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: Gripping, yet something is missing....
Review: I have to admit, since I am a fan of technothrillers, I kinda got interested in this book. And yes, it didn't let me put the book down. It has a philosophical flare to it, especially when the computer goes with his monologue. The way the author makes every killing scene gruesome than the former is amazing though, the way he portrays the 18 or so killings. The first thing that surprised me was the autopsy scene, when the doctor realised that the Yojo's brain was shrunk into the size of a golf ball. The depressurised human explosion scene in the restroom is a good one too. The thing that prevents me from giving this book a 5 star is the fact that the characters are too stereotyped. It seems that every character follows a certain mold, a pattern. There's the not-so-good good guy, who has an affair; the cranky boss; the seductive female office mate; etc. Still, if one is looking for a thriller that is sort of unique in perspective, then this might be a candidate.
Rating: 
Summary: a terrific read!
Review: I picked up this book because of the cover. Boy was I fortunate, this has to be the sleeper hit of the year.
The main character was so nasty that I wanted to see his demise, but as the book wore on , I had empathy for him. All the characters were flawed to an extent, but believable.
Ishmael is everybody's nightmare, a computer program gone amok. Novel reads a morality play, as the bad get their comeuppance and the heroes prevail. This author is new to me, but he reads a little like Michaeal Crichton. I won't hesitate to read his other works.
Rating: 
Summary: This book stinks.
Review: I read Kerr's "A Philosophical Investigation" last year. Having enjoyed it a lot, and having read several favorable reviews of "The Grid", I figured I'd give it a try.
Boy, did I get taken.
The writing in "The Grid" is awful, the characters two-dimensional (cold-hearted architectural genius, overweight programmer, tough cop, etc.), and the plot laughable---a kid's computer games get into the control system of a "smart" building, which then proceeds to kill people off one by one. I'd call it a second-rate pastiche of Crichton, except that even when he's writing badly (e.g. "Rising Sun"), Crichton does better than this. And while it might be a minor point to some people, it really irks me that Kerr keeps getting his technology wrong. If you know anything about computers, science, or architecture, you'll spot howlers on every second page.
If you're thinking of buying this book, don't; try Zencey's "Panama" instead
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, technically, great
Review: I read this book just the last two days in german. It was absolutely great, I was thrilled from the first to the last line - starting smooth, running wild, exploding to the end - haven't read a more exciting book for the last years - since I left the early King - just for the suspense, this GRID isn't bloody horror, it's soft, and that makes it so strong.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: It's hard to believe that this book was the product of the same author that presented us with the Berlin Noir trilogy. For me, an interesting concept was delivered in a pedestrian, though adequately researched, manner and in completing the book, I found myself unsatisfied. Whereas the each of the BN trilogy pieces featured a pace and level of intrigue which maintained interest, THE GRID was predictable throughout in story line and character development. Also was disturbed by a reliance on needlessly coarse language and (shabby) titillation in an effort to keep the story moving. Language and titllation is good stuff but not when used as a crutch.
Will I read another Philip Kerr novel? Probably, but not until I more carefully read other people's reviews. And then maybe I'll borrow someone else's copy.
Jon Hill
Rating:
Summary: the best nazi detective novel
Review: kerr gives us a german phillip chandler. bernie gunter a man who is alone in a sea of natzism trying to find out the truth and finding the crooks are more in the regime than in society. kerrs best work by far i just wish he,d bring back bernie during his weimar period give us the gormann case please
Rating:
Summary: One-dimensional
Review: Kerr is capable of thought-provoking, complex, original writing. If that is the kind of writing you enjoy, read "A Philosophical Investigation," but do not read this book. "The Grid" is cartoonish and one-dimensional. Instead of having named characters, it would have been easier to simply call the characters by their stereotypes: good cop, distressed female, geeky computer guy, selfish millionaire, etc. This book has no depth at all and actually, at times, seems to be trying to be a caricature of this type of thriller writing. I thoroughly enjoyed "A Philosphical Investigation" and was so shocked by the difference between these two books that I wondered if the same author wrote them or whether the authors simply had the same name. Unfortunately, Kerr seems to be eschewing intelligent meaningful story-telling in order to go for the more marketable and categorizable genre-writing like "The Grid." I can only think that his latest, "Esau" looks remarkably like "The Grid" and I refuse to spend my money on it.
Rating:
Summary: An intelligent house plays Doom with its inhabitants
Review: Like in every good thriller everything starts completely harmless. A new house for a chinese company nearrs its completion. The unique thing about this house, is its 'intelligent' building management system. Some kind of AI that's supposed to learn, how its inhabitants behave and act accordingly. But the AI becomes selfconcious and somehow gets mixed up with the computergame doom and thinks the people who are trapped in the house are humanplayers it has to fight....This book is boring at no point and very good investigated.
Rating:
Summary: "Smart" building doesn't necessarily mean "smart" story
Review: Philip Kerr's "The Grid" is a novel with an interesting premise ("state-of-the-art, computer-run building goes haywire and ends up murdering members of it's architectural team one-by-one") who's "interest elevator" doesn't get close to the top floor. An overuse of stereotypical characters dooms the plot from the start. Almost to the point where you find yourself "rooting" for the building! The fireworks begin as the building reaches the last stage of construction and becomes ready to hand off to its new owners. Strange occurances begin to take place and members of the architectural firm find themselves trapped in the building and unable to leave. This is not your usual "serial-killer type novel" and for that I'll give Kerr credit, but IMHO it was too fantastic to be believable. A solid, strong human villain would have made the novel more effective. There's plenty of gratuitous sex and violence to satisfy the "thriller" audience, but not enough action to entertain most readers. It's a shame because I really wanted this book to "work". This one is for dedicated, "completist" fans of Philip Kerr only. Other readers who are interesting in reading "The Grid" should purchase a very cheap, used copy or check it out at the library.
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