The Phone Company

By: David Jacob Knight

Narrated by: Roberto Scarlato

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke

HELLO, I AM THE TETHER

The Phone Company has been around for a long time. As civilization grew, so did its power, slowly spreading its lines across the continent. Today it's in everything. It's in the air around us.

I CAN TRACK YOUR KIDS FOR YOU

Now PCo is building a cell tower in the isolated town of Cracked Rock, Montana, bringing with it infrastructure, opportunity, and the world's smartest phone: the brand-new Tether.

I CAN SPY ON YOUR NEIGHBORS

But the Tether isn't just a phone. It knows everything about you. It can give you anything you want. It can even connect you with the dead.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GET CONNECTED

As the Tether digs up the town's dirtiest skeletons, one father must make a stand to save what's left of his family, his town, and humanity itself - or succumb to his own desires.

THE TETHER:

I'M NOT TECHNOLOGY

©2014 David Snell and Jacob Kier (P)2015 David Snell and Jacob Kier

The Bill eventually comes due

Jumping right in I would have to say that this book feels like something that Raymond Bradley would write after spending the night with HP Lovecraft. There is an older sensibility tied to a modern spin on how we slowly give up our lives for better technology. I don't think this is a warning call, like 1984 was, this is more of an observation about what we, as a society, have done to ourselves. I think it was pretty slick how the mobile phone was called Tether, as they seem to be umbilical cords for everyone nowadays. Take them away and we shrivel up and become dessicated husks. That is the simpe and purest horror that this book could produce, that we don't need any bogeyman to came after us to destroy our lifestyle. We will willingly embrace that which is harmful so long as it is fun, or essential to our lives. After all, we shatter our own environment every day in the pursuit of riches, easy living, or a better view. Is it so difficult to believe that we would trade away everything for some helpful apps? I don't think so. And that is the scariest thing of all.

The story is well written, but it feels rushed in some spots and a little disjointed. There were points that I thought that the author was rushing to get to a scene he really wanted to do, or had backtracked and tried to fill in an error somewhere. Nothing major, but it does have some hiccups. Still just the concept of what the Apps could do was brilliant, and tailored to the phones owner. I'm sure people will compare this work to Stephen King. They always do, but I can't see it. For one thing, King isn't scary, although he has a reputation for being terrifying. I find him more fascinated with farts and boogers than horror. Knight has produced a work that is actually disturbing.

Scarlato continues doing his amazing as always work. I really am a fan of his narration, as well as the stories he has authored himself. I pretty much try to read anything he's written, and thankfully he does a lot of stories that are in my wheelhouse. Plus, he does card tricks. I really enjoy listening to him whenever I can, and you will too. He has a very pleasant voice and he knows how to pace a story and add emotion. Find anything he's narrated and you will be a happy camper.

Overall, the book has incredible concepts and makes you think long after you've finished about the implications that have just begun to rise up in your mind. Yes, there are some small plot problems, but overall this is an enjoyable story. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. Getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

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Technology can be scary and this book confirms it!

The Phone Company by David Jacob Knight is a book that's unlike any other. This book for me is a wake up call on how much we rely on technology.

It's scary when you start to think how technology is taking over the world especially with mobile phones everyone has one and probably looks at it every few minutes to check out the latest game, social media or listen to music etc. There's an app for absolutely everything.

This is the story of one man who refuses to move with the times in regards with the latest mobile phone and refuses to change to the new phone provider. Those who do change over find themselves being taken over by the phone company.

It took me a while to get into this book but once I did I enjoyed it until about 3/4 of the way in. I felt that it took a very strange turn one that questioned should I keep reading, which I did to find out what happens in the end. The only thing that kept my interest when I found it hard was the narrator Roberto Scarlato. He kept my interest with distinctive character voices and he brought the book to life with his unique voice.

The Phone Company is one of those books that makes you realize you need to start taking notice of the people around you and to communicate personally rather then using technology or eventually we will all lose social skills and become zombies, which unfortunately is the way the next generation of smart phone users are heading.

So put down your phone and read a book.

Not my cup of tea!

I couldn't finish it. I get it technology is bad, it's invasive, it's unhealthy, it can change everything, but do you have to take like the first 25 chapters telling me that! I really tried I gave it every chance but I just couldn't get through it! if I could I want my money back that's how much I didn't like it.

I really wanted to like this book

The Phone Company has all the makings of a great audiobook: timely topic, engaging characters and great reader. But, it failed to live up to its potential on so many levels. There were a lot of places in the book that I was just scratching my head wondering if I missed a chapter or 2. The author also brings up things for no reason that don't go anywhere. There was one really good story line that got went nowhere: the app that updated to the past. It could have been used at the end to make a happy ending. But instead, the book was just over. Other authors have used that tactic successfully, this ending was just disappointing.