(reviewed by JD Jung)
“She couldn’t decide which was deteriorating faster—her life or the country. They were all in the hands of a president who was spreading misinformation as fast as the virus was spreading infection across the world.”
“Even his country seemed in danger. Was it going to survive? Would his marriage?
Adam and Julia Gosford were living in the San Francisco Bay area along with their young daughter. Adam, a Computer Science Professor at UC Berkeley, favored facts over feelings. Julia, an Investigator for the ACLU legal /policy team, relied on both.
Adam was asked to co-write a paper on hacking into states’ computer voting systems. Since he felt comfortable in the digital world, he found himself digging into worlds of disinformation, specifically infiltrating the conspiracy group, QAnon.
In the middle of pandemics and politics, life’s difficulties don’t just go away. The Gosford’s were no exception, and theirs include self-medication, a dangerous ex-boyfriend, false accusations of sexual misconduct, toxic extended family and betrayal.
In regards to politics, pandemics and personal issues, Adam quickly learned that facts and science aren’t enough. One must be cognizant of people’s emotions for any chance that they may eventually accept the truth.
Personally, I would have liked to have read more on Adam exploring deep down into the QAnon rabbit hole, and less on the family’s personal issues. However, I’m sure that was not the point of the book.
In any event, Dangerous Conjectures will keep readers anxiously awaiting the outcomes of the characters’ experiences while remembering how these events affected their own lives. And the surprise ending is not to be missed.
