When We Were Real is an unusual book. It begins as a mashup of The Matrix and the 14th century Canterbury Tales. Seriously. But in ends as a meta look at something completely different. So even if I usually begin my reviews with a plot summary, I won’t do it this time. It is much better to read this wonderful and thought provoking book without any clue what it is about.

I do however want to mention how fully fleshed out the characters were by the end of the book. In the beginning, they were just presented with labels as names: the engineer, the nurse, the influencer, etc. But soon they felt like friends just telling you of their adventures. Like the Canterbury Tales, each chapter tells the story of one of the characters from their point-of -view.

Overall, I loved When We Were Real even more after I had some time after reading to appreciate its premise and mastery of characterization. It is definitely science fiction. But it should also appeal to mystery readers as the characters struggle to figure out the impact of being stuck in a simulation (and what are the simulators’ true goals). The answers will surprise you. 5 stars and a favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for providing me with an advanced review copy.

A "what if" story... that is done really well!

What if this is all a simulation and we are just coded in to our lives?

But this story is deeper than that. It is a wild ride of unexpected things at every turn. Lots of these twists I did not see coming at all.

I struggled a bit at the beginning trying to keep track of the cast of characters, but the characters in the main focus settled in quickly for me.

The ending though!! Gah!! It makes me hope that there will be a continuation of this fascinating story!

This was my first Daryl Gregory novel but it won't be my last!

I would like to thank Netgalley and S&S/Saga Press for the digital copy of this book! It was published on April 1, 2025.

I was taken along an entertaining cross country ride with a group of people in a stimulation. It was quite stimulating, figuratively and literally. I liked that we got each unique POV, their story and their experiences with the glitches. However at the end of the day, I found that this book is not for me, despite how entertaining it was. There were moments it was too absurd that it would take me literally out of the stimulation, the story. I do recommend this book to anyone who loves absurdist fiction and speculative fiction.

Thank you to the author @SagaPressbooks for the arc and the opportunity to read this book.

Sometimes I forget how much I love sci-fi until I read a sci-fi novel such as this one. Learning that I was living in a simulation would be my worst nightmare so of course I was intrigued by this novel and its premise. The multiple POVs adds layers to a story that is already thought-provoking in and of itself. Really loved this book!

This book is a surprising gem. I must admit to a certain wariness regarding simulation narratives (we're all in a computer, oh no!), as, first, it's a worn trope at this point and, second, it's become amenable to reactionary and regressive ideologies. But this novel manages to revive the trope in good form! In part, it's because it's a genuinely funny novel, with excellent character work. The characters are distinct personalities, but they also represent different aspects of US culture, politics, and society (I especially love the comic book writer, Dulin, the nuns—yes, more than one—and the rabbi). Moreover, the novel doesn't lead up to the reveal that the characters live in a simulation. Instead, it begins with it (or, more precisely, the reveal precedes the novel's story). Instead of some heroic narrative in which the chosen one challenges the machines, we've got everyday people wrestling with the existential anxiety that their lives might be meaningless. It's a novel that's both heady and heartfelt. Well worth a read!

I don't really read blurbs or marketing before choosing what to read anymore, I've found that I get greater enjoyment if I enter a book without any preconceived notions. So the central conceit of When We Were Real (which is explicitly laid out in the jacket copy) came as a complete surprise to me.

Me: Oh, this kinda has Ubik vibes.

Character in the book: [explicitly mentions Ubik]

Me: Welp, there you go.

This was absolutely delightful, and I will probably be reading it again before too much longer.

When We Were Real was so much fun. I loved every bit of it. The characters and their evolution throughout the adventure made this reading experience for me. I loved every creature - human and non-human. Oh, the hollow sheep. I want one. I'm recommending this book to all my scifi loving friends.

