This was a interesting concept and had that good concept for a memoir, it was ok experience and I though it was engaging for a first year as a actor. It needed something but I'm not sure what but it was a interesting overall package.

Ready for a salacious tell-all, sans named because NDA’s are a bitch? Well don’t look here! This is what the book tells you it’s going to give you - over and over again, repeatedly, ad nauseum, in various different ways.. and then fails to deliver. I think it’s supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, commentary on the fact that “making it” is as pretentious and annoying a goal as our narrator, but… that means you have to spend time with a dishonest, pretentious, annoying narrator. And if I have to read dishonesty in my fiction, I like it to at least be entertaining. For me, unfortunately, this was not. Wasn’t for me. Could be a fit for the cerebral reader who likes unlikeable characters.

Not for me... not really sure what's going on. Better books about the dark side of Hollywood out there. Good marketing though!

I had to stop reading it because I wasn't in the right frame of mind for it. I imagine most actors are this egocentric so I never had an incline of who it could be.

The marketing was clever... The writing was amateur but I did enjoy it to a degree. I bet it would be better as an audiobook...

3.5 stars

An effective marketing pitch, I suppose, because it did pique my interest. However, the novel didn't really land for me. Author clearly has a very high impression of himself (never heard of him, and his limited IMDb suggests that this book won't have much of a career to destroy).

There are much better books about Hollywood and its darker side out there.

Well I’m not smart or well read enough to get this one I guess. It was supposed to be darkly funny or something but just felt slightly mastubatory to me. I’ll throw it a handful of stars assuming I’m an idiot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own

3/5 Stars – Thought-Provoking, But Inconsistent

The Author by Daniel Thomas Hind offers a unique and introspective take on personal transformation, blurring the lines between fiction, philosophy, and self-help. The core message—that we are the authors of our own lives—is powerful and timely, and there are moments of real insight that encourage deep reflection.

However, the execution is uneven. The blend of narrative and motivational content doesn’t always flow smoothly, and at times, the prose leans more toward abstract than impactful. Some readers will find this style inspiring, while others may feel disconnected from the message.

Overall, The Author has a compelling concept and a few standout moments, but it doesn’t fully deliver on its ambitious premise. Worth reading for its ideas, but not quite as polished or cohesive as it could be.

I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Firstly thank you for NetGalley for the advanced reader copy as it's appreciated

However, this was an absolute NO. I think it's satire and as I can't believe anyone is this careless, reckless and damn rude. I couldnt recommend even if my life depended on it.

This was just too vague for me so i dnf'd after the first 100 pages but I just couldn't get past the it if you know what I mean. I mean could this be more vague. I really did not like this.

Tough slog. Didn’t work for me. Writing felt like AI or at times kind of just random words. Very odd.

The marketing of this book is that is a roman clef written by a current Hollywood star about his wild ascent to fame. I am not really buying that, but as a book this is a fun B- Brett Easton Ellis, focusing on the individual beats of debauched sex and drugs. You don’t really see these kind of 80s Vintage Contemporary books anymore, and while this doesn’r reach the heights of Ellis or Jay McInerny, I appreciated the effort.

I am really at a loss for how to describe this book, and maybe that is the point. I could not finish it, but if you are in the market for a "Wait, what is going on? This was purposely written and approved to be a published book? Huh?" experience - a car crash you can't help but watch - this probably will be up your alley. I'm going to assume, based on what research I could find, this is a sort of social experiment. And if so, interesting overall intentions. Just not my cup of tea. My initial reaction is to go with one star, but I will give two if the above is true.

Thank you, Netgalley and Scribe Media, for the Advanced Reading Copy. All opinions are my own.

This book did draw me in initially but I felt underwhelmed by it and felt forced to keep reading it. I loved the concept but it didn't hit the mark for me.

I'm hoping the whole point of this book is summed up with its April Fools Day publication date. Otherwise, I don't think I appreciated it enough.

A book clearly written by an ego-maniac. It's a crude and poorly written book, who prides themselves on having changed all identifying details about their life. In reality, the changing of the facts renders the book a work of fiction, as this biographical piece more closely resembles a fever dream than a recount of this man's earlier years.
The author is wildly inappropriate, and it doesn't drive the plot forward, and it certainly doesn't help us like the protagonist.

I, like others it seems, fell prey to the irresistible marketing campaign for this book - but I DNF'd pretty early on. Whether a real celeb or a marketing ploy, the writing felt disjointed and I just didn't enjoy the overall voice/tone.

The premise of this was just too intriguing to not give it a shot. The marketing campaign has been so absolutely brilliant, who wouldn’t want to read this and try to figure out who our A-list celebrity is? Unfortunately, it fell short and I had could not make it through.

Our author is absolutely despicable. It only takes a few pages to witness his deplorability, crassness, and pretentious behavior. There are so many slurs and offensive language that I honestly cannot believe anyone would be willing to publish this in 2025. Not only that, it isn’t written well at all. There is a lot of talk of about the author’s undergraduate novel, and this is exactly what it reads like…except I think most undergrads could actually do better.

I have a few theories on who wrote this. And if any of them are accurate, then his agent “Harrison” was right to be concerned - it will absolutely destroy him and his career. And if this all just turns out to be satire and some kind of sweeping allegory about Hollywood and celebrity culture? Well, I don’t think it achieved the intended outcome it was looking for.

this was just.... not fun to read. in most books, i would look for and be able to state a redeeming element. the prose? the characters? the concept? the plot? maybe the concept, which isn't an awful idea. but it throws together styles to create a jumble that never really feels clear. the writing is filled with homophobia, misogyny, and racism for "shock value", which feels more dull, uninspired, and insulting than it ever does shocking. the characters never feel real, instead feeling like if you stuck a few hundred characters of a certain trope into an ai and asked it to churn out a new one. missed the mark entirely. if there was editing, cleaning, and some updates to the chars, it would maybe work, but for now... 1 star.
book received as an ARC.

The concept sounded too intriguing to pass up, but once I started I was left feeling confused and uninterested. The writing style was a little too hard for me to follow - but I'm sure others will enjoy it!

This book drove me crazy. I thought it was an interesting concept for a book and was excited to grab a copy; however, when I opened it, I found the story hard to follow. While it may be a stylist choice, I couldn’t find myself drawn into the story and struggled to follow the plot. While you do t have to like a character to like the book, I found The Author reprehensible and annoying which put me off the story as well.