Cut Reality

A Novel

By: Zack Hacker

Narrated by: Alan Carlson

When death washes ashore on reality TV, who's to blame?

"Intelligently conceived and well-executed... A mystery that thoughtfully reflects on the hazy line between suspicion and reckless mania." (Kirkus Reviews)

Join Jason Debord as he seeks clarity following the death of a reality-TV co-star and ends up uncovering criminal conspiracy.

When Jason returned home from competing on Beached he'd lost weight, couldn't sleep, and felt more alone than ever. But, he expected those changes. Jason had no way to predict that one of his fellow competitors would fling himself from a cliff. Unless he didn't.

Jason can't believe it, but the network broadcasts the alleged suicide to the world, so he pushes forward in his own amateur investigation. Met with resistance from the cast and crew, he persists only through the support of his developing romance with Blake, a psychologist who observes alarming similarities between her patient and her partner.

Events in Cut Reality have a variety of interpretations. While under the watchful eye of the public, Jason has to decide: is what he uncovers too coincidental to be true, or so hard to accept because it's his new reality?

Buy Zack Hacker's anticipated debut novel to find out what Jason discovers....

"On the surface, Cut Reality is a murder mystery; but actually it is much more... Highly recommended for those who like their intrigue steeped in philosophical insights and dilemmas." (Midwest Book Review)

"When I heard the premise of Cut Reality, I almost died...and I wouldn't lie about that." (Jonny Fairplay, Survivor contestant and host of Survivor NSFW podcast)

"The perfect genre book at the perfect time." (San Francisco Book Review)

©2019 Zachary James Hacker (P)2019 Zachary James Hacker

CUT REALITY

This book is like a reality show. It put me in mind of survivor that used to come on tv. I stayed interested in this book and enjoyed it. It was easy to follow. Alan Carlson did a good job narrating this book. It had a good storyline. I was easy to follow.

A Great Listen

Great Audio Book for any occasion.
Road trip? at work? On the beach? Check this one out!
Made my work day fly by and had to continue listening on the ride home. A very intriguing and smart novel that will keep you guessing!

I really enjoyed the audio performance.. I wouldn't normally comment on another review but if the pacing of a reader is bothering you, Audible makes it very easy to speed up the recording without the reader sounding like a chipmunk. I don't know that it's necessary here, I just would hate for that negative review to influence a great listening experience.

This is one everyone should check out! I really think it would be the perfect listen on a road trip with a friend.

Strong Story Overall

I thought the premise of this book sounded interesting: a survivor-like show where a cast member dies and the aftermath.
I requested this book from the author and agreed to review it when finished.
The narration is solid; not distracting from the actual story.
The characters have some depth to them, although your understanding of them revolves around the accounts of them in the game.

Fantastic story

Well written with a lot of details.

The narration was really good. I enjoyed listening to Alan Carlson who's voice is pleasant, strong and projects emotions very well.

I received a free copy of this audible at my request. I'm thrilled to be able to provide my honest review

Great concept

It was interesting to see how people cope after 30 days on a reality survival show.

Alan Carlson did a good job narrating

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Wonder if this will ever happen

As a big fan of Survivor I really enjoyed this story. Makes me wonder if something like this could ever really happen.

Alan Carlson does a great job performing this story.

Overall great, but the text message exchanges were a little weird in the audiobook format.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Good

Different plot and enjoyed. When Jason returning home and hears of a co worker going over a cliff, doesn’t seem likely. With amateur ways he investigate, Good narration added to this story. Given audio for my voluntary review

Real reality, love it!

Jason was on a reality TV show, somewhat like survivor. One of his friends commits suicide, but Jason thinks that there is more to the story and starts investigating to find out the truth about his friend's death. Blake, his psychiatrist girlfriend, and his other friends worries about him. The story goes through the events of trying to figure out what happened, with some interesting content along the way.


Reality tv is a contemporary craze that has many people engrossed therein. This story went beyond what the viewers see on tv to a psychological aspect while at the same time involving a mystery death to solve. Some of the story was written as a screenplay while the characters "text" each other, some as a journal that Jason writes in, phone calls, as well as first and third person perspectives. These techniques were quite interesting to use together, as it makes the listener question Jason's mental state. It was unexpected and different and i really liked that! Alan did an amazing job of going through the various narrations and characters and kept me entertained throughout!!


Overall. This was a unique type of psychological thriller that i thoroughly enjoyed.

Note: This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this objective review voluntarily.

DON'T EVEN TRY

The narrator of this audiobook read this story soooo slowly that it was both irritating and kept the story from ever picking up any energy. The pace is so bad that it actually seems like a ploy to make the purchaser think s/he is getting a normal-length book when in reality it's about half of what one thinks it is before listening. The narrator also had to (slowly, of course) read numerous and sometimes voluminous smartphone text messages from the characters, having to announce the name of the text's author every single time, which finally became so absurd that I quit listening before the audiobook was complete. It was hard to give this book any stars.