Utopia

I enjoyed this one and read it in record time. Of course I stayed up into the wee hours to finish it. I've learned that with, Child's books, you need to plan on getting to sleep later that usual after you hit the half-way mark.This techno-thriller plays itself out in a futuristic theme park (Micky Mouse, it ain't) in the Nevada desert.There are the usual near-death experiences with a few "real-death" experiences thrown in, letting you know that the next demise could involve a prominent character. This one is not for someone with feeble imagination, Child asks his readers to envision Utopia's out-of-this-world attractions and robotics and if you can do that and follow the central characters as they attempt to thwart the bad guys, you'll remember this one long after you've put it down. Or if not, you will at least remember Wingnut.

The subtitle says it's a thriller, and that is a understatement! Lincoln Child, in his first solo book, has written what I call a dessert book. You can literally read all 385 pages after dinner in one sitting. (I took two!) The pace of this novel is fast and furious with each chapter starting with the time of the day. After the prologue, the entire sequence of events runs from 7:30 A.M. to 4:32 P.M. The excitement of each chapter automatically draws you into the next chapter, until you realize it's two o'clock in the morning, and you are still reading!The story centers around a futuristic theme park with a glass dome, located outside Las Vegas, Nevada. This park is divided into four sections: Gaslight, Callisto, Camelot, and Boardwalk, all featuring the latest in robotics and holographic imaging. The system that coordinates the activities of all the robots is called Metanet, designed by Dr. Andrew Warne, commissioned by the parks magician and visionary, the late Eric Nightingale.After a roller coaster accident caused by robotic failure, Dr.Warne is called in by the park's general manager, Sarah Boatwright, an ex-girlfriend of his. Dr. Warne arrives at the park with his 14 year old daughter, Georgia, thinking the park wants him to expand his Metanet into the next themed section called Atlantis. But he is surprised to find out from Sarah and Fred Barksdale, head of systems, that they want him to disable his Metanet system. It seems there have been other failures, and the Board of Directors want it out. Already reeling from the recent failure of his company, Andrew along with Teresa Bonifacio, systems controller of Utopia, start investigating the mishaps.Enter the mysterious John Doe, a brilliant criminal mind. He barges into Sarah's office and announces that he is responsible for all the accidents! Unless he gets a copy of the Hologram disk, all hell will break loose in the park. Apparently this state of the art holographic disk is worth millions. But, is this all he wants? He disappears into the crowd, vowing that he will demonstrate his control with more accidents. In the ensuing hours, failed hand-offs of the disk cause more robotic mishaps and many deaths. John Doe and his cohorts are well hidden and deft at causing chaos and mayhem!Now it is a race of time for Dr. Warne, Teresa, Wingnut the cyber dog, and a park guest, Angus Poole, to find the criminals before they blowup the park. They stumble upon John Doe's alternate reason for being there and find out who the park's inside helper is. This will surprise you! The ending is well conceived and ends with a Fourth of July blast! For Lincoln Child fans, this is a must read.

I was thrilled to see Lincoln Child take a topical detour from his work with Douglas Preston for his first solo novel, Utopia. I love his novels with Preston, but with Utopia, he develops his own distinct voice and the results are spectacular. The amount of detail in this book is wonderful, and yet, unlike Crichton, Child never lectures the reader on minute technical matters. The action never comes to a complete stop for a treatise on artificial intelligence or any of the other scientific elements of the book.I also really liked how Child is able to give voice to a teenage girl, as well as more typical adult male action-oriented characters. I think Child's ability to make the reader care about the population of his book (even the nasty characters) is what elevates Utopia above many other genre novels. These are not cardboard cutouts.This book is definitely worth a read - one of the few thrillers that is actually worth not waiting for paperback.

I really enjoyed this book. Sometimes I just want something a little less challenging to read...something lighter than my usual choices. I enjoy Rollins, Moon, Preston & Child, Morrison, etc. I thought this book was lighter reading than those authors usually provide. I thought the tech was fun. Utopia provided an intriguing look at what I think many theme parks today try to do. It was just a terrific break from the usual blood/gore/psychopathy that fills so many tech thrillers today. Now there was bloodshed but not excessive and the tech brought an almost scifi quality to the book. If you are looking for well written lighter tech fare by a talented, skilled author, choose this book. You won't be disappointed.

Good one as always by Child. Loved it. Fast efficient service as well.

En mi caso adquirí el libro de segunda mano y por el precio considero que es una buena compra, a pesar de que se nota el evidente uso.

I have read most of Preston & Childs joint work, and have become a firm fan, so it naturally follows that when one or the other releases a solo piece I am curious to see if it is up to "scratch" and as good as their combined efforts. I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed, I found "Utopia" as entertaining and well written as any of their previous titles and would thoroughly recommend to all. I found the characters, plot and prose as pleasing this time around as any other.

面白そうだなと思って購入したら、予想の通りそのまま面白かったです。

I had not read anything by this author before but was intrigued by the premise of this book. A huge next-generation theme park with the latest robotics, special effects etc. has opened in the desert just outside Las Vegas. The book's protagonist is Andrew Warne, a robotics expert who helped in the original designs for the park who has returned for a meeting with the park's director following a series of apparent accidents and malfunctions at the park which seem to have been caused by the robots. Warne starts to investigate but it soon becomes apparent that more sinister forces are at play. A cat-and-mouse chase across the park ensues, with the stakes being upped by the hour and the lives of innocent visitors being put at risk. Warne and his colleagues have to work fast to try and work out who is behind this and how they can be stopped.This is a great thriller along the lines of Michael Crichton's novels (although not quite in the same league). The setting of Utopia is brought to life really well and I liked the whole concept of immersion and how the park is made as believable as possible - to the point that when things go wrong the visitors often think it's part of the show! The subplot concerning Warne's past relationship with the park director felt a little wooden but overall I really enjoyed the book.