"Our desire to know the whole truth is what makes us human. Our understanding that it can't be known is what keeps us alive."

I read this a few weeks ago, based on a brief review that said it was like 1984 and A Handmaid's Tale, but warily. These are two of my all-time favourite books, and that's not because I love them - I have found both of them very difficult to enjoy, and both took numerous reads for me to figure out that actually, yeah, I really liked them. And that's because they are extremely well crafted, with interesting enough characters and narrative style that I can ignore the fact that they are both, at times, excruciating to read, and hard to understand exactly what's happening at any/all times.

So it's fair to say I enjoyed this more than I expected to - it's not every day that a book can live up to those kinds of comparisons, and I would say Golden State did hold its own. It starts off slow, then weaves a world without being too front-heavy on the information; it has a mystery that isn't too obtuse and isn't too easy; it has just enough bias and all-out confusion to give a genuinely decent unreliable narrator... so it's a pretty damn good book, and one that I would easily suggest to someone who I think would enjoy the genre, or a book that's clever enough without taking satisfaction from its own cleverness.

I also want to mention that Ben H. Winters managed to put me in the narrator's shoes a lot more than I anticipated. I do not relate particularly strongly to Laszlo. We are in very different parts of our lives, have different motivations, livelihoods, regrets, losses, etc; however, when Laszlo felt threatened, or overwhelmed, or deeply guilty, or, the one I felt most poignantly, confused and lost, I felt it. I was there with him. That's a pretty damn impressive thing, and I think Ben H. Winters' writing deserves full credit for that.

Unfortunately, because of its similarities to its predecessors, there was very little about it that actually surprised me. It wasn't a copy of anything else, but it was just similar enough that I was never fully gripped or moved by it. I'm still asking questions and I want to know what happens next - but I also wouldn't go out of my way to read anything else by Ben Winters.

I received an advanced readers' copy of this novel for free on Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was really good! I’d never heard of this author before but was granted an ARC of this book from Netgalley. It is a commentary on truth- is there such a thing as absolute truth? Can it be determined through a society where everything is documented and recorded? Does everyone live by the same rules or are some exempt? How fear of the unknown can imprison us. Excellent read!

Seriously weird stuff ...

The Golden State (a future California that appears to exist alone) treats lying as the greatest crime (worthy of many years in prison or, ultimately, exile), with truth-telling elevated to the level of worship, such that even greeting one another with a fact (eg. Two squared equals four) is the proper thing to do. In this setting, it is the job of the Speculative Service to discover crimes of untruths and enforce truth-telling. To enable them, surveillance and recording of events are ubiquitous (to the point of individuals carrying constant-recorder devices) and we find ourselves in what the citizens might call a utopian state (because all things can be trusted) and the readers might call dystopian - I guess that depends on your point of view.

However, those trusting citizens might not be so right after all. Our here, Laslo Ratezic, is charged with 'speculating' on how a man came to die, who apparently fell off a roof by accident ... but all is not as it seems. As he delves deeper, Laz is taken on a terrifying journey of discovery, where truth becomes lies and lies become truth until he cannot rely on anything - even his own memories.

This was a highly unusual novel - at least for a traditionalist like me - and while I found some aspects interesting, I wasn't quite sure whether I was reading a thriller/detective novel (albeit in a strange setting) or a philosophical treatise. I found the former a little disappointing and slow-moving, and the latter mostly just weird - perhaps because I couldn't quite make myself believe in it as a reality that might one day be.

That said, I liked the character of Laz and wanted him to come out of it well, and there were some interesting twists and final denouement that I liked. I just wished all that more interesting stuff hadn't been saved for the very last chapter.

I'm sure some people will absolutely LOVE this book and I suspect there's no middle ground - you'll love it or you'll be left a bit unmoved. If you think this is your cup of tea, don't let me put you off!

Strange book, I thought it sounded wacky and that didn't put me off,although I do like writers who think outside the box,I didn't really engage with the main character though and did find the ideas somewhat off putting.I don't think this was a perfect fit for me,I am so disappointed I really wanted to like it but just not for me I am afraid.I hope other readers enjoy it more.thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

I really enjoyed this read despite it not being my usual genre. We are in the future, in California where there are no lies,only truth. Everything everyone does is recorded, double checked. Every individual keeps and stores a daily record of their existence. There are Government departments that substantiate everything that happens, reviews every document etc . A whole host of people doing the checking and ensuring all is Truth. Our hero ,Mr Ratesic, is one such checker known as a Speculator. Obviously he starts to uncover less than the Truth is happening in high ranking places.......
Excellent story, well written.

