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25th out of 31 books
—
40 voters
The Friend Request
by
Alex Ford
Alex Ford’s Dark Comedy. Have you accepted a 'friend request' when you should have clicked ignore? Do you really know all the people listed as 'friends' on your Facebook page? What if somebody from your past assumed the identity of someone from your present, so they could get close to you? What if they wanted to get close to you, just to hurt you - again.
David Andrews’ lif...more
David Andrews’ lif...more
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published May 2010)
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This was a free kindle book; we'll see how it goes.
THIS BOOK IS VERY VERY BAD. ABORT MISSION. I REPEAT, ABORT MISSION.
THIS BOOK IS VERY VERY BAD. ABORT MISSION. I REPEAT, ABORT MISSION.
You know what's worse than a book about Facebook, which basically reads as a how-to guide on using Facebook? A book about Facebook with awful writing, where Facebook is italicized every time it's mentioned.
The idea behind this story was a good one. Guy accepts a friend request, like so many of us who hang out on the cesspool known as Facebook (I'm sorry, Facebook) tend to do. He doesn't really check this person out. Just clicks accept, goes on his way. The guy who sent this friend request? Oh, j...more
The idea behind this story was a good one. Guy accepts a friend request, like so many of us who hang out on the cesspool known as Facebook (I'm sorry, Facebook) tend to do. He doesn't really check this person out. Just clicks accept, goes on his way. The guy who sent this friend request? Oh, j...more
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The Friend Request
is an interesting cautionary tale about social networking. It is currently offered for free on the Kindle page, and I am a sucker for the free books, so I downloaded it.
David Andrews is a typical nice guy, struggling with nicotine cravings and whether or not he will get the promotion he is up for at work. As our story opens, he has received a Facebook "friend request" from someone he doesn't recognize...but it is making him nervous all the same.
As the story unfolds, we find ou...more
is an interesting cautionary tale about social networking. It is currently offered for free on the Kindle page, and I am a sucker for the free books, so I downloaded it.David Andrews is a typical nice guy, struggling with nicotine cravings and whether or not he will get the promotion he is up for at work. As our story opens, he has received a Facebook "friend request" from someone he doesn't recognize...but it is making him nervous all the same.
As the story unfolds, we find ou...more
I'll confess--I read this because it was a free Kindle book. I will also confess that I don't have a Facebook account. I don't see the point of being friends with someone on line that I would not be friends with in person!
David is a successful writer for a local weekly newspaper and is happy in his relationship with his girlfriend Emma. His life take a a turn when he accepts a "friend" request from "Barry Taylor." As the story unfolds, we learn that Barry and David had a connection in the past,...more
David is a successful writer for a local weekly newspaper and is happy in his relationship with his girlfriend Emma. His life take a a turn when he accepts a "friend" request from "Barry Taylor." As the story unfolds, we learn that Barry and David had a connection in the past,...more
The premise is very good - a psychopath uses Facebook to effect an identity theft and terrorize his old schoolmate.
The execution was at times terrible - one of the most poorly edited books I've ever read (maybe this was only a problem with the Kindle edition?) Misspellings and way too many, commas, making it very, hard to read, in places.
I had a couple of nitpicks with the plot as well that I think good editing could have fixed. The attempt to explain why the psychopath was targeting David, the...more
The execution was at times terrible - one of the most poorly edited books I've ever read (maybe this was only a problem with the Kindle edition?) Misspellings and way too many, commas, making it very, hard to read, in places.
I had a couple of nitpicks with the plot as well that I think good editing could have fixed. The attempt to explain why the psychopath was targeting David, the...more
I will be honest, I had my trigger finger on my Facebook page, poised and ready to delete it at one point in reading this book. But, I remembered that I did not have an archnemisis from high school that nearly killed me, causing me to develop a bout of amnesia to erase all my memories, so I calmed down. I appreciated that this was a free Amazon Kindle read, I would NEVER have picked it up otherwise. It was so interesting in the end (or I was that bored) that I gave my husband an entire blow by b...more
The story is a cautionary one: We, unintentionally, reveal too many things about ourselves on social media, and that can be exploited. The story, while intriguing, does not make up for the other faults of the book. I will not get into the plot itself, there are plenty of reviews here that will give you the gist of the story.
I did not find one of the main characters, Barry, believable. He pins all his failures on his inability to achieve his parents' love. While tragic and somewhat true (from the...more
I did not find one of the main characters, Barry, believable. He pins all his failures on his inability to achieve his parents' love. While tragic and somewhat true (from the...more
I get a feeling from this that the author is a proponent of online privacy and thinks that people should be more wary about what they share. Just this vague feeling...