Now, I'm probably not the targeted demographic for this book (old-age pensioner here), but it was a hoot. The story takes place 7 years after Earth's inhabitants learn they are all part of a computer simulation. What more is there to say? If you enjoy this genre of science fiction, then pick it up.
I was very impressed that a man wrote such wonderful female characters and even did an excellent job describing a complicated labor and delivery (and I'm a birth doula with over 80 births under my belt. and am very picky about this in my fiction). He writes the male characters well, too.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ebook version of the novel in exchange for a review.

Thank you to Saga Press for the gifted eARC. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

When We Were Real is one of the most thought provoking pieces of fiction that I've read in quite a while. We've probably all speculated at some point or another if it's possible we're living in a simulation. I mean, we've all seen The Matrix, right? When We Were Real takes this premise, makes it definitive, and then moves us forward seven years past the shock and upheaval to where the world has somewhat adjusted to learning that we are, indeed, in a simulation. This book explores questions about our origins, purpose, religion, life/death, friendships, and morality within this framework. The characters in this book embark on a tour bus journey to see landmarks that appeared when The Announcement was made about the simulation. The people on the bus have all joined the tour for their own reasons and Daryl Gregory uses each character to delve into those philosophical queries from a different perspective. The book flowed well and, even though it was thought provoking, it was also thoroughly entertaining. Truly a great work of speculative fiction!

When We Were Real follows lifelong friends JP and Dulin as they embark on one last wild road trip—a glitch-chasing bus tour across North America’s strangest “Impossibles,” digital anomalies that began appearing after the world was revealed to be a simulation. With JP’s cancer back and time running out, the journey becomes both absurd and profound.

Alongside a bizarre cast—including a nun looking for God, a fame-chasing influencer, Matrix cult fugitives, and unfiltered retirees—they plunge through reality-defying sites toward the mysterious Ghost City, where the truth behind the simulation may be waiting.

Both hilarious and haunting, this novel asks what matters when nothing is real—but friendship still is.

Captivating read, I was so immersed.

Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital book in exchange for my honest review.

When We Were Real is a sci-fi novel about a bus full of people going on a cross-country road trip a few years after it is announced that humanity has been living in a simulation.

This novel features a diverse cast of characters who all have their own motivations for being on the bus trip, Canterbury Trails, which explores various “Impossibles”, anomalies that are placed throughout the U.S. by the Simmers to show everyone that it truly is a simulation.

Gregory employs multiple POVs from just about all the characters and he does a fantastic job at tying each character to a role and introducing them in a way that they are super memorable. I was never once confused by who is who.

The main characters we follow include JP (the Engineer who is battling brain cancer) and his friend Dulin (a comic book writer known for his witty banter). In addition, there is a pregnant social media influencer, two nuns, a rabbi, a “realist”, a reader, a scientist, a nurse, a few old folks, and more.

The plot is propulsive while allowing for plenty of time for introspection and philosophizing and science talk that never bogs down the plot in any way. This book moves quickly for being over 400 pages.

When We Were Real poses several questions of what it means to be human, how we grapple with the world around us and its many anomalies, our relationships with others, and our faith (presence or lack thereof) in a higher being. It’s a fascinating novel that will entertain you and keep you thinking long after you turn the last page.

This was my second book by Daryl Gregory that I’ve read (Revelator is the other) and so far he is two-for-two with bangers for me (both being so different makes it even more impressive). Check it out! It’s out today.

Huge thank you to Saga Press for providing with a free ARC. I also read a portion of this as an eARC on NetGalley.

Because the sim says so in this artificial world!
Welcome to the week long tour bus tour of North America’s Impossibles 🚍 Everyone is along for the ride for their own reasons: a nun hunting for an absent God, a pregnant influencer trying to make her child so famous it won’t be deleted, a professor on the run and best friends JP and Dulin.
After visiting the stops at glitches and miracles, will the final stop at the Ghost City reveal all to those who seek it?