I've loved all of Ben Winters work, but I think this could be the real break through novel for him. Absolutely timely in a world where increasingly people find the "truth" a challenging concept.

This detctive story is set in a post apocalyptic dystopian future California. The worst offence in this society is to tell a lie, punishable in the worst cases by expulsion form the state and abadonment in the desert. The hero is an officer of the special police force which is stafffed with intuitives who can detect lies as they are told. He is alerted to the death of a workman, who on further investigation appears to have no records. A showdown with a membre of his own police leads to the disclosure of a resistance group opposed the the laws and ideals of the golden State. A dramatic conclusion follows. The book is absorbing and readable, it aspires to be a follower to Margaret Atwood and doesn't quite make it.

Set in a future dystopia where lies, no matter how small or well-intentioned they may be, are criminal acts, Golden State is a murder mystery with a twist.

Laszlo Ratesic is a citizen of the Golden State, and a detective of the Speculative Service; a man with a psychic gift (or curse) that tells him when a person is lying. The Speculative Service is full of men and women like him, who hunt and prosecute liars to the full extent of the law. Lies are what caused the end of the old world, so cannot be allowed in the only remaining community. Liars are sent to jail if they are lucky, the unlucky ones are banished to a lingering death.

Saddled with a new partner he neither wants nor appreciates, Laz is allocated the case of an apparent suicide. What should be an easy truth to discover becomes increasingly evasive, and Laz is forced to question not only his conscience and ability, but also the fabric of the society in which he lives.

Golden State starts slowly but builds into a riveting read with flavours of 1984 and film noir. I’ve never heard of this author before reading this book, but I will definitely be searching out his back catalogue.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so original! It was a bit of a slow starter and I didn't get what was going on at first but it had me intrigued. There are shades of 1984 and it fits into the dystopian category very neatly, but there is also a murder mystery, an awesome plot and so many twists and reveals.

The main character - Laszlo - journeys from being something of a rule-following 'jobsworth' at the start to a well-rounded individual, able to think for himself and challenge the status quo. The ending was satisfactory, and although I didn't understand everything I had a fair idea of how this dystopian world came into being.

The book is quite philosophical at times, debating the nature of truth and lies and what is known and cannot be known. This seems very pertinent in our post-truth age of alternative facts.

Surprising, intriguing and completely unpredictable! At no point in time did I know where this book was heading and I couldn't stop reading. In a time when telling a lie is a felony, an unlikely hero, Lazlo, has the ability to detect untruths and enforce retribution. On this particular day he a) receives a new partner and b) is called to investigate a murder that appears to have anomalies. We get taken on an astonishing journey where we are forced to contemplate the context and meaning of truth.
An original, thought provoking read! I'm still thinking about it.

In the Golden State, there are no lies, only truth. This dystopian fiction sounded right up my street but unfortunately it starts slow and I found the main character, Laz, quite unlikeable. I found it difficult to be drawn into this story and the world where no lies can be told.

I would have liked more world setting at the start. I really enjoyed the twist and the ending section, and feel these could have been expanded upon more.

Overall a good story, but takes too long to get going.

Science fiction novel in which lying is a crime - quite good and original

The basis for this novel is that California, at some point in the future, become Golden State, a nation in which the truth is everything and lying is a crime. Everything is filmed, recorded and archived. Laszlo is a Speculator whose job is to spot liars and bring them to justice. His world is turned upside down as he meets conspiracy, murder, betrayal and learns that there’s nobody that can be trusted.

The storyline moves along quite well and is reasonably clear but, when it comes down to it, there’s little action and a lot of introspection and speculation by the narrator. Not totally captivating for me but others may enjoy this far more than me.

Ratesic is is a over 50 years old and has nearly 20 years experience in Speculative Service, which is a department that is not part of the police force..
He and other people within this force can tell if you are lying..
What would happen if you found out someone had lied and you have no choice but to report it, even if it means life and death?

