I received this book from Dane Cobain himself. So, Dane, I hope you will become a notorious writer in a few years :) It was a challenge for me because I am not an English native, but the book was very appealing from the first pages and the reading was stimulated by the intense story revealing in front of me.
The story was interesting and quite original in its main subject, because Former.ly is a social network for the dead. I will not unfold other details, because you will have to do that alone.
I do not know why Former.ly and not other name, but ly is similar with lie, so maybe there is a connection, at least for me :) Even if there is not related, LY is used by me as an equivalent for Love You.
The characters are interesting, but there could be an improvement in the meaning of developing all characters more. Dan Roberts is the main character, but the others are staying in his shadow. I liked Dan and the way Dane Cobain described some feelings and emotions of his or his bohemian relationship with Sarah.
The style could be improved. I had the feeling that the first half of the book was very narrative and with many details and the last one was hurried, rushed and the ending was kind of predictable and showed some foolish characters.
But Dane Cobain is at the beginning in his career and I feel he has a great potential for practicing his style.
I would recommend an equilibrium between the first and the second part of the book, more consistency in the story and characters, introduce the element of surprise (for example, at some point, I was making some suppositions in my mind and I thought that maybe even Flick is involved in that ugly story at Former.ly).
About the author: Dane Cobain is a British author who had his debut in 2015 with the novel No Rest for the Wicked (seems interesting from the title and I understand that some supernatural stuff is going on there, so it must be good). He is also a poet and a musician. You cand find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
You can buy the book from Amazon, for 11 dollars or even free with Kindle Unlimited.
I recommend the book to my friends living in the United Kingdom or for those who love to read contemporary authors and books with an original plot. You will come to the end with a lot of questions related to the morality of social networks, especially for one created for the dead. Ethics, marketing, social network, these are just a few of the subjects approached. It grasped my interest as a professor of marketing and ethics.
My message for the author: Dane, I have to congratulate you for the wonderful book and thank you for sending it to me by mail (it was easier to read and to feel). I am a classic reader, I like the smell of the books and the way they touch my hands.
I wish you all the best, I am confident that you will become a successful writer and I hope your books will be brought to the cinema one day :)
