Followers: A Novel Kindle Edition

I was kind of excited about the premise of this novel. And at first, I was enjoying the flow of the prose. For me, a BIG FACTOR in reading is the author's ability to draw you into the story quickly to where you forget you are reading, and instead you just feel like you are hearing the story.If I have to stop and re-read long passages, or if the story doesn't flow well, then I get distracted and it ruins the experience for me. Because of this, I tend to find authors who I really like and stick with them, because once you find an author that writes well - you can count on them to deliver over and over again most of the time.I feel like Megan Angelo has this quality. But I still found myself not enjoying this novel and putting it down and stopping over and over again. Why? Because for me, the novel wasn't holding together logically. Maybe it was me, and maybe I was misunderstanding, but there were several places where the technology didn't seem to add up.The story is a risky venture, trying to predict what will be happening in social media five years from now is risky, and Megan is aiming MUCH FARTHER into the future with the novel, Followers. But right off the bat, we are in a building with a mail room that reminded me of my college circa 1988. Notes were being taken by hand. There were SO MANY instances where the technology seemed pre-internet, and definitely pre-smart-phone, and yet we are supposed to believe this is taking place in the present and future. Or at least that is what I was understanding.Maybe I didn't get far enough in to understand why this disconnect seemed to be taking place, but I kept getting sidetracked and kept wondering WHY is this their reality? Why aren't they using digital tools instead of paper and pencils?I don't know if I just wasn't patient enough, or what - but when you compare this to a novel like Ready Player One, where the future is laid out in a believable, consistent and imaginative way - there is a feeling like Followers was a great idea and story, but it wasn't carefully plotted out or planned to make sure that it felt like the future. It felt dated.It is kind of like when you see an old tv show and someone is checking their pager. SURE, SOME people still use them in some weird instances, but for the most part, you just feel like it is dated or someone got it wrong. Followers has that feeling, like the author is anchored to the past and can't fully let go of it, or this is that strange case where it actually makes sense, but you can't get past it regardless.I spent too much time trying to find reasons for things to be the way they were in the story, and not enough time enjoying the story. I may give this a try again later. But for now, this just didn't hold my attention long enough to read it through. And I devour books, often finishing them in a day or two - so that's a pretty bad thing when I can't get through a book.Sorry... but this one just didn't work for me. :-(I hope you find this review helpful. I feel like that reviews are super important on Amazon and they really help me determine if a product is worth buying or not - so I try to return the favor and leave a review that will honestly tell you whether a product is good or not. We all use products differently, so I also try to make it clear what was important to me, and hopefully that makes it easy for you to tell if you will like it too.I also think it is important for Amazon shoppers to stick together and let each other know if a product is garbage. I WILL let you know if a product isn't good, so you can avoid the hassles of returning a product or a product you lose money on. PLEASE go to my profile page and reach out to me if you have any questions. I enjoy writing reviews and try to respond to any questions about a product ASAP. Thank you for reading my review.

I read this over the course of a few nights on my phone. Each time I finished, I anxiously pushed my phone a bit farther away from me on the bedstand. This novel is a terrifying and believable glimpse into the future AND our present obsession with sharing every detail of our lives. Thank goodness Angelo manages to depict that vision of the future with a wry humor that lessens the otherwise constant suspense. If you love Children of a New Age, Station 11, Machines Like Me or other works of speculative fiction, or, for that matter, if you just got off of twitter or instagram to read this review, pick this book up immediately.

Megan Angelo’s novel is immediately addicting. I was hooked from the prologue and love the theme of present day and future day situations. I appreciate all of the Pennsylvania references (wawa!) and the eerily predictable FOLLOWERS world that could absolutely come true in my lifetime. I can’t wait to finish this book to see how it all ends up. Do yourself a favor and buy this book!

Megan Angelo’s first novel did NOT disappoint. Before I had finished the Prologue, I was hooked. I had to know more. I needed to learn everything I could about these characters. This author’s voice is one that deserves to be heard for many years to come because her skillful character development and point of view is one that I found beyond engaging. With a busy work schedule and two young children at home, I never have time to read for fun anymore. This book made me want to make time for it. I devoured every page in barely three days and was hungry for more . . . and I sincerely hope there will be more from this author soon. Do yourself a favor & buy a copy. If you start reading it & don’t agree with me, do everyone else a favor and gift it to a friend who actually likes to read! In sum: a great read. . . the only downside was that it had to end.

Great characters! Scary view of the future. Makes me want to put all electronics down and head out into the woods- once I get to the end of the book! I'm giving it to my teenagers as soon as I finish. I love it.

Tore through this in a day. Can’t wait for the inevitable movie. Just a great read that’s both thoughtful and terrifying.

Well written and insightful!

To be fair, this book may be brilliant. It may have a spectacular ending. I'll never know, however, because it was too dull to make me want to read past the first couple of chapters. The writing was average and the character development wasn't great. If I have to force myself to read something, it's just not worth it. Even in the current Covid19 Stay-At-Home world we live in, with nothing much else to do, I just couldn't get into this book.

I enjoyed this clever, hopefully not prescient novel. Hopefully because it's all to easy to imagine how dependence on social media could lead to the kind of society depicted here, where whole lives are built on their standing in social media and can be swiftly destroyed in the same way. Well, perhaps it really is like that already? The book follows two threads, one in the present time where Orla and Floss live in a social media whirl, where Floss is the media star and Orla is the friend who put her there. The other thread is set in a scary future where everyone is connected to a government run system and Marlow is a young woman who lives in an enclave of people who live their lives on camera to promote goods - a personality managing drug in Marlow's case.What I liked most about it was that the three women characters are so clearly and well drawn and the writing is really good.What I couldn't quite accept was the nature of 'the spill' which happened between the two parts of the story and gave rise to the dystopia in which Marlow lives. The spill isn't explained until near the last part of the novel so I won't go into detail but I'll just say, I don't think it could be done so thoroughly and completely. However, as the story is quite character driven this wasn't so important for me and the result is not a typical dystopian novel.I certainly recommend it.

Was quite disappointed with this, the premise and some of the plot had real promise, but was let down by the execution. I found the pace far too slow and the jumps between Orla and Marlow were often frustrating and confusing. The characters themselves were not even compelling or likeable. I also found it unbelievable how much technological advancement had been made considering the ‘future’ portions of the book really were not that far in the future. While I did power through and finish and found the pace towards the end a little better, overall I probably wouldn’t recommend to a friend.

I found this a hard book to listen to. I had to concentrate, listen to every word. But I found it extraordinarily and frightening. This could happen to any country that are complacent about their security, we know it has already happened to many rich companies!! I have been to China and am aware of the Government Internet that covers everything, shopping, travel, wages, leisure & most important information. This novel is a manual for all who have responsibility for the welfare of society. A wonderful eye opening story with relatable characters to every day life!! A must read for all who live their life through their iPhone...thank you Megan.

A really well written satirical, dystopian view of social media, with so many nods & references to contemporary characters.I enjoyed the story, almost Truman show-esque version of the future (2051) after 'The Spill' in contrast to how social media is consumed in modern day (2015) the pitfalls of trying to be internet famous, against living your life for the followers.Definitely worth the read, the characters are well rounded and honest for their time and an interesting take on a dystopian future with female leads.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the whole idea that social media could be used to manipulate lives is certainly believable. It is very Trumanesq, with a brilliant twist.