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Utopia is the name of a theme park so vividly and painstakingly described that suspension of disbelief comes as quickly as the characters are enfolded by the theme park's alternate reality in this, Lincoln Child's first solo book.
There are four worlds in Utopia: Camelot (medieval England), Boardwalk (early 20th century beach carnival), Gaslight (Victorian England) and Callisto (future-space); plus the still-under-construction Atlantis. These worlds have been created in and under a Nevada box canyon, roofed over by an environmental dome, air conditioned and sealed off, accessible from a remote parking area only by monorail. The closed-in nature of the setting is no coincidence --- it's integral to the sort of book Child is creating.
The publisher calls it a thriller and there are certainly thriller elements, but it is much more a variant on the locked room, puzzle-type mystery, with the characteristics of such books pushed to the maximum. Just in case we have a little trouble picturing such a place in our heads (we don't -- Child writes with enviable clarity), the dust jacket gives us a picture of the monorail approaching, or maybe it's leaving, Utopia. And in case we aren't quite sure what the word means, there's a defining quote complete with "utopia" in Greek: "1. A state or situation of perfection. 2. An ideal place or location, frequently imaginary." The Greek is a child-like touch. We also encounter, within the first few pages, a tech worker who reads Virgil --- and not just any Virgil, but the Georgics -- in his down time. One of the characters frequently quotes Shakespeare. Another is reading Proust. And so on.
Our hero is Andrew Warne, engineer, theoretician, MIT grad, bad-boy specialist in robotics. Warne has, in fact, built the robotics for Utopia and is on his way there with his fourteen year-old daughter in chapter one. Something has gone wrong with the robots in the prologue. The flaw in the theme park's perfection is being kept very hush-hush, even though a death occurred. That death, the first of many, has brought Warne here a week ahead of time --- a time frame that turns out to be important. In the course of a single day in Utopia, which the book spans, a dastardly plot evolves, many people die, romances are lost and found and an endearing robot dog captures our hearts (or is meant to and the darn dog came close with me).
There are a lot of characters in Utopia but little characterization. It's all plot and the fantastical setting. The plot is as intricate a puzzle as anyone could wish and the setting never fails in its fascination --- which is quite a feat considering the scope of all those worlds. The book's pace --- crucial in a thriller -- is more irregular than, I think, its author wants. All those fascinating little details slow it down, often in a jerky sort of way. If this book were a meal, there would be more trimmings on the table than meat and potatoes. Nowhere is the jerky pace more evident than in the denouement, which is of the type I call "a pink-bunny ending" --- you know, that battery-driven bunny with the drum, who keeps going and going and going.
It is always interesting to observe when two people who have been successful as partners split off and go solo. Douglas Preston has winged it too and I've read his books. Preston alone is somewhat dry but compelling, since he writes on urgent subjects such as deadly viruses and germ warfare. Lincoln Child shows us here that the lighter, more whimsical and imaginative side of their partnered books is his. Their latest together, A CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, when seen in this light, obviously owes much to Mr. Child. He has an enormous imagination and a way with words, but he needs Mr. Preston to anchor him down and would do well, I think, to stay with the partnership in the future.
--- Reviewed by Ava Dianne Day
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