The story weaves a variety of character viewpoints throughout the uniquely sci-fi landscape of the bus tour. A little slow to start but as you get a sense of each character the flow picks up, continuing the journey. And where can I sign up for my own tour of the Impossibles??? 🎟️

This is a very Sci-Fi, Speculative Fiction read that is full of fantasy and adventure- Your wheels get turning and you get some laughs. For me this is a right time and headspace read and I wasn’t really there. But if you are up for an interesting ride, I recommend you get ready 🤯

Thank you to the author, Daryl Gregory, NetGalley and @SagaPressbooks and #SagaSaysCrew for the opportunity to read this book. I received an epub and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Humanity has woken up seven years earlier to find out that we’re all just living in a computer simulation. In fact, the whole universe is a simulation.

The day of The Announcement, words in different scripts flash in front of everyone’s eyes to declare this fact, and to cite as proof hundreds of physic impossibilities that simultaneously appear around the globe. Everyone’s personal beliefs, relationships, ambitions and behavior gets thrown into turmoil. Some people in response commit suicide, others join militant conspiracy groups, while others work on figuring out how to find a glitch in the system that would enable them to escape to the “Real World.” The U.S. government embarks on a billion-dollar project to create true human-like artificial intelligence in order to game the system.

in this ironic futuristic take on The Canterbury Tales, an eclectic set of characters on a Pilgrimage boards a cross-country bus run by Canterbury Trails for a highlights tour of the North American Impossibilities. These range from a frozen upside-down tornado made of an unearthly substance, to hollow wandering sheep, to a Tunnel where you can spend as much time as you like before emerging across the country one second later. Each of the Impossibilities turns reality as we used to know it on its head, defying all the known laws of physics. People’s reactions range from reverence to deep skepticism as they try to piece together their own new understanding of the world.

We start off getting introduced to the tour participants by narrator who uses all caps titles to describe them, from THE ENGINEER, THE RABBI, THE NURSE, THE COMIC BOOK WRITER, and so on. Later we begin to question who this narrator may actually be, along with the potential incompetence of the program’s runners called The Simulators.

Each person on the bus has their own reasons for the journey, but you have to read as each gets surprisingly revealed across time in order to not spoil the surprises.

Suffice it to say that an epic adventure ensues, existential questions get debated, and the character development has you deeply vested in what happens to each tour participant.

Thanks to S&S and Saga Press, and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Speculative fictions meets road trip. If that pitch appeals to you, I would give this a read.

Seven years after the announcement that everything we thought was real is actually a simulation, a group of strangers joins a bus tour to see impossible creations across America. A simple enough premise, but there is a lot to learn to keep up with the story.

The ensemble cast is hit or miss. I enjoyed getting to know most of the characters, though there are definitely some we get to know better than others. I couldn't really comprehend what The Reader was doing on the tour. I found the two nuns difficult to differentiate. The octos were just there. The people with a more central story: JP, Dulin, Gillian, and Lady Mmm were interesting and fleshed out, but there was a noticeable amount of filler in the other storylines.

The world building was good. I loved the ideas of the impossibles, and the way people react and can freak out over them. It's an interesting idea that we could learn that nothing is real, but just on with everything anyway.

In the end I thought that there were more questions than answers, the ending felt abrupt.

I would definitely recommend this to some people, but I wouldn't praise it indiscriminately.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC!

I really loved this premise. And I especially loved the philosophical exploration of the simulation hypothesis. I really loved the notion that after a period of freak out and adjustment upon learning that we are living in a simulation, that some people just moved on with their lives. Like, as a practical matter, how different is it really? I also enjoyed spending time with the characters and became invested in their relationships, their hardships, and their struggles. My one gripe is that second half of the book becomes increasingly devoted to the point of view of Lady Mmm, the character I least liked and also the one that never really gets redeemed. She just kind of falls out of the book and disappears. I’m also a bit flummoxed by the Rabbi, who doesn’t keep kosher and who comes across as kind of a dufus until he finds faith in himself by following a Minecraft sheep. Not quite sure what we’re supposed to take away from that. Overall, really enjoyed this out of the box book and will definitely recommend to others.