I enjoyed this novel. It had a lot of great things going for it: the characters were all very believable, flawed yet sympathetic (well, most of them); the writing is sharp, witty and readable; the plot is interesting. There were just a few things that were meh, but I'll get to those in a bit.
David is a great character. He is writte...more
I enjoyed this novel. It had a lot of great things going for it: the characters were all very believable, flawed yet sympathetic (well, most of them); the writing is sharp, witty and readable; the plot is interesting. There were just a few things that were meh, but I'll get to those in a bit.
David is a great character. He is writte...more
I downloaded this free book onto my Kindle because I was curious about the Facebook stalker storyline. This book started out a little bit slow, but as I got further into the story it picked up and the suspense peaked my interest and pulled me in. What I liked most about this book is that the author really knew everything about Facebook, social networking in general and the ramifications that could arise from belonging to these groups. The only thing that I did not like about the book was the far...more
We've all heard the warnings before. Because of social networking we can kiss privacy goodbye. Well, The Friend Request attempts to detail just how bad the scenario can get.
This is the story of two men who met as boys in high school. One was cool and popular, the other awkward and a loner. Fast forward some 15 years amidst the technology age where they meet again, sort of.
I can't totally decide how I feel about The Friend Request. In some respects it's filled with nuggets of dark humor that of...more
This is the story of two men who met as boys in high school. One was cool and popular, the other awkward and a loner. Fast forward some 15 years amidst the technology age where they meet again, sort of.
I can't totally decide how I feel about The Friend Request. In some respects it's filled with nuggets of dark humor that of...more
This is definitely not the most engaging book I've read but I can't say it's a bad book. The story started really slow and that was a bit boring but once the author presented all of his characters the plot started to move forward quite smoothly. I was actually quite satisfied with the book until I reached the last few chapters of the book which was when things started to get a bit confusing and messy. I felt the author was in a big hurry to finish the story and he was also trying to tie in the k...more
I decided to try out a few free Kindle books and for being free, I was surprised how entertained I was by it. The basic premise is about a man, hurt in his childhood seeking revenge made possible by the information he finds on Facebook pages. The underlying goal of the story is to show just how much information we really give away on these social networking sites; relationship status, vacation plans, what you’re reading, who you’re angry with. It’s all in one place for all your friends to read,...more
DNF - did not finish
Very interesting concept.
We meet Barry he’s our ‘bad guy’. He is twisted demeanor is exposed as the story plays out. His family left him alone a lot, bad childhood, blah, blah and one day he finds a Facebook page open in a cafe. He get’s this chick’s email and starts, well, stalker her. Creepy. That is exactly why you should seriously limit your Facebook information! This twisted Barry sends a friend request to David, who is apparently a person he knew and hates from school....more
Very interesting concept.
We meet Barry he’s our ‘bad guy’. He is twisted demeanor is exposed as the story plays out. His family left him alone a lot, bad childhood, blah, blah and one day he finds a Facebook page open in a cafe. He get’s this chick’s email and starts, well, stalker her. Creepy. That is exactly why you should seriously limit your Facebook information! This twisted Barry sends a friend request to David, who is apparently a person he knew and hates from school....more
David Andrews' life is going well. So, when he sees a friend request from a Barry Taylor he doesn't understand why it makes him so nervous - he's not sure he even recognises the name. Little does he realise that all the information on his Facebook page might make him a little too vulnerable - especially to a sociopath like Barry Taylor, who is intent on destroying David's life - for a second time
At times it kept my interested and wanting to read more. The story could of been told quicker withou...more
At times it kept my interested and wanting to read more. The story could of been told quicker withou...more
I downloaded this for free to read on the beach and about four chapters in, I gave up. Talk about labored writing and boring characters. I don't care if it's free; don't waste your time.
Thoroughly enjoyable fast-paced book. Believable characters and interesting writing style. The idea is original, the style accessible and the book moves along at a pretty decent pace. To be honest I'd normally rate this as a 4*, but I think the 2 and 1* are overly critical.
The book is underpinned by a good sense of humor which is often quite dark/oddball. The story itself is quite dark in places. Some parts are a little far-fetched, but then the story stilled worked, so long as you take the book...more
The book is underpinned by a good sense of humor which is often quite dark/oddball. The story itself is quite dark in places. Some parts are a little far-fetched, but then the story stilled worked, so long as you take the book...more
I gotta tell you, The Friend Request book was very very good. It held my attention all the way to the end. I usually get bored by the end of a book and rush through the last few chapters - usually. Not with this book. Every page was good! A real page turner :) Very relevant to our day and age. Not repetitive like a lot of books where the author thinks we can't remember the previous paragraph. The names were very easy to remember and to identify with. I have a hard time with some of the newer boo...more
This isn’t a brilliantly written novel, but I was surprised how entertained I was by it. The story is about a man who chooses a victim based on the information he finds on Facebook pages. The underlying goal of the story is to show just how much information we really give away on these social networking sites; relationship status, vacation plans, what you’re reading, who you’re angry with. It’s all in one place for all your friends to read, and how well do you really know those people?