What is the Golden State and what makes the "truth" so very important? This book makes you think about every day encounters and whose perception of the truth is correct. A society where telling a lie can see you removed from society to somewhere Unknown. A good read with twists and turns, with truth and lies and then everything you had begun to understand turned on its head. All I can say is enjoy!

Oh, I liked this. It reminded me a little of Jasper Fforde at first - the ludicrous premise taken absolutely seriously, the bizarre characterisations. . I loved the "noir" atmosphere, played with a very straight bat, and I liked the philosphical challenge - is there anything worse than a lie? Of course there is...I think.

The Golden State is a place, and a state of mind. It's interesting to contemplate a world where shared truth is valued above everything else - such a stark comparison with our post-truth, fake news, opinionated, conspiracy theorist world. The best speculative fiction holds up a mirror to our world, and this certainly does that.

Like all the best noir, it's heavy on atmosphere, the plot twists and turns, and the truth isn't quite what you anticipate. And the ending is deeply satisfying.

Thank you, Net Galley, for letting me read and review.

This chilling tale has shades of the films The Butterfly Effect combined with Minority Report but is very much of the moment in 2018, in our post-truth world of alternative facts. It doesn't take the path I expected, however, and would give rise to some interesting book club debates, I imagine.
Our protagonist, a dour and inflexible jobsworth at first, develops slowly into a compassionate and conflicted character whose learning curve mirrors the reader's and I found myself feeling profoundly moved by his journey. It's a fascinating read which is difficult to either categorise or describe, but definitely worth a read.

I was drawn into this book from the first page - a man 'senses' someone telling a lie while he is having breakfast. After ascertaining who the liar is, we find that the man works for the state as a 'speculator' - someone who can sense lies. Lying, in the Golden State, is a deviation from the 'obviously so' and carries a hefty sentence. After being called to a seemingly straightforward death, Ratesic, the Speculator, and his reluctant partner, Aysa Paige, find themselves drawn into an ever widening web of half truths and deception which they never imagined. An interesting read which will appeal to all dystopian fans.

# Golden state # netgallery. This book shows how the people higher up don’t always want the truth, there are so many twists in this novel and you genuinely do not want to put it down, the further into the investigation the more you want to know. It’s a very addictive book. Unfortunately for some I do not put any spoilers in any book, this is one you definitely need to read, intriguing to say the least very very well done and definitely would recommend, do be prepared to be shocked a little by the ending well with reading by anyone’s standard

A world where truth is paramount and fiction doesn’t exist. There are no novels, as we know them, permitted in the Golden State. Winters has created a terrifyingly plausible landscape and confirms that where there is power and ideology, there is the potential for corruption.

The Californian coast grumbles and stretches before settling down once more. Yet the truth is now the only bedrock on which the "Golden State" rests, and preserving that one ‘commandment’ is everything.

Illustrious landmarks are consigned to the minds of readers, as the characters residing in this new prophetic reality find that history has been forgotten in favour of relentlessly capturing the activity of every citizen 24/7, for their own protection, and that of the State.

Everyone self-censors their speech and carefully considers the implications of any statement they make. Their intentions are frequently qualified to avoid being accused of the worst crime imaginable - failing to tell the truth. This leads to some farcical conversation exchanges that are brilliantly maddening while reinforcing the gravity of the law.

And the law is diligently enforced to ensure there are no exceptions. No get out of jail card free. Do not pass go. Mr Lazlo Ratesic makes a huge and memorable impression as an investigator in this alternate world, not only because of his imposing physical appearance, but he is the equivalent of a human lie detector. He has permission to ‘speculate’ when things don’t quite add up, everyone else mustn’t stray from knowable facts – even their greetings are affirmations of facts!

Mr Ratestic’s commitment, his conscience, and even his occasional offensive bark took me on a colossally impressive journey, although it did arrive at rather a sketchy stop. Even so, this didn’t spoil my overall enjoyment. It just felt a little abrupt, is all.

The "Golden State" is a sobering read with an authoritative and convincing voice. It pools striking theories that challenge the beliefs of the characters, tears out their hearts, and has them second-guessing what they truly consider to be ‘Objectively So’.