I just want to know how long the author of this novel spent on the wrong side of Reddit and IFunny to make this novel as accurate as it is. Seriously, I feel like I stepped into a time machine and landed in 2015-2016 while reading this. Former friends of mine were far too deep into this content, so I've seen some of this craziness firsthand. That in itself earns this novel 5 stars and makes me wonder if the author is okay after spending all that time on the wrong side of the internet.

This is not a novel I would recommend to most people. You really have to enjoy a certain type of content to enjoy this novel. It's dark; its deep. At times, I wasn't even sure if I could keep reading. However, if you're into reading novels that give you an unsettling feeling in your chest and shove you right into the dark face of reality, this is one you should read. If that's not you. Don't even look at this novel. I'm serious. Keep scrolling and find a rom-com (I recommend Same Time Next Summer, but that's beside the point).

To quote another reviewer:
<blockquote>Troll is, as stated, a fictionalized representation of the author's research in online terrorism and extremist groups or whatever. But lemme tell you this, you don’t need to know ANYTHING about that or have any previous knowledge or interest on the topic before reading. If you were born in the 80s, 90s and onwards, you should have a deep-rooted understanding of the concepts, unless you somehow evaded technology your whole life. Albeit, there are references the author makes, that if you are not privy to, may not resonate as profoundly, but regardless, the overall idea and theme is so clearly laid out and impossible to miss.

Macnair takes you on what feels like a roller coaster ride through a mirage of topics that all represent a different era of the internet, with shocking yet abundantly real examples of how social media, forums, porn addiction, hiveminds, conspiracy theorists, politics, product accessibility, branding, and online communities overall, have evolved. It is so well written and yes… it may leave you with an unsettling feeling in your chest, but sometimes the truth is unsettling.

The theme is the disintegration of human connection. It's about our celebrated advancements in technology, turning into something we can’t recognize and how one day we'll look back and wish we had done something different. There’re so many messages in Troll that are so creatively written and force the reader to sit and think about what it means to them… the book isn’t meant to be a feel-good read and it’s not meant to be an escape from reality. It's actually meant to shove your face right into reality and look at a very dark and very prominent aspect of the online world and how it's genuinely affecting us, offline. It touches on disassociation from a sense of self, demoralization of people for online fame, the power of consumerism, the impact of polarity, the tradeoff of IRL experiences for digital footprint. I could go on.

But don’t get it twisted… This is a story. It’s a fictional book, not a text book or paper. Reading it reminded me of a mix between a documentary and a movie script with some incorporation of ‘weird’, artistic prose that is a great reminder that we’re reading fiction. It was easy to read and gives the reader a sense of autonomy to interpret things in their own way. </blockquote>

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this novel. Review will be posted on Instagram (@ellie.reads.a.lot) by the end of the week.

A well-written book , but I don't like political references even in fiction, yet some will love it and the author has talent

So it is a good book but understand it is written in a different style than most. You get the story from several different views and sources. It’s not one voice telling the whole thing.

This was a really interesting book written in an unconventional format. It tells the fictional story of Peter ‘Petrol’ Riley, an actor turned viral right wing internet sensation, and his devoted following, but through the use of essays, forum conversations, text messages, emails,, and more. If you’re not one who spends much, or any time on the conservative, incel corners of the internet, this will show you how easily things can get ugly. How things can go from online banter to real life violence. It was at times uncomfortable and hard to read, but the interesting format propelled me to the finish.

A delve into the impact the internet has on political and social situations. This reminded me a bit of te butterfly effect, that something that, in the beginning, seems harmless has big impacts on the world as a whole. Although this is meant to be satirical this does get quite dark, which I would take as a warning but I think it is a reflection of the worst that could come from the internet and the world as a whole.

Troll was a timely book that delves into the world of being an internet troll and their impact on the social and political landscape The story was interesting and the characters were likable. .Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an exciting and thought-provoking read."

[DID NOT FINISH] thank you NetGalley and Now or Never Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I really tried to go on with an open mind and keeping in mind it is fiction, however it was a tad too triggering for me and just cannot force myself to get through this one. Political elements just aren’t my jam particularly when this extreme.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. While I feel that this book is certainly timely, I don't really know what I was supposed to take away from it other that "bad things are bad." I didn't really see a reason for it to be told so completely out of order - it made it hard to make connections between characters and remember who was mentioned 50 pages earlier when they reappear later in the book. Some of the documents presented as part of the narrative didn't seem to add anything to the narrative at all. I also had a hard time feeling anything for Peter at all - bad or good. He didn't really seem to have any motivation for doing what he did - even the fame didn't seem that important to him. I ended up skimming a lot of this book waiting for something to happen.

I have never felt this horrible while reading a book.

I could've finished a book of this length in a couple of days but reading about extremist groups in the deep, dark parts of the Internet isn't exactly a light read. I had days when I just couldn't bring myself to read this and opted for something else instead.

Rating this book is difficult because it is well researched and intriguing but I just maybe shouldn't have read this at all.

If you are interested in politics and find extremist groups fascinating then this book might be for you but you should consider if you're really in the right headspace for this. The book gets darker the more you read, first you think this is the most chronically online book you've ever picked up and think you need to get outside and touch some grass and then you end up realising that deleting Twitter could be really good for your soul.

Troll details the rise of Peter “Petrol” Riley on the alt-right through social media influencing.

Riley, a theater student in Canada has dreams of become successful and famous. He create the Petrol Riley persona for a class assignment, which takes off as a genuine personality. Initially Riley sees himself as a grifter who is just conning the public out of money, but soon the isolation that his followers feel starts to weigh on him. The price of fame is not what it seemed.

I absolutely loved this book as it was written through a series of articles, social medial postings, and transcripts to create a narrative of Riley and his followers. As someone who was online during the rise of the alt-right it was shocking how close the material was to how these individuals think.

It’s concerning as a parent to see how insidious social media is in filling the gaps of alienation and isolation for young men that makes them susceptible to extremism.

Macnair created a powerful story that is poignant to todays society. Troll’s content can be distressing at times, but is reflective of how desensitized online communities have become.

Thank you NetGally and Now or Never Publishing for this amazing ARC.

Peter is an aspiring actor who gets an assignment for a class to create a character for a YouTube video. He decides to create a satire of an extreme right person, who he nicknames Petrol Riley. Soon though, his fame takes off as many people don't realize it's a joke.

I wanted to like this one because of the satire but it was really hard to read these things, even satirically.