I was a little bit confused when I read the first chapter. It read as non-fiction even though it's a novel? Couldn't really get into it. Sorry.

What happens when dystopia, quantum computing, and VR collide? You get Catch 42!

Dan is a typical guy who is down on his luck. His family restaurant began to suffer financial difficulties, but he couldn’t accept failure. So now he works jobs nonstop to provide for his family. Unfortunately, after so much stress, he wife, Vicky, took their two kids and left California to return to her home state of Kentucky to live on her parents’ farm. Dan is too full of pride to throw in the towel, so he continues to work to try to make a living so that they will come back. One night, a mysterious voice from the future calls out for his help with a problem. In several years, the world will experience catastrophe after catastrophe including pandemics, global warming, food supply chain disruption, and a cyber war that will decimate the population down to 20% of what it is today. As a result, leaders put aside their differences and have created a virtual world known as WeYou to bring humanity together. But things aren’t what they seem, and underground movement known as Teccupy is working to overthrow the virtual lies that they believe WeYou has constructed. Both organizations want Dan to help solve a puzzle that neither can master.

This new genre of dystopian tech thrillers that dabble in speculative fiction has really become quite popular and I can’t get enough of them. Catch 42 was no exception as it kicked off with a bang and never let up. Most of this book centers around Dan’s immersion into the world WeYou and learning about how the world has changed while searching for the key to bring immortality to the physical world. Some of the jargon goes pretty technical, but it’s not too difficult to keep up with. The occasional chapters thrown in with Vicky and the kids didn’t bring much but kept them in the loop for the ending. There is also a lot unsaid at the end, but that is where the speculative part comes into play. Overall, I enjoyed this and there isn’t much language or mature themes throughout, just a good read!

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Full of interesting views and ideas. If you are looking for big ideas, future tech and imaginative virtual worlds, Catch-42 is for you. If you just want an easy read, this isn't it.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the tech and the world building. Catch-42 involves a lot of quantum entanglement, which leads to some very different rules of how things work than we are used to. Definitely made me think!

Great storyline with plenty of twists and turns that kept me interested all the way until the end! So much to think about in our modern world today and how we use technology.

The story is better than the writing here, but the story is pretty interesting. It has some good suspense and I stayed mostly engaged. This lacks the polish of a more experience author, but will likely satisfy readers interested in tech.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

Very interesting and thought provoking. I felt at times it was a little longwinded, but I guess it was to explain some things in depth. Still a good read though. #Catch42 #NetGalley

Very well developed characters and an extremely engaging story. Well thought out and very suspenseful story line that keeps the reader guessing until the final twist! This is the book to read this year! Highly recommended!

Catch-42
by Felix Holzapfel
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2021

I was given a copy of this book for review.

The story here is where an A.I. has created or occupys a reality that is not ours using Quantium machanics and a differance in time. When you are in the A.I. reality, time passes at a normal rate yet normal time is slower then you realize.

The A.I. ha sreached out to a person for assistance in working on the A.I. reality. This became a tad confusing for me and not sure I would enjoy being in that reality. In time, a second group is introduced that has the oppsoite goals. Without giving more details you when need to read the book.

#catch42

I have very mixed feelings about this book.

As a source for big ideas, interesting references and roadmap for things to read, watch and learn about... it does a great job.

As a work of fiction and an interesting read, it falls way short. The characters all sound like consultants when they talk (and I’ve had quite a bit of professional experience working with consultants). They typically begin their long conversations with some variation of “I’ll try to keep this simple“ and then they don’t. The frame of reference keeps shifting and there is way too much written in a passive voice. The journey through the simulation takes the reader to some fascinating and what should be interesting places; which are never brought to life with anything but routine descriptions.

I give the author a 4+ For his big ideas and a 1+ for writing; for my 3 rating. When you open this book- expect to be exposed to some interesting ideas but don’t expect to be entertained by a great work of speculative fiction.

I received an ARC from NetGalley.