Broadcast by Liam Brown

The description of the book reminded me of The Circle by Dave Eggers, which I enjoyed a lot, so I was keen to read Broadcast. 

And I was right, while reading the book, I noticed some similarities  with The Circle. Dave Callow is invited to a remarkable building for his meeting with the famous inventor Xan Brinkley, who runs a large technology corporation.  Dave is a well-known vlogger and is asked by Xan to participate in an experiment with a new device. This is implanted in his head, and with it, his thoughts can be displayed directly onto people’s computers. So Dave can stop vlogging; whatever he wants to share, he can just think about.

Of course, privacy is a bit issue here, but Dave is all for becoming ever more famous—which he does—and he’s not aware of the consequences of everyone seeing his thoughts every moment of the day until it’s too late. Or almost too late.

This was a slightly too easy read in the sense that already early on in the story, I had my misgivings about what Dave was doing, and my predictions did come true. However, there was also an aspect of the story that I could not have guessed, so that meant it was interesting to keep reading and finding out what would eventually happen. I found Dave rather gullible and I never really warmed to him. The descriptions of what he was going through were sometimes a little long and I found myself skimming paragraphs.

In all, I enjoyed the story, but found it a little too simple. It had some interesting themes such as privacy and friendship. I would recommend it to readers who enjoyed The Circle.

The publishers say: “The idea behind MindCast is simple. We insert a small chip into your skull and then every thought, every feeling, every memory is streamed live, twenty-four hours a day. Trust me – within a few months you’ll be the most talked about person on the planet.

When David Callow is offered the lead role in a revolutionary new online show, he snatches at the opportunity.

Rapidly becoming a viral sensation, David is propelled to stratospheric levels of celebrity. However, he soon realises the downside of sharing every secret with the world.

A prisoner to both his fame and his own thoughts, David seeks to have the chip removed, only to discover the chilling secret lurking at the heart of MindCast, and the terrifying ambition the show’s creator has for him.”

I received a free e-book copy in return for an honest review.