By Lincoln Child
Doubleday
Hardcover, Paperback and Audio CD Editions

Lincoln Child, co-author of Relic, and The Cabinet of Curiosities, sets his first solo novel at a state-of-the-art theme park in the midst of the canyons of Nevada. When a series of robotic accidents occurs, struggling artificial intelligence researcher, Dr. Andrew Warne is summoned back to Utopia to dismantle his creation, Metanet, the brain which controls all of Utopia's countless robots.

He soon discovers that the Metanet has not been malfunctioning, but that someone tampered with it, turning the robots into lethal weapons. As the terrorists' plan unfolds, Dr. Warne becomes the one person capable of saving Utopia.

As in many thrillers, characterization in Utopia, is minimal. What matters most is the action of the plot. In order for the story to be interesting, it must be about characters that feel as if they are real, with all the depth and complexity of your best friend.

Dr. Andrew Warne is tugged in different directions as the plot demanded. For instance, the fact that terrorists are holding the park hostage is conveniently kept from Warne until after his daughter is sent out alone to play.

To make it more thrilling, Warne behaves irrationally, climbing through the backstage structure to pluck his daughter off the ride, even though there is no indication that this ride is going to be the target of a terrorist attack. hen the ride does suffer a terrorist attack, just as Warne finds his little girl, it is a disappointment because it feels contrived.

Utopia Excerpt "Did you know, Sarah, that there's an art to orchestrating panic? It's such a fascinating topic, I've been planning a monograph on it. It would make me famous, the Aristotle of crowd control. What's especially interesting is the opportunity for creativity. There are so many tools at one's disposal, so many ways to proceed, that choosing the most effective becomes a real challenge. Take—oh—fire, for example. Something unique happens to crowd dynamic during a fire, Sarah. ...they all have something in common. Extremely high mortality rates, even without the benefit of artificial accelerants. People bunch together at the exits, you see. The closed exits." ©2003 Lincoln Child Published with permission from Doubleday

The intricate plot, though, is the focus of Utopia. The events of the story are told with a refreshing exuberance. This exuberant rush, however, also weakens the plot.

For instance, when John Doe makes his specific demands and gives his vague threats, the administration of Utopia chooses to give Mr. Doe what he wants. This is a pleasant surprise to see people behaving in what appears to be a rational fashion and not doing some sort of Rambo-esque, half-crazed cowboy stunt to defy the terrorists.

Still, in our post September 11th world, it is odd that there was not more outrage to express the frustration at feeling helpless and the desire to prevent the terrorists from getting their way. The characters were also constantly finding excuses to take the most outrageous actions.

For example, one out of shape security chief decides to climb several flights of scaffolding on a whim to check something out, instead of sending one of the subordinates. By going himself, he wasted valuable time but the plot demanded that he be the one to carry out this particular search.

Despite these weaknesses, the second half of the book becomes a page-turner. When John Doe raises the stakes, and the scope of his plan is revealed, tension quickly mounts.

However, the pacing is uneven, particularly when the ruthless John Doe decides to wait a few crucial minutes for one of his co-conspirators before making the getaway, which allows the heroes to set up one last defense. As the end comes in a rush, all the subplots are neatly wrapped up. All in all, this is a light, enjoyable novel.

Bookworm's Briefing
The easiest way to describe Utopia is to call it Die Hard in a theme park. Terrorists take over Utopia, demanding a copy of the software used in creating and controlling their holograms. Dr. Andrew Warne becomes the fly in the ointment when he uncovers the depth of the terrorist activity. Lincoln Child's light thriller is a nice diversion for a rainy day.