who wants to help him, although I believe it was probably the intention you felt sorry for him, for all the bad things that are happening. He's not as freaked out as he should be considering what's happening to him and does he call the police at any point? Of course not, and all of that for perhaps 50.000 dollar. I admit, that's a lot of money, but way not enough for the things he's had to endure.

Besides this book broadcasts some of the worst German caricatures I've read in the last years. The whole company doesn't make any sense to me, but I won't disclose too much since I don't want to spoil it.

The writing was okay but the story far too long. Perhaps it was just me, but I didn't like the main character and I thought the story at times was just weird for the weirdness of it since it didn't get explained at the end at all.

I won a copy of The Pen Name in a BookLikes giveaway.

I *love* my smartphone. It is my brain and I wear it in a holster on my hip wherever I go. This book made me afraid to use it for a week. The book is that good.

Frankly, I think this story is about everyone’s worst nightmares. We all have phones. We all depend on them for everything under the sun. In this book, the author takes this to an extreme. In fact, after reading this book, I will never look at my cell phone the same way again. A phone company moves into Cracked Rock, Montana, helping things in the town begin to look up. There is new infrastructure, new opportunity, new ideas, and the best part is free phones for everyone. The new phone, the Tether, is the world’s smartest smart phone. It can do just about everything from spying on your neighbors to tracking your kids. Is this good or what? The story delves into a world that may well come to be some day in the future as phones become more and more an integral part of our lives, a part no one can live without. However, is this really all that good? The book provides an answer through a fantastic plot, centered around this new phone company, the phone and the citizen’s lives of Cracked Rock, Montana. The end results are perhaps not what you might expect, but they can happen and ring pretty true.

This is a fairly well written book, bringing to mind the eerie novels of Stephen King or Lovecraft. It’s a horror story with a distinct modern twist, one we all can envision happening and can all understand and appreciate. There’s creativity in the concept behind the book as well as in the follow through and in some of the apps the author includes. The story is riveting and almost too true to life. I am not one of the people who is currently tethered to my cell phone, but, then, I existed for many years in a world/era where there were no cell phones and everyone had to depend on plain, old landlines, without the many phone features and apps found today. Things were certainly different then. This book definitely brings this point home. This is a good book for anyone who enjoys a realistic, futuristic horror story, though it is a bit disjointed and can drag at times (I wanted things to move along quickly so I could see what the end result was NOW!). It may seem far-fetched to some, but it is not beyond the impossible, not what you look around to see how things are today. I do not normally read books that are in this genre (I am trying to move beyond my “box”, which is one reason why I chose this one), but this one definitely held my interest and attention. I received this from Library Thing to read and review.

What if your phone could let you talk to the dead, fly a plane or drive car, what if it could help you do whatever mean or nasty thing you ever wanted to do. What if there was no privacy anymore, no secrets, no boundaries of right and wrong, what would you do to stop it to try to save the one you love. This is the gift of the phone company a horrible gift that will bring about the summoning of an ancient Lovecraft like horror called the provider.

I was given a free copy for an honest review.

I read the author's second book, The Telephone Company first. I absolutely LOVED it. I saw this on LT after I reviewed the Telephone Company, and rushed to click the giveaway.

This book is very different. It reminded me of Phillip K Dick. Weird bizarre things happen. "OK this guy is totally cray." Is Ben crazy or is the world? Just what the HELL is going on?!

The nods to Stephen King are abundant. Since King is my favorite, I loved it. Also, Ben Little. Bentley Little?

Ben Little is an indie author and he wants to hit the big-time. Faustian contract with a big-time author arrives, and of course he doesn't read the fine print. The author texts Ben, and things quickly escalate into strange territory. His wife and disabled son are affected, and things spiral into WTFery quickly.

The Telephone Company was the second best book of 2014 for me. The evil was delicious. The Pen Name has evil, but nowhere near the deliciousness of the Telephone Company. Also, the Pen Name is a bit hard to follow. But it is definately a must read for horror fans. I don't really think of it as a "thriller."

The Pen Name

by David Jacob Knight

I loved this book! Could pass for an adult version of a Goosebumps book or episode, they were my favorite when I was younger. This book has you wondering what will come next at every turn. I look forward to reading more from these authors.

I was given a free copy for an honest review.

I read the author's second book, The Telephone Company first. I absolutely LOVED it. I saw this on LT after I reviewed the Telephone Company, and rushed to click the giveaway.

This book is very different. It reminded me of Phillip K Dick. Weird bizarre things happen. "OK this guy is totally cray." Is Ben crazy or is the world? Just what the HELL is going on?!

The nods to Stephen King are abundant. Since King is my favorite, I loved it. Also, Ben Little. Bentley Little?

Ben Little is an indie author and he wants to hit the big-time. Faustian contract with a big-time author arrives, and of course he doesn't read the fine print. The author texts Ben, and things quickly escalate into strange territory. His wife and disabled son are affected, and things spiral into WTFery quickly.

