Fear Factor - book review

Fear Factor

by Robert Harris

March 2013

Picking up a paperback is a bit of a rarity and this one travelled unread in my rucsac for several weeks before battle commenced. Then I had a run of trips away and lots of time to get stuck in.

The plot revolves round a quantum physicist and a hedge fund manager who team up to apply the the technology of CERN and a means to make money. Roll on eight years and you have a money making machine which automatically exploits market opportunities and is out performing all its rivals. Investors are queuing up to to take a slice of the action.

Then things take a turn for the strange. The MD acquires a stalker who seems to know his every move and is intent on messing with his mind. But it dosn't stop with a bit of mind messing - the stalker has access to his money and the implications start to grow. Maybe the stalker is a figment of a damaged imagination....

And so the tale unfolds in Switzerland over a 24 hour period at an ever increasing rate, making compelling reading. Issues from his past appear to be repeating themselves with terrifying potential consequences.

As plots go its not that strong. The cast of characters is small and the breadcrumb clues are all there to see, some of them a bit to clearly. Rather annoyingly I saw where it was heading half way through but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the tale. 

In the final analysis there was a twist in the tale but it was rather predictable.

I guess that this is classic pulp fiction - lightweight, two dimensional but an easy to read time filler.