The Fear Index The Fear Index

The Fear Index

    • 3.8 • 384 Ratings
    • $8.99
    • $8.99

Publisher Description

At the nexus of high finance and sophisticated computer programming, a terrifying future may be unfolding even now.
 
Dr. Alex Hoffmann’s name is carefully guarded from the general public, but within the secretive inner circles of the ultrarich he is a legend. He has developed a revolutionary form of artificial intelligence that predicts movements in the financial markets with uncanny accuracy. His hedge fund, based in Geneva, makes billions. But one morning before dawn, a sinister intruder breaches the elaborate security of his lakeside mansion, and so begins a waking nightmare of paranoia and violence as Hoffmann attempts, with increasing desperation, to discover who is trying to destroy him.
 
Fiendishly smart and suspenseful, The Fear Index gives us a searing glimpse into an all-too-recognizable world of greed and panic. It is a novel that forces us to confront the question of what it means to be human—and it is Robert Harris’s most spellbinding and audacious novel to date.

GENRE
Mysteries & Thrillers
RELEASED
2012
January 31
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
304
Pages
PUBLISHER
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
SELLER
Penguin Random House LLC
SIZE
7.2
MB

Customer Reviews

DPM 1234 ,

Beautifully crafted but lacking

Harris's writing is luxurious, so clear, so precise and so alive --- you taste his tastes, see his colours, acutely feel the pain of his characters. The premise of the story is good, and the storytelling captivating --- it really is hard to put down. But for all that I was left disappointed. In my opinion Harris lost his way during the last quarter of the book, as the characters became less believable and the plot a little strained. In the end there was no closure, and in particular the rationale for the events designed to destroy Hoffmann were never revealed (we learn the what but not the why).

Robert L Forbes ,

Fear Index

Robert Harris is a fabulous writer, and never disappoints. His stories of Rome are masterpieces, and, like Ghost Writer would all make fine films. Fear Index would as well. The book is not his best because things happen that aren't quite right, a bit odd as the main character manages to get in and out of situations too easily.

Where are the security cameras at his house, for instance? Why does his security guard not follow him when he leaves the building ? As the clever plot unfolds, I found the book reading more like a Michael Crichton novel where things keep going wrong that shouldn't.

At the same time, I could not put it down! Intelligent and perfectly researched, it is a thriller.

In the end I was reminded of the great line from 2001 A Space Odyssey: "I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that."

Harris is a favorite of mine as many friends who receive signed copies from me can attest. I eagerly await his next.

JimDex ,

Boring Subject, Fascinating Story

Robert Harris has managed to make stock trading exciting. It’s a SciFi thriller like 2001: A Space Odyssey with a rogue computer with a life and survival instinct just like HAL’s. I won’t give away the story but it is a warning about the future of AI.

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