Thomas P— is exhausted. He’s been travelling for work so much he barely knows where he is. And then, while waiting for a table at a restaurant, he sees someone from his past. Exactly as she was twenty years ago. Deeply shaken, he tries to carry on as if nothing happened.

But when it occurs again, in a different restaurant, in a different city, Thomas’s world begins to unravel. Haunted by a magnificent black parrot and a past he wants to forget, he is unsure whether he can trust himself and the world around him.

Then an enigmatic woman tells him his memory has been mined to create life-like androids that are replacing the human race one by one. And then he is arrested.

Will Thomas resist the mysterious woman and get his life back? Or will he join her cult and take up arms in the fight to save us all?

The Nucleus of Reality, or the Recollections of Thomas P—, is the story of a man trying to remember why he ended up losing everything but himself.

The Nucleus of Reality is “a pleasing cerebral novel," with a story related in prose that is “consistently taut and suspenseful, as it adeptly communicates Thomas’ growing sense of dread.” Kirkus Reviews

Thomas is “not the most reliable narrator” but “Davenport succeeds in making his protagonist come across as honest and trustworthy, and Thomas earns the reader’s forgiveness even after omitting important information or delivering it out of order.” Kirkus Reviews

With intriguing and clever writing, L.A. Davenport encourages the reader to think about who [Thomas] is and…who we are in society. The BookLife Prize

Trust me, you’re in for a mind-bending ride...I had no idea how it would end. That’s what I look for in a book — unpredictability. Kam Brook, Kam's Place

The Nucleus of Reality is strange, existential, and curious. It might give you a lot to ponder about if you dig deep enough… [It] reminded me a tad of The Stranger by Albert Camus… [It's] a stream of consciousness first-person novel with the most unreliable narrator you’ve ever met. Rummy's Recs

A beautifully described story of a man trying to remember why he ended up losing everything but himself. Emily Quinn, A Quintillion Words

A clever interpretation of a man’s grief and depression. Melanie’s Reads