268 pages
English language
Published Jan. 8, 1993 by Ballantine Books.
Harry Benson is a brilliant computer expert, who is also an epileptic given to increasingly severe black-outs in which he attacks the nearest person at hand. A team of doctors, including surgeons and an attractive woman psychiatrist, will implant in Harry, literally, a miniature computer aimed at controlling his seizures. There is only one major problem. Harry is also slipping further and further into insanity, convinced that "machines are taking over the world."
Read it at least twice. He always wrote on topics that no one was talking about, but should be.
Very slow reading, if I had to sum it up in a few words.
Jan Ross and her team, are working together to control Mr. Harry Benson's seizures--of which are the cause of violent fits. To do this, they're using a computer implant to control parts of his brain with sort of a reward and punishment system for certain behaviors. However, things go badly and Benson escapes custody. It's up to Jan and the other doctors to hunt the man down before he causes more damage.
That about sums it all up. The novel focuses heavily on the doctor's side of the story, so we see very little of Harry save for a few key moments. So, if you want one-on-one time with the book's psychotic killer, this probably isn't the book for you. But, if you want to see the other side--the guilt, the anticipation, the waiting, and the …
Very slow reading, if I had to sum it up in a few words.
Jan Ross and her team, are working together to control Mr. Harry Benson's seizures--of which are the cause of violent fits. To do this, they're using a computer implant to control parts of his brain with sort of a reward and punishment system for certain behaviors. However, things go badly and Benson escapes custody. It's up to Jan and the other doctors to hunt the man down before he causes more damage.
That about sums it all up. The novel focuses heavily on the doctor's side of the story, so we see very little of Harry save for a few key moments. So, if you want one-on-one time with the book's psychotic killer, this probably isn't the book for you. But, if you want to see the other side--the guilt, the anticipation, the waiting, and the technical side, it's probably more up your ally. Crichton does a good job of getting into Ross' head and her emotions and attachments to her patient Benson. In addition, we see a broad scope of opinions as we also visit her co-workers and the police involved.
Not really my cup of tea, even though I did enjoy the book. Nothing much happened until half-way through the book (the entire first half devoted to installing the implants and the ethical implications of doing so), so I found myself nodding off a bit in the technical and ethical debates.
It was worth it for a few good payoffs though. Jan & Benson's interactions in particular were interesting and heartwarming on a few levels, and later intense. My favorite moment is probably a confrontation later in the book when Harry breaks into Jan's house and has a conversation with her while in the middle of a seizure-pleasure fit.
Overall? Solid three. I liked it, but probably wouldn't read it again any time soon. Worth the read at least for Harry's few shining moments.
