Utopia is a great techno-thriller about a day gone horribly wrong at a futuristic amusement park of the same name. The whole book takes place of the course of a single day, so there's plenty of details and not much seems to be glossed over. (Pay attention to those details, too; some of them may play an important role later on in the story...)Once the action starts, it never lets up. There are new twists constantly showing up, forcing you to re-think what you thought was going on. I would compare Utopia to some of Michael Crichton's books. Perhaps a bit less scientific detail than Crichton, but the book was a page turner and I had no problem suspending my disbelief. These are my favorite types of books; techno-thrillers based on a futuristic, yet plausible scientific idea, played out in a believable current-world setting.The characters for the most part are well developed, but the perpetrators all go by code names so it can be tough to remember who's who -- except for their ring leader, John Doe. Like I had mentioned regarding the details, some characters show up early on and then disappear for a while. When they re-appear, you'll have to reacquaint yourself with who they are.The only thing I didn't really like about this book was how easily some of the characters were able to figure out what was going on. It often seemed their first guess was exactly right, and while they may have shadows of doubt, they wouldn't necessarily consider any alternatives. Aside from that, I thought this was a great book and would recommend to anyone into the sci-fi area of techno-thrillers.
SUMMARY: The sitting is a fantastic amusement park near Las Vegas. A group of bad guys infiltrate the park and threaten mass destruction and death unless the park turns over some very valuable assets to them. I kept thinking of Disney World on steroids as I read the book. I don't know if the author intended the comparison to Disney World or not, but it was hard for me to avoid.COMMENTS: I listened to a complete audio version of this book I got from the the library.While the book was "okay", it was by no means great. I wouldn't go as far as telling someone to not read it. But on the other hand, I would not recommend or encourage anyone to read it either.I'm having a real problem putting into words the negative feelings I have about the story. Part of it is the decisions by the characters just don't feel consistent with what is happening around them. Maybe that has to do more with how the story is told than the actual decisions. I don't know.Also I just didn't connect with the person I consider the main character, the visiting AI consultant. He was viewed by the evil people as a major threat to their plans. And while some of their actions did involve the computer systems, a lot of it also involved high explosives. Since they were so very proficient with guns and explosives, why would they be as concerned as they appeared to be about a professor with nothing like that in his history. It just seemed to forced to me.
What do You think about Utopia (2003)?
This was one of those stories with nonstop action. I had a hard time putting it down, so it only took me three days to read it. When Andrew Warne goes to the Utopia amusement park, he finds someone has been tampering with his robotics. Then he finds out who it is and is determined to stop them before they blow the park apart killing thousands of innocent people. When I read a mystery I like it better if I can't figure out who the bad guys are (and they are very bad in this one - a group of mercenaries). I figured out who the inside man was right off the bat, but that didn't keep me from reading it because I had to find out if the park was going to come down on everyone. It was a very enjoyable read.
—Dollie
For some reason I had trouble getting into this book. Andrew Warne arrives at the amusement park on what he thinks is an offer to add to his Metanet creation, only to learn that because of "problems" they want to take the Metanet off line. He has brought his daughter Georgia with him.The mysterious "problems" aren't a result of computer failure though a sinister plot is afoot to steal money from the park. Soon John Doe arrives with his demands for a CD of the "Crucible" (ground breaking hologram technology) and threats of mishaps at the park if his instructions aren't followed. Georgia is injured when Waterdark is sabotaged. Poole a tourist at the park who helps save many of the victims of Waterdark is hired to keep Warne safe. Soon he and Warne come to the conclusion that the CD isn't the objective but the armored car that will arrive shortly to take the money away. Slowly they realize that the head of tech security (Barksdale) is behind the plot, as he is dying he reveals what he knows of the plot. Leaving Terri to guard Georgia, Warne leaves to stop the armored car and Poole goes to disarm the bomb at the top of the Dome that has been planted to provide a distraction for the thieves escape.
—Alasandra Alawine
Dr. Warne, a computer programing genius, is ask to return to Utopia, an incredible, computerized amusement park, to disconnect his program that was supposed to learn and change robots. Dr. Warne brings his daughter to the park. He can't understand why the program is causing a problem. He doesn't want to disconnect it until he finds out what is wrong. Sarah, head of Utopia and his former girl friend, wants it disconnected. While at the park, he discovers that someone has hacked the system. A group of vicious criminals have hacked the system and plan to rob and take the software used to create the systems in Utopia. Dr. Warne meets Terri, another programmer. The criminals don't care who they hurt or kill. As injuries and deaths start in the park, Dr. Warne and Terri try to stop the criminals. This is a very exciting book. I enjoy the Child books and this is a very good one. Some of the programming sections get a little boring, but I would love to go on some of the rides after reading their descriptions.
—Joan
