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Reader Reviews | |
Review by Nigel (130104) Rating (9/10) Review
by Nigel All is not as it seems, however, and Halloween is convinced that someone, somewhere, is trying to kill him and perhaps the rest of the students. Why? I would love to tell you more but I should warn you at this point it would spoil the story somewhat. So just to say, if you liked The Matrix and are intrigued by stories that question reality, as well as a good murder mystery come techno-thriller, then Idlewild will fulfil all your wants with ease. Don't read this review any further, just read the book and you will not regret it. What the hell. For all those still sceptical here we go. How do you raise ten children, the last survivors of mankind, who have been genetically modified and grown to resurrect humanity, with no one to watch over them? Simple, create a virtual world and don't tell them everyone has perished at the hands of a man made plague. Hard to convince, so you do tell them they are attending a virtual reality school and that most of the time they are living in a virtual world. The truth, however, is that the world they emerge into is also virtual. Now throw in the fact that someone doesn't actually agree with this model for the future of man and so starts to kill off the students. Which brings us nicely back to Halloween's paranoia and his difficulty accepting authority throughout his formative years.
As you can see it is all a bit difficult to explain and I don't
really do it justice. Suffice to say it is an excellent novel
that nicely brings together different genres and ideas in to what
is basically a well thought out 'whodunit'. I really enjoyed this
book and it has taken its rightful place next to Greg Egan and
Richard Morgan on my SF bookshelves (only metaphorically as S
is quite a way from E and M:). |
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