Depends on the Strength of the Yes

by Cameron S. Currie

Lex Page is a reporter in the not-too-distant future who has stumbled onto the story of a lifetime, and a crazy old man who insists that all conspiracy theories are true. It's obviously nonsense.

Being followed is probably just coincidence.

348 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2016

About the author

Cameron S. Currie has been writing since sometime in elementary school in the late 1860's. He likes to read books by the bucketload, and is always working on his next book. His completed works include A Human Number and Depends on the Strength of the Yes, and a fantasy series (recently dubbed 'the Oubliette') that includes Shiv, My Name's Not Girl, Half an Ogre, and A Map of the Inner Skull. He recently published the long-awaited Starship Rumpelstiltskin, and is planning on releasing Hand to the Work, the fifth Oubliette novel, before the end of 2022.

Reviews

[Catherine Fitzsimmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book. It takes a setting that is a true cyberpunk for the 21st century, overexaggerated government interference and throwaway culture in a running social commentary, and a touch of noir nihilism and combines it with a plot like a cheesy 90s action movie and a cast that includes reincarnated social icons of the 19th and mid-20th centuries. You can't take this book seriously, just enjoy the ride on the fun romp that it is. Very entertaining read.

[A.A. Jankiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s taken me a while to get to this one and I’m glad I finally did because I can easily say this will be one of my top 10 of the year. Depends on the Strength of Yes by Cameron S. Currie brings us into an Orwellian future where journalist Lex Page and a rag-tag team of misfits join forces to take down a plot that threatens to end humanity as they know it. Interwoven into the plot are various conspiracy theories, all of which are true to some degree.

The action in the novel was fast paced and each chapter left you wanting to read the next. The characters were all well written with distinct voices of their own and I particularly enjoyed Riley, Lex’s brother who has autism and an obsession with conspiracy theories. As someone whose mother works with special needs children, I often hear stories from her work and I thought the character was very accurately portrayed.

The backdrop of a futuristic run down Toronto of this story gives a lot to ponder in terms of where our own society is heading. Inflated prices, 3D printed clothing for single day use and food products laced with more soy than actual food content are all very real things which could someday become the new norm in our society. It almost gave me a Blade Runner feeling reading some of these passages as I pictured it in my mind.

I highly recommend this book, I feel it has a lot of offer in terms of both story and the philosophical implications of what could be if we don’t look past what mainstream media feeds us. While there is some grain of truth to what is being said, that is all dependant on what we choose to believe as accurate or not and on the strength of yes.

[Cameron Currie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first pure science fiction novel. It's set about 50 years in the future, in a world where all of the conspiracy theories are true (although not everyone knows that). I'm a bit of a stickler for the science in it; there was a lot of research involved, so it's hard science fiction in that way, but it's not a rewrite of Star Trek... more kind of Bladerunner-ish, but with less brooding and pregnant silence.

Lex Page is a self-employed reporter who lives out of cheap hotel rooms, and who is on the trail of the story of a lifetime... or maybe it's on his trail. The crazy old man who's involved somehow is implying that, but he's definitely not sharing all that he knows.