Grid Abridged

Rating:
Summary: Monster Building Eats Cookie Cutter Characters
Review: "The Grid" is a made for TV movie bound between covers. The story includes a "Gilligan's Island" cast of characters menaced by an amok computer while trapped inside a new building. Instead of plot within plot, you get clich'e within clich'e.

The author's prose is OK, although certain passages reveal him to be a Brit writing about California and an author writing about geeks. The obligatory steamy sex scenes are OK. Although the kink is more British, then Californian. His research on computers, and architecture is OK. Although his use of technology is a bit pedantic. His tech is designed to not be wildly implausible to someone without a clue. There are a few amusing glitches: like describing a Mercury Couger as a two seater (the rear seats are only so uncomfortable that they should be removed), and listing terabyte quanities of mass storage as "10**12" (reader's should be impressed by the incantation of scientific notation).

This story is a mindless read best saved for the beach when you have to keep half your mind on the kids, beer, and beach babes.

Rating:
Summary: Monster Building Eats Cookie Cutter Characters
Review: "The Grid" is a made for TV movie bound between covers. The story includes a "Gilligan's Island" cast of characters menaced by an amok computer while trapped inside a new building. Instead of plot within plot, you get clich'e within clich'e.

The author's prose is OK, although certain passages reveal him to be a Brit writing about California and an author writing about geeks. The obligatory steamy sex scenes are OK. Although the kink is more British, then Californian. His research on computers, and architecture is OK. Although his use of technology is a bit pedantic. His tech is designed to not be wildly implausible to someone without a clue. There are a few amusing glitches: like describing a Mercury Couger as a two seater (the rear seats are only so uncomfortable that they should be removed), and listing terabyte quanities of mass storage as "10**12" (reader's should be impressed by the incantation of scientific notation).

This story is a mindless read best saved for the beach when you have to keep half your mind on the kids, beer, and beach babes.

Rating:
Summary: Inanimate object becomes self aware and plays a deadly game?
Review: A new, high tech building is ready for occupancy, but as its self replicating computer system, Abraham, is exposed to a child's hunt-and-kill computer game, it recreates itself in a deadly manner. Self awareness follows self replication, and the people trapped inside The Grid become enemies in Abraham's game to hunt and destroy them, following the programming code from the computer game that was incorporated into its system functions. The now self aware building begins killing the humans trapped inside one by one, using whatever it has available; elevators, bathroom cleaning systems, pool cleaning systems, etc. A gory and inventive tale of horror and survival, against an enemy that cannot be rationalized with. This is a great read for a night spent in any modern high rise, hotel or apartment or office. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Inanimate object becomes self aware and plays a deadly game¿
Review: A new, high tech building is ready for occupancy, but as its self replicating computer system, Abraham, is exposed to a child's hunt-and-kill computer game, it recreates itself in a deadly manner. Self awareness follows self replication, and the people trapped inside The Grid become enemies in Abraham's game to hunt and destroy them, following the programming code from the computer game that was incorporated into its system functions. The now self aware building begins killing the humans trapped inside one by one, using whatever it has available; elevators, bathroom cleaning systems, pool cleaning systems, etc. A gory and inventive tale of horror and survival, against an enemy that cannot be rationalized with. This is a great read for a night spent in any modern high rise, hotel or apartment or office. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: What a stinker!
Review: After the fantastic Berlin Noir stories and the passable Second Angel, the grid is an obvious, overly written and predictable novel with the literary merit of a hollywood blockbuster like Armeggedon. So disapointing. The characters were so 2 dimensional, the evil menace was as scary as a sesame street character and the drama was as gripping as a bowl of custard. This from a junk writer wold have been acceptable, however we Kerr writes a good novel they generally are good, ... well researched, believable and enjoyable. The Second Angel still had the elements of writing a novel for the Hollywood market but alas not The Grid. One of the most dissapointing books i have had the misfortune of reading

Rating:
Summary: Kerr Out-Crichtons Crichton
Review: An absorbing and exciting thriller that deals with the terrifying possibility that one day technology will take over. When this high-tech highrise office building goes haywire, all the vital ingredients are there - elaborate action, suspense, dry humour and the essential trying to guess which character will be killed next. Very Crichtonesque, and Kerr gets you turning the pages at the same rate.

Rating:
Summary: A gripping thriller in the style of Crichton.
Review: Built round a 'big idea' with a disparate team of core players facing off against the computer. The result is custom made for Hollywood but this British author rings a few cross atlantic changes and stimulates the mind as well as the senses. I found the sci/tech AI premiss a little unconvincing but Kerr plays it well and is ingenious in finding new ways for the computer to wield it's power. As an English expatriate in the States I think this author deserves a bigger readership over here with his Anglo/American style. This one could do it for him but check out a 'Philosophical Investigation' for deeper content.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely Good
Review: Good suspense. Good Technically. Good characterizations. Ingeniously creative plot. Intriguingly different. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Hi-tech suspense silliness
Review: I didn't believe the premise of "The Grid" for one minute, and yet I found it immensely enjoyable. It reads like a Stephen King horror novel and treads some of the same ground. The horror is a malevolent computer that takes over a newly constructed building and proceeds to kill the humans trapped inside in an increasingly grisly manner. Author Kerr makes all this quite exciting as long as you don't take it too seriously.

Rating:
Summary: Hi-tech suspense silliness
Review: I didn't believe the premise of "The Grid" for one minute, and yet I found it immensely enjoyable. It reads like a Stephen King horror novel and treads some of the same ground. The horror is a malevolent computer that takes over a newly constructed building and proceeds to kill the humans trapped inside in an increasingly grisly manner. Author Kerr makes all this quite exciting as long as you don't take it too seriously.