It has been a while since I have found a book that I didn’t just simply love because the story was good, but also because I truly understood what the author was trying to say. More Than This by Patrick Ness was one of the first books to hit me like this in such a long time. I adored every page of it. The story begins, and I mean the three pages of a four-hundred and seventy eight page novel, with the main character drowning. Then, he wakes up again, no-where near the place where he died. He finds himself in a very familiar, yet different world, a world that he fully recognizes but can’t quite bring himself to call ‘home’. He is seemingly alone on the planet; unable to tell where he is, assuming that it is some sort of self-created Hell.

It’s hard to talk about the book more than that without spoiling it. What I can say is that it tackles a very interesting subject in Philosophy with, I would argue, more success than a great number of Philosophers. There is a problem with the nature of existence, in that we can’t truly be sure that anything is actually real. How do we tell for certain that the world that we live in is even there? We can’t be sure of anything; we don’t know if we are actually sitting at a table reading a book, or if a machine is just tricking me into thinking that we are. For centuries, people have been struggling with this idea; it can be pretty daunting to think about. This book makes you think without making you work for it.

The book itself is a joy to read. The story is amazing, full of twists and utterly jaw dropping moments. I’ve never been a fan of Ness’ writing style before, I tried to read The Knife of Never Letting Go and found it a little… Meh, to be honest. But More Than This is something special. There isn’t a wasted word throughout the book; each little letter printed on the page makes your skin tingle or the hairs on your arms stand to attention. I don’t know if I could find a fault in it if I tried. I bought this book because it had a review by John Green on the cover, and I am so glad I did. I have a newfound respect for Ness.

More Than This blew my mind more than I thought a book could. I think my heart stopped at least twice while reading. I’ve read it a few times now, and each time it impresses me more and more. I feel like everyone should try to read this (but it might be the Philosophy nerd inside me speaking) as it’s a simply enjoyably exciting read which makes you truly think about what we have in life without you realizing quite how hard you’re thinking about it.

Ness is a damn genius.