A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor: A Novel (The Carls)
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Who has the right to change the world forever?
How will we live online?
How do we find comfort in an increasingly isolated world?
The Carls disappeared the same way they appeared, in an instant. While the robots were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction with only their presence. Part of their maelstrom was the sudden viral fame and untimely death of April May: a young woman who stumbled into Carl’s path, giving them their name, becoming their advocate, and putting herself in the middle of an avalanche of conspiracy theories.
Months later, April’s friends are trying to find their footing in a post-Carl world. Andy has picked up April’s mantle of fame, speaking at conferences and online; Maya, ravaged by grief, begins to follow a string of mysteries that she is convinced will lead her to April; and Miranda is contemplating defying her friends’ advice and pursuing a new scientific operation…one that might have repercussions beyond anyone’s comprehension. Just as it is starting to seem like the gang may never learn the real story behind the events that changed their lives forever, a series of clues arrive—mysterious books that seem to predict the future and control the actions of their readers—all of which seems to suggest that April could be very much alive.
In the midst of the search for the truth and the search for April is a growing force, something that wants to capture our consciousness and even control our reality. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is the bold and brilliant follow-up to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. It is a fast-paced adventure that is also a biting social commentary, asking hard, urgent questions about the way we live, our freedoms, our future, and how we handle the unknown.
Who has the right to change the world forever?
How will we live online?
How do we find comfort in an increasingly isolated world?
The Carls disappeared the same way they appeared, in an instant. While the robots were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction with only their presence. Part of their maelstrom was the sudden viral fame and untimely death of April May: a young woman who stumbled into Carl’s path, giving them their name, becoming their advocate, and putting herself in the middle of an avalanche of conspiracy theories.
Months later, April’s friends are trying to find their footing in a post-Carl world. Andy has picked up April’s mantle of fame, speaking at conferences and online; Maya, ravaged by grief, begins to follow a string of mysteries that she is convinced will lead her to April; and Miranda is contemplating defying her friends’ advice and pursuing a new scientific operation…one that might have repercussions beyond anyone’s comprehension. Just as it is starting to seem like the gang may never learn the real story behind the events that changed their lives forever, a series of clues arrive—mysterious books that seem to predict the future and control the actions of their readers—all of which seems to suggest that April could be very much alive.
In the midst of the search for the truth and the search for April is a growing force, something that wants to capture our consciousness and even control our reality. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is the bold and brilliant follow-up to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. It is a fast-paced adventure that is also a biting social commentary, asking hard, urgent questions about the way we live, our freedoms, our future, and how we handle the unknown.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
i weirdly liked this almost more than the first book, i think because there was a lot less april... i liked that i was able to figure things out as the characters did. things didn't come too out of nowhere. also why are peter's always evil?? okay not really always but peter in ender's game and this book are two examples. and there are definitely more... somewhere.
seriously though i liked a lot of the sci-fi components of this book, and the characters were all flawed but okay (except april i was so annoyed with her). and speaking of characters, i like that the other characters acknowledged their lack of development in the first book and chalked it up to april being too caught up in her own stuff to mention more about that. it felt very realistic and explained something that bugged me about the first book.
also i like that the audiobook comes with a convo with hank green! that's fun
unfortunately, i don't think the ideas of this book came across as well as they could have. it seemed like hank had clear themes he wanted to convey about humanity and capitalism and ethics, but his ideas either smacked you in the face or hid themselves for chapters at a time. still, i enjoyed this book! 3.5 stars âââ
seriously though i liked a lot of the sci-fi components of this book, and the characters were all flawed but okay (except april i was so annoyed with her). and speaking of characters, i like that the other characters acknowledged their lack of development in the first book and chalked it up to april being too caught up in her own stuff to mention more about that. it felt very realistic and explained something that bugged me about the first book.
also i like that the audiobook comes with a convo with hank green! that's fun
unfortunately, i don't think the ideas of this book came across as well as they could have. it seemed like hank had clear themes he wanted to convey about humanity and capitalism and ethics, but his ideas either smacked you in the face or hid themselves for chapters at a time. still, i enjoyed this book! 3.5 stars âââ
These two Carl books have been so good! This type of realistic science fiction kept me entertained the whole way through. I may have liked this one more than the first Carl as well.
This has all the things I hate.
No thank you self aware robots!
No thank you virtual reality!
NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUU
No thank you self aware robots!
No thank you virtual reality!
NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUU
This book made me feel something I haven't felt for an extremely long time. Hope. Is this a perfect book? No. But I do think it is an essential read for anyone who needs a bit of their faith in humanity restored. Thank you Hank Green for this gift.
This is a science fiction sequel. Knocked this one out of the park too. I'll be reading all of Hank Green's books from now on.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.