A satisfyi...more
A satisfyi...more
The message of the book was a good one. It's important to watch what information you make readily available to everyone on the internet. However, much of the plot was convuluted and unbelievable. It was hard to really get into the story because it was too far fetched in some areas and very vague in others. In addition, the author is in serious need of a professional editor. I believe he has an unhealthy obsession with the comma. There were numerous sentences that had five or six commas, several...more
This wasn't the worst free Kindle download that I've ever read. It wasn't the best, either.
Some points of the book were genuinely funny. And some points were mildly aggravating. POV switches every other paragraph, constant italicizing of Facebook terms, and the constant "telling instead of showing" are a few examples. The last is really a shame because the idea the author came up with was interesting and it could have been a highly intense, darkly humorous, cat & mouse game.
I didn't give i...more
Some points of the book were genuinely funny. And some points were mildly aggravating. POV switches every other paragraph, constant italicizing of Facebook terms, and the constant "telling instead of showing" are a few examples. The last is really a shame because the idea the author came up with was interesting and it could have been a highly intense, darkly humorous, cat & mouse game.
I didn't give i...more
This is about the dangers lurking in one's past and via Facebook and social networking. Interesting premise, good story, a bit raunchy in sexual deviant detail at the end of the book but again,only one moment of inconsistency that bugged me enough to almost ruin the whole story for me. In case anyone decides to read this book, I won't give away any other clues or spoilers but suffice it to say that I am not buying that 17 year old kids in the UK were trading text messages over 15 years ago... ju...more
This short novel was a super interesting concept and story line. Unfortunately, the writing was real medium. It is the story of an evil guy using the info found on his victims' Facebook accounts. He has some good points about online privacy. It sure made me go check my privacy settings. As a story, it was pretty good but kind of over the top in believability. The victims were a little too naive and the events very convenient. Nevertheless, it was a decent, quick read and O.K. if you want to try...more
It took me awhile to get into this book, but it was definitely an interesting novel on the dangers of Facebook. It kind of made me realize that I put way too much of my personal life out there for others to see, but thankfully I don't have some evil ex-friend trying to destroy my life. The ending was good, and overall I liked the book. It's not a perfect novel, and Barry's reasons for destroying David's life (twice) are pretty pathetic, but then so is Barry. The Friend Request was pretty funny,...more
I finished reading The Friend Request last night. Generally well written apart from a few glaring spelling mistakes, and was a good read. Not sure if it was meant to be a thriller or a dark comedy, but I found it more a dark comedy. Huge problem I had with the plot was a text message supposedly sent between 17 yr olds in the mid 1990s. Unless the UK was technologically miles ahead of Australia, mobile phones just weren't that prevalent back then......
First let me say, please everyone who is on Facebook, Myspace, Tweeter, etc. Beware of what you are posting. This book was quite scary in what information can be obtained via social networks. However, as for the story.. Good in some areas, not so good in other areas. It dragged on and I felt like the book was way too long. But, I learned a very valuable lesson, other than Goodreads I stay off of social network sites. Very scary..
I was engaged in the story very quickly, and really couldn't put the book down. Good bits: strong plot, strong characters, funny, good writing style. Bad bits: unnecessary cussing, the author should have left out the final chapter (it was very irritating), and on the climax of the story, the author should have dragged that out a bit.
Overall, this was a very good novel and it was worth paying for.
Overall, this was a very good novel and it was worth paying for.
A well written cautionary tale about social networking and online privacy / security risks. Of course, part of it is dependent on not being naive or irrationally trusting in face-to-face interactions as well. Story of a nasty twisted self-centered psychopath who uses Facebook to get into his victim's head and life. He does get a solid comeuppance at the end of the book, so don't stop part way through.
Logger du altid af Facebook når du går fra din computer? Har du et sikkert uigennemskueligt password? - Og er du helt sikker på, at den friend request du accepterede sidst, rent faktisk er, fra den person den foregav at være fra?
Friend request er en hæsblæsende thriller, der vil få dig til at glemme at trække vejret undervejs - for hvad der sker, kunne i realiteten ske for dig.
Friend request er en hæsblæsende thriller, der vil få dig til at glemme at trække vejret undervejs - for hvad der sker, kunne i realiteten ske for dig.
On plot/story line alone, this would get a 5. the writing style only warrants a 3. Quick read and will make you reconsider having a Facebook account! Well worth the read. This is what everyone fears about putting all of your personal information on the internet. Someone using Facebook to infiltrate others lives and wreak havoc. A truly scary thought!
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