Rating: 
Summary: Child Offers Up Good Solid Fun
Review: I'm a fervent fan of Child and Preston and am happy to report that when Child wanders off on his own to write a yarn, he does NOT disappoint.
I'll admit when I first read the book's blurb I wasn't exactly bowled over about the idea of a theme park tucked away in the Mojave Desert for a setting. Frankly I would have been happier if Child had opted to place his novel in a Reno casino setting, or maybe even a glacier off the Arctic. The theme park idea seemed hokey. Well, I was wrong.
Child took the theme park, gave it a futuristic sci-fi kinda feel, tossed in some of the best now-you-see-'em-now-you-don't thugs (with brains), plopped in a memorable robot dog, a nice, but a little slow sometimes, hero, an excellent unexpected side-kick, and . . . this is the best part . . .
a plot twist that actually surprises the reader.
I don't mean to sound jaded, but after reading action/thriller/horror/mystery novels for over 25 years I can basically count on figuring out a book's ending way too soon. And predictable spells boring.
Well folks, Utopia is NOT boring! Read the book.
Rating: 
Summary: A very good story. 4 1/2 stars, I rounded up.
Review: Utopia is a 21 century amusement park, the most advanced park in the world. Utopia is made up of four (a fifth to open soon) different "worlds" under a dome. Camelot, a midieval world; Callisto, a futuristic space-station world; Gaslight, a turn-of the century London themed world; Boardwalk, themed after those turn-of-the-century parks located near a beach; and soon to open Atlantis, themed after the lost-continent of the same name.
The story takes place during one day. The park is running smoothly, when terrorists quietly let themselves be known to the big-wigs, making demands or causing terror. Dr. Andrew "Drew" Warne, a robotics expert from Carnegie-Mellen University, visiting the park as an external-specialist, finds himself doing more than what was expected, but instead leading the way to saving the park and it's visitors.Utopia is a beautifully written book, sometimes the descriptions and thoughts written within the story will remind you of a good-piece of fast moving literature. I very much enjoyed reading this, and found it exceptionally hard to put down and I actually cared about the characters. Even some of the terrorists were intellectual and fun to read about.
There were just a few problems with the book, however. The character of Georgia, Warne's daughter, seems, for 14 years old, to act both too young and too old. Also I truly hated Sarah Boatwright, the Chief of Operations of the park, and past girlfriend of Warne. She was just an egotistical, annoying and irresponsible person, and I have no idea how someone like Warne would have ever loved her.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading but not remembering
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Sounds Familiar
Review: The story of this book is good, but the desciptions of Utopia sounded so familiar to me until it dawned on me that it sounds a lot like Disney World. There are two many similarities. The building facades creating the second and third stories are just like Disney. The underground (can you say Utilidors?) is just like Disney. Utopia being its own community with its own government is just like Disney. Even the fact that the creator died before it opened is just like Disney. I love the story the way it is written out, but it would have been nice if it wasn't so similar. It didn't make me want to fly to Vegas to see a park called Utopia. It made me want to drive to Florida to get another glimpse of Mickey Mouse and see the wondrous parks collectively called Walt Disney World.
|
