This book follows a premise that is simply crazy and messed up!
Rating: 4/5
IMAGINE YOU HAD ALL THE MONEY YOU EVER WANTED at the push of a button. The power to control law enforcement, politicians at the highest levels, the judicial system as a whole. To have what you want when you want it, whatever it is. All you have to do is kill someone . . . before someone kills you.
MEMBERS of THE CIRCLE don’t have to imagine such a life. They live it. The liberation of being both hunter and hunted. The salvation that comes with such freedom. A chance to feel truly alive. A chance to savor each precious moment. Because in THE CIRCLE any moment could be your last.
DOUGLAS GOODWIN isn’t rich. He isn’t powerful. What could the sacred society of THE CIRCLE possibly want with him—just a regular guy with a regular job leading a regular life? What would drive them to coerce a young man who has always valued integrity over hedonism into their midst? And why would Doug agree to submersion in a world of secrecy and murder? It’s unthinkable.
THE HARSH REALITY? Doug has been inducted into an institution where friends become enemies overnight, loyalty is nothing more than a punchline, and conscience is a burden. Where he will be hunted and expected to hunt other members to their death. With no escape from THE CIRCLE’s ubiquitous influence and domination.
HOW FAR WILL DOUG GO? How much will he sacrifice to preserve his way of life? Will he be swayed by the money, the women, the power? Or will THE CIRCLE consume him, as it has hundreds of others before him, and leave nothing but another nameless corpse in its wake?
I received a free copy of The Circle from the author, Stephen Galgon himself in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much! This was a fantastic read!
Welcome to the Circle…
This was such a thrilling read from start to finish! I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this. All I knew was the synopsis which had just completely captivated me. This book follows a premise that is simply crazy and messed up! It left me wondering how a society like this could ever be started, let alone accepted by its members. And I enjoyed every minute of reading it!
This book follows a premise that is simply crazy and messed up!
The premise is imagine you could live a life where money was no issue. You could have anything you asked for. The catch? Because there’s always a catch. You must hunt and kill or be killed. Being a part of a secret society, The Circle you get just that. All the money you could dream of, but you must hunt and kill other members before they kill you. A chance to feel truly alive. We follow Doug, basically, a nobody, who gets recruited into this secret society known as The Circle against his will. Will Doug agree to become one of these killers?
In a way, this is like a modern style of The Hunger Games. Where new recruits are brought into this society against their will, being told they have no choice but to hunt others and be hunted yourself. With the promise of riches as your reward. Just instead of a dystopian world, it’s set in the present day. And there’s no reaping ceremony as the world has no idea this society even exists. Our main character Doug also gave off similar vibes to the main character of The Hunger Games, Katniss.
In a way, this is like a modern style of The Hunger Games.
This idea of being hunted also vaguely reminded me of one of my favorite Stephen King novels, The Running Man. The book, not the movie! If you’re unfamiliar with the plot of The Running Man, the book follows a dystopian future where the poor are seen more as objects of entertainment rather than actual people. And we see a man, who signs up for a gameshow to earn money for his family. The gameshow he’s picked for is The Running Man, where he’s hunted throughout the country. Now the plot itself is very different from what I read in The Circle, which is uniquely its own! It was just the idea of being hunted in any part of the world especially with our main character being so against what the society stood for that reminded me of The Running Man.
This idea of being hunted also vaguely reminded me of one of my favorite Stephen King novels, The Running Man.
As I mentioned, from start to finish this was a thrill. This book is action packed! There was never a dull moment. Including the first scene, where we start the book in the middle of a hunt! And it leaves us going “what the hell just happened!” I could easily see this being made into a movie!
There was never a dull moment.
The pace of this book was quick. Following Doug as he learns the ins and outs of this society, The Circle. And how these members are so accepting of the terms of membership per se, having to kill another human being and allowing the chance to be killed yourself. And there were so many twists and turns, I was so thrown by everything I was reading. I eventually stopped trying to guess what might happen. And I just rolled with the flow.
And there were so many twists and turns, I was so thrown by everything I was reading.
I will say, the ending was not what I expected. It wasn’t what I had hoped for our main character. Especially after all the events, we saw leading up to the ending. I assumed Doug would have done something different. But at the same time, because of those same events, I can also see why he didn’t.
I truly enjoyed every moment of reading this! I think anyone who’s a fan of suspense thrillers would enjoy this one! It’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.