Imagine if it was announced that you are living in a simulated world. This is the very unique store of a huge cast of characters on a guided bus trip to visit "The Impossibles", that appeared just after the announcement. The story is told through multiple POVs. The quirky and odd friendship of JP and Dulin is a highlight.

To get some handle, some orientation into what Gregory is doing with this novel, it might help to consider the following: Think of this constellation of authors and ideas: Chaucer, Tom Robbins, and Jack Kerouac being exposed to the mind virus found in Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom's infamous (2003) essay, Are You Living in a Simulation.

Yes, it's a road trip novel but with an unusual McGuffin. Gregory creates a world in which it's mysteriously revealed that what was once thought of as the Real, is just a simulation. And how long has the simulation been running? Yesterday, two weeks ago, since the Big Bang...? There are even glitches in The Matrix that underscore the bleak deflationary insight that humanity is not exceptional. This makes some skeptics cry foul and see a vast conspiracy, while others try to game the situation in gruesome ways.

Lots of meaty questions. How deep does the rabbit hole go? That is are there other layers of simulation... that is folks in simulations creating their own or even parallel simulations? Is there a base reality? Who and what are the simulators? Are the simulators to the 21st-century version of a creator? Possibly an updated version of an ontological proof of the existence of a creator?

There's a feast of sublime philosophy to contemplate that rarely overshadows 'the road trip.' Highly recommended.

Daryl Gregory's "When We Were Real" offers a captivating exploration of artificial intelligence intertwined with an alternate world that keeps readers engrossed from start to finish. Gregory masterfully crafts a narrative that balances intricate world-building with deep character development, making it a noteworthy read for sci-fi enthusiasts.

The story unfolds in a universe where artificial intelligence is not only prevalent but is a cornerstone of society. Gregory's portrayal of AI is refreshingly nuanced, steering clear of the usual dystopian tropes and instead presenting a thought-provoking exploration of its impact on humanity and identity.

The alternate world depicted in the book is rich and vividly constructed, immersing readers in its unique societal norms and technological advancements. Gregory's attention to detail allows for a seamless integration of the fantastical elements into the narrative, making the world both believable and intriguing.

One of the highlights of the novel is its diverse cast of characters, each well-developed with distinct voices and compelling backstories. Their interactions with AI and the challenges they face in this alternate reality are portrayed with depth and empathy, adding emotional weight to the overarching narrative.

While the book is a thrilling read, it occasionally delves into complex themes and scientific jargon that might be overwhelming for some readers. However, these elements ultimately enrich the story, offering a profound reflection on the intersection of technology and human nature.

Overall, "When We Were Real" is a thought-provoking and entertaining journey that showcases Daryl Gregory's talent for blending speculative fiction with deep philosophical questions. It earns a solid four stars and is highly recommended for those who appreciate a well-crafted tale of artificial intelligence and alternate realities.

It’s been a while since I’ve read sci-fi, but this was such a fun and refreshing read! The concept really intrigued me, especially since I often wonder whether we’re living in a simulation—and if so, who’s controlling the chaos that is life?

I enjoyed the different points of view and getting to know all the characters on this wacky ride. If you’re looking for something a little different yet still a fun and emotional journey, I highly recommend When We Were Real!

A big thank you to Saga Press for providing me with an advance reader’s copy via NetGalley.

When We Were Real is a wild romp of a roadtrip novel, where a busload of varied characters take a tour visiting what are essentially glitches in the simulation they are all living in. The story shifts narration frequently, but Gregory did a great job creating his characters and I never felt lost in the shuffle. This book was humorous and thoughtful, with an ending that tugged at my heartstrings. There are unpredictable and unexpected twists and turns, and this science fiction novel felt fresh and interesting from start to finish. Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for a digital review copy.

A road trip like no other. This demands that you ride along with a group of seekers who want to see the Impossibles of North America. But it's not about what they see, it's about who they-and we-are. This moves between the pilgrims to tell their stories. There's good worldbuilding and a fair amount of philosophizing which combine to make for a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For those looking for something different.