I feel I know all I need, or want, to know about conspiracy theories, or the people who believe in them. But I've enjoyed other books by Danny Wallace with his insightful and entertaining take on life today, so felt I had to give this a read.

However this is about conspiracy theories, and though it's amusing and interesting, it's not particularly uplifting or hopeful. Perhaps that's all the more reason we should read it.

There's a certain quiet poignancy about the opening of the book, and what prompted Danny to explore this subject.

His father died recently and Danny had been going through papers, belongings and emails to get everything in order. He discovered that his father had been in contact with someone in China whom he'd met fleetingly in a visit many years ago. This individual seemed exceptionally distressed at Prof Wallace's death.

Thinking that his father may have been a spy(!), Danny Wallace started investigating. And the book regales us with the bizarre and troubling things he discovers, much bigger than his father's story.

He talks to people who believe in conspiracies, and ponders on why some are more susceptible than others. He learns from people who have come out the other side. He finds out what researchers feel about the near future. And of course he steps into the world of AI and where that may/will lead.

This is a subject we should all be taking seriously, he stresses - and the concluding chapters make this very apparent. It's not about ridiculing the people who believe silly things, it's about our collective responsibility in upholding the truth and overcoming the algorithms. 

He brings a very troubling message but he urges us not to get overwhelmed. Instead we should be impelled to play our part, making seemingly small but insistent lifestyle changes in our use of technology, he says. We can make a difference. We can overcome the algorithms. And we need to be aware. It's powerful stuff.