Utopia by Lincoln Child
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Book Reviews of Utopia
Book Review: Utopia
Summary: 4 Stars
Action packed, good read. Kept you guessing . Lots of twists and turns. Would make a great movie.Book Review: Awesome Read!
Summary: 4 Stars
Book Review: Worth reading but not remembering
Summary: 3 Stars
Hard to rate this book, honestly, especially without half stars.I disagree greatly with several of the reviews here. For one, comparing it to Die Hard is a completely unfair way to sell this to a potential buyer. Die Hard was a game of cat and mouse, full of action. There isn't much action in this book, nor any hiding. In fact, there's only one true gunfight, and it lasts 3 bullets. More bullets are fired in other areas of the book, but it's against unarmed, unknowing people.
It's also unfair to compare this book to Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park was a book about technology and action within a theme park of sorts. This is a book involving some technology and action within a true theme park, but it's a different breed. The action is limited, and the technology isn't explained or even described much, just presented as something that exists.
There are also some groaners. Most notably is the Wingnut character mentioned in other reviews. From his first appearance you know here's there simply to be sacrificed. No surprises there, but to the authors credit he downplays the convenient behavior trait that leads to his usefulness, and incorporates it more as part of a whole rather than a way to exploit. You may see Wingnut's usefulness coming, but Child doesn't get lazy and leave it at that.
Another issue is the terrorists themselves. At one point it's mentioned that people would be shocked if they knew the true face of the ringleader, yet nothing comes from it after he's stopped. A shame, but only due to that line.
So I've told you what this book isn't really, and that it has problems. Is it worth reading? Yes. The book is essentially a crisis book within a theme park, a difficult concept to make realistic. Child takes great effort to make it so, giving reasons why obvious answers must be ignored, and taking into account how a corporation would likely act. Nothing is too unrealistic, and none of the plot will make you groan very hard at all. This is arguably Child's greatest accomplishment within the book.
It's interesting, the characters have some depth to them, and you'll keep reading. The full potential is never realized, but there are no falls off the edge, so you'll read with a smile.
A solid effort. Not amazing, but solid enough that I look forward to Child's next solo effot.
Book Review: Cheap Thrills
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm a big fan of the Preston/Child writing team - Relic, The Cabinet of Curiosities, Still Life with Crows, Mount Dragon, Riptide, etc. - all great examples of rapid-paced modern fiction with enough research and technical detail to make them believable. This was my first read of Child going solo, and while perhaps not up to the standards of the duo, "Utopia" will certainly not disappoint. Set in Utopia, a futuristic theme park under a massive dome in the Nevada dessert, our unlikely hero, Dr. Andrew Warne, is a robotics designer and former professor from Carnegie Mellon. Summoned to Utopia to help solve apparent bugs in the extraordinary advanced and complex systems network he has created, Warne soon finds himself caught up in a terrorist plot in which the park's 65,000 visitors are unknowing hostages. There is nothing special or endearing in the characters - no "special agent Pendergasts" in this Child installment - though "Utopia" has more than its fill of suspense and adrenalin, and the right balance of technology between credibility and tedium. But while reading "Utopia", it is impossible not to recall "Die Hard" - the impossibly urbane chief villain, the accidental hero, the sinister scheme a mere diversion to the ultimate objective, the peril in which the protagonist's loved ones are placed. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, the familiarity of the plot and predictability of the ending prevent Utopia from earning a four or five star rating. Notwithstanding, this is an entertaining thriller, and a fascinating glimpse into the complex behind-the-scenes operations of a major theme park. It is quite evident that Child likely spent considerable time in the Disney World underground as preparation for Utopia. Preston/Child fans will find this comfortable ground, while the uninitiated can expect in "Utopia" a journey right up there with some of Michael Crichton's better techno-thrillers.
Book Review: Good read, but silly at the end.
Summary: 3 Stars
I liked the premise of this book, with it being set in a theme park. I also liked the way the theme park was designed, it did seem to be very revolutionary and interesting. However, I thought that some of the descriptions of the park conflicted with each other. Such as the idea of it being a one-day total immersion experience, and therefore not having on-site hotels, but then several times in the story describing situations where people would want to return for more than a single day. If people are willing to come back, then the park is going to make that as easy as possible for them, especially if Nightengale's vision was corrupted by corporate "bean-counters" greedy for profits, as is described in the story.The only major thing that I didn't like about the story is it didn't seem to me that the Metanet really had much of a purpose at all, except to bring Warne into the story. And the bad guys seemed so concerned with Warne, when they had absolutely no reason to be. Even the things that he discoveered about them could have easily been discovered by Terri or anyone else, and even though Warne dd figure things out, the bad guys had no way of knowing that he did, and therefore shouldn't have been any more concerned with him than anyone else. Actually, Poole seemed to make a bigger difference as far as being a random element interfering with thir plans.
Finally, the ending of this story just seemed to grow more ridiculous by the page. I realize that this is the case with a lot of thrillers to keep you on the edge of your seat, but some of the things in this story were just too much. There were also too many things where a convenient solution was just written in with no logical explanation as to why these solutions would be available.
I enjoyed the book, and it was interesting the entire time, but be prepared for some silly situations.