I was bought this book for Christmas by my boyfriend, who probably chose it as it has a pretty cool front cover. It is about as far away from what I would normally read as possible- described on the back as 'The bastard love-child of The Matrix, Jaws and The Da Vinci Code'- but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It is really hard to describe what it is about, and on reading the blurb after completion, it is almost as though the writer struggles to do so too. All I can say is it involves a man called Eric Sanderson who cannot remember his past, and a cat called Ian. Together they journey to find a crazy scientist called Dr Trey Fidorous in the hope that he can help him to uncover the truth, as well as battling a word-concept shark called a Ludovician in order to save his life. Like I say, pretty undefinable!
I think one of the reasons why I liked this book was the author's craft of the language. Being usually a fan of very figurative pieces, I was surprised at the level of imagery and description in what I thought would be a heavily analytical novel, and it seemed to mesh both genres together successfully so that a wider audience would appreciate it:
'The three ice cubes had melted into round-edged lozenges, each with its own complex puzzle of faultlines, ghost planes and fractures. Around each cube, the run-off water and the slightly thicker vodka curled together in miniature weather systems and storm fronts. I thought about fragile colour spirals of oil in water, about the sad rolling and dispersing of the galaxy, about cogwheel daisies on green grass driving the vast machinery of evolution, about a whirl of cream unwinding its spiral arms in a left-behind coffee cup'
Despite a large part of this book being made up of scientific ideas, formulas and codes, I actually thought it was made quite accessible through use of pictures. There are a number of maps and photographs throughout, that enhance the reading experience, and made me understand things a little more clearly (even if I haven't grasped everything fully!). There was even a picture flick book near the end, which I had endless fun reflicking in order to watch a shark seem to leap out of the page at me!
There was also a strong hint at romance, and I felt that the relationship featured was very realistic and therefore endearing. 'She looked into my eyes and I saw that cold in her; the deserted windswept beach, the boarded-up seafront, snow falling in the deep heart of a forest of bare black trees.'
Overall I would say give this book a try, it may take a bit of getting used to, but I couldn't put it down once I had got to grips with the characters and concepts. As well as that it was also an interesting read, both in subject and style, touching upon things that are rarely tackled in the novels that I typically read, and indeed any that I have heard of. Apparently the screen rights have been optioned by Film Four, and it is something that I would be very curious to watch, purely to see how it would be translated from text to film.
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