The Telephone Company was the second best book of 2014 for me. The evil was delicious. The Pen Name has evil, but nowhere near the deliciousness of the Telephone Company. Also, the Pen Name is a bit hard to follow. But it is definately a must read for horror fans. I don't really think of it as a "thriller."

Review based on free copy received in exchange for an honest review.

The plot was a big hook for me. Smart phones have advanced so much that they can now do things that seem like magic. Their new apps can diagnose car troubles, detect real-time popularity in a high school, and give an accurate lie detector test for cops, to name just a few. Oh, and yeah, maybe a couple people have reconnected with their dead loved ones as well.

But when the company in charge of the newest, smartest phone out there, the Tether, sets to open a new base in a small town in Montana, one father (Steve) thinks the phones and the Phone Company (PCo) have taken it all a step too far.

Not only do the apps seem to have abilities that defy logic and scientific understanding, but there almost seems to be some sinister plot lurking under the shiny new surface.

First, PCo offers free phones to all faculty and students at the school -- some sort of grant project that allows them to do research, perhaps. Steve declines the use of the fancy new phone---mostly because he is just stuck on his old phone - the phones he and his wife used before she died of cancer five years ago. But because of this decision, he's sort of "sober" while the rest of the town gets sucked under by the amazing new phone and its apps that seem designed JUST FOR YOU.

So yeah, it's a little sci-fi, a little horror, a little lovecraftian paranormal thriller. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I loved the creativity with regard to the apps and how they ended up playing out IRL (in real life ;)). It did drag a little in the 3rd quarter and there seemed to be a little repetition with Steve's a-little-too-slow realization that PCo may be quite a bit more than it appears, but overall, a great read. And just creepy enough to keep me awake late into the night...

FOUR of five stars.

I loved this book we all use cell phones today. And the Phone Company has been around it seems forever. But this is a new type of Phone Company and a new type of smart phone the Tether all you need to do is get connected. But the true horror is once your connected Tether knows everything about you. You can even talk to the dead. It is up to one man to take a stand against the Phone Company and Tether to save what is left of his Family, his town and Humanity. If you love horror stories than i highly recommend you read the Phone Company.

I started to get very confused about the characters but other than that it was a good read

I was given a free copy for an honest review.

This is the second best book I've read in 2014. It was engaging, and quite amazing. I was sick over the holidays so I had a lot of time to read.

Steve lost his wife to cancer, and five years later The Telephone Company moves into town. They seem to assimilate into everything, using smartphones with disturbing apps. The Phone Company gets more disturbing and controls the town. Steve's kids JJ and Sarah get the smartphones and are drawn into the apps. They can get popular, play "war games", and spy on people. Steve's best friend Bill is a cop who resists the Phone Company's glasses, which are like Google Glass. It is impossible for him to do things since the Phone Company is integrated into the police force.

The disturbing entity that is really the Phone Company appears, and is Lovecraftian and pretty awesome. READ THIS BOOK!

I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I thought, before reading it, that this was a science fiction book. A very spooky sci fi book, but still sci fi. Where, you know, the fiction is usually at least somewhat backed up by science, even if it's fake science.

But no. This book is horror, backed up by a complete lack of even handwaving to cover the fiction. In this story, an evil phone company is taking over the country, possibly the world, and they can -- gasp, shock of horror -- affect reality with their phones. You would think they could do great things with that, but no, they mostly use it for cheap thrills, killing and bullying. There is a grand plot to all of this, but frankly, it's hugely disappointing. That one man, a perfectly ordinary Luddite, could foil the plans of a megacorporation with powers over reality... I mean, were they *planning* on losing? Seriously.

The storytelling was done well, but the characterization was spotty, and the plot... ::shakes head:: Let's not talk about the plot, shall we?

Maybe I'd like it better if I liked horror or hadn't been spoiled by years of reading good sci fi, but honestly, probably not.

5 Stars
*I received this novel in exchange for an honest review*
Ben Little is a struggling author with a family. Jack Fleischer is a bestselling author who seems interested in helping Ben achieve his dream. Once Ben signs on to be Fleischer’s co-author that dream becomes a nightmare. Not only is Fleischer demanding and insulting but he expects Ben to do horrible things while holding their contract as leverage. Laws are broken, people are killed, and Ben’s sanity is questioned in the creation of the novel. When the safety of his family is threatened he knows he has to make a stand and figure a way to get out of the contract.
This novel feels like an adrenaline joyride from the beginning to the end. There were times that I felt like I had to remind myself to breathe. It’s fast paced and flows smoothly. The plot is unique and the different twists and turns kept it very interesting and left me guessing until the end. Characters usually outshine the plot for me but this plot was so original that it kept my mind occupied. That’s not to say that I didn’t like the characters. Both the protagonist and antagonist were strong and I hate to admit that I enjoyed their relationship. Even though this is an intense read I found some humor which was a nice touch.
I absolutely recommend The Pen Name, especially to Thriller fans.