Our Tragic Universe is Scarlett Thomas newest book. Revolving around Meg, a commercial fiction writer living in Dartmouth in Devon with her boyfriend. The mood settings resembles her previous book “The End of Mr. Y” a lot, only that one plays in a city and the other in a far less urban environment.
Since discovering Scarlett Thomas I have realy come to love her books, while they are fiction you learn a thing or two about physics and homeopathy. Not two things you’ll come across easily together in one book.
In Our Tragic Universe Meg contemplates her unfinished novel, going back and forth over in which format she should write it. As a matter of fact Our Tragic Universe reads like a story-less story which is the format Meg is constantly mulling over. But this doesn’t mean the book is boring, the story is partly driven by a book Meg mysteriously gets about how we are all immortal.
I new by this piece on the back flap of the book that I was going to like it:
Meg is lost in a labyrinth of her own devising. But could there be an important connection between a wild beast living on Dartmoor, a ship in a bottle, the science of time, a knitting pattern for the shape of the universe and the Cottingley Fairies? Or is her life just one long chain of coincidences?
Just like her previous book it’s a good read that leaves you wanting for more. This is the second time I finished one of her books and wanted something similar to read but I have yet to come across a book that will match her books.
Play to Kill(UK title) by the mother daughter team, P.J. Tracy, is the latest book in their Monkeewrench series.
I read the first book of the series, Want to Play?(UK title) about four years ago. A plot involving cops, internet and hackers is just my kind of thing being the geek that I am. Set in the cold city of Minneapolis, Minnesota two homicide cops Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are trying to solve a series of murder with the help of a group of very eccentric software developers/hackers. Since then three books has been released and now with Play to Kill going back full focus on the Monkeewrench gang and Magozzi with Rolseth.
It has been four years since the last book, Snow Blind, was released. So when I found out about Play to Kill I couldn’t wait. I re-read all previous four books with e exception of Dead Run to refresh on the characters.
As soon as I saw the book for sale before release date I bought it and of course read it in less then 24 hours.
The plot
A serial killer is terrifying enough, but when the murder videos begin showing up online – well, then it becomes an issue for computer analyst Grace MacBride and her eccentric crew of geniuses and mavericks. Recruited by the FBI, MacBride, along with Minneapolis cops Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth, work together to hunt down the killer. Using sophisticated tracking software, MacBride and her team scour the internet for signs of a possible attack, trying to weed out the staged videos from the real thing in hopes of finding a pattern.
But bodies keep turning up, and videos keep being posted, and the team is getting desperate to save lives. It’s not until they come across a sinister website that a real lead is discovered. And it takes them all the way to a shocking conclusion . . .
The book read just as good as the first one, keeping you on the edge constantly. But unlike the first book the story has to many holes in it. I’m always able to overlook things and just enjoy the book but in this case I felt let down with how many holes there where in the story.
For starters you should really read at least the first book before reading this one, otherwise the story will feel bland and superficial without the background knowledge of the characters. And some knowledge of internet most popular websites is also good to increase the thrill of the story.
The book is worth the read, it may not be my favorite one of the series, I always like the first books of any series the most. But if you are a fan of P.J. Tracy and with four years without a new release this one will read like a breeze.
If you haven’t read the book yet stop reading! The next part contains spoilers. You have been warned.
Read more…
