The Fear Index

December 12, 2011
In this smart but uneven thriller on technology run amok from bestseller Harris (The Ghost Writer), Dr. Alex Hoffmann, an American scientific refugee from the abandoned Texas supercollider who lands on his feet at CERN in Geneva, eventually goes on to found one of the world’s most successful hedge funds. Hoffmann’s secret VIXAL-4, an artificial intelligence project that forecasts financial market movements, appears to have a mind of its own, which is more than can be said for its creator. Unbeknownst even to his English avant-garde artist wife, Hoffmann has shown signs of serious mental problems in the past. Could a series of strange occurrences in the present be random, the work of a mole in Hoffman’s company, or part of his unconscious pattern of self-destruction? Pure science enjoys an uneasy existence with large profit making at the expense of downward-market spirals. Despite some less than engaging characters and a story that sags a bit, this novel’s philosophical underpinnings will keep most readers engrossed. 200,000 first printing; 5-city author tour. Agent: Michael Carlisle.

December 1, 2011
A smart and sophisticated novel about machines becoming conscious--or about humans becoming paranoid about whether machines can become conscious. Super-intelligent research physicist Dr. Alex Hoffmann lives with his artist wife Gabrielle in a mansion in Geneva, Switzerland. Formerly a scientist with the CERN project, Hoffmann has branched off into artificial intelligence, creating a machine called VIXAL-4, which helps the one percent become even richer by monitoring investments and making fast and nuanced predictions about market trends. Although the stock market in general languishes, VIXAL-4 clicks along at an 83 percent rate of return, so Hoffmann's business partner, Hugo Quarry, who's more adept with human interaction than the reclusive Hoffmann, lines up some billionaire angels for investment possibilities…and that's where things begin to go wrong. First, an intruder breaks into the Hoffmanns' house, breaching an impressive and expensive security system that had recently been installed. Then, at the opening reception for Gabrielle's first show, someone buys up every one of her works. Could it be the intruder? Is someone toying with Hoffmann, sending him a message that his life is not as secure as he thinks? Hoffmann tracks down and kills a man he believes is trying to kill him, and VIXAL-4 starts doing untoward things, making financial decisions that seem to be independent of any human control. When Hoffmann discovers a camera hidden in his smoke detector, he starts to suspect that Genoud, the man who had installed the security system, might be out to get him, so he takes off on the lam, becoming ever more irrational and out of control. Amid the welter of financial details, Harris creates a novel of tension and suspense by focusing more on the human than on the mechanistic.

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Starred review from January 1, 2012

Physicist Alexander Hoffman left CERN (builder of the Large Hadron Collider, an underground particle accelerator near Geneva) following a nervous breakdown. Since then he has continued to develop his algorithmically programmed computer, VIXAL-4, a machine capable of operating independently and teaching itself at a rate far beyond the ability of human beings. Unable to use CERN's data to test his machine, Hoffman and a colleague set up a hedge fund run by VIXAL that monitors fear throughout the digital world to make financial decisions. So far, over the four years during which the stock market has tanked, the machine has helped them increase their assets by over 80 percent. But now, someone is manipulating Hoffman's work to convince others that he's suffered another breakdown. When everyone else thinks you're crazy, but you know you're not, how do you face the fear...and not go mad? And how do you face the horror of a machine that has outpaced all human efforts to control it? VERDICT Harris's (Imperium) outstanding thriller, a worthy successor to Frankenstein and 2001: A Space Odyssey, will kindle readers' minds from the first page. Get ready to enjoy a brilliant integration of fascinating research, compelling themes, and vivid characterization. [Five-city tour; 200,000-copy first printing; see Prepub Alert, 11/3/11.]--Ron Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2011
If there's anything Harris can't write, he hasn't revealed it yet. He's equally confident with alternate history (Fatherland, 1992), ancient history (Pompeii, 2003, and the Cicero trilogy), WWII thrillers (Enigma, 1995), and contemporary intrigue (The Ghost, 2007). Now he turns in another masterful performance with this story of an artificial-intelligence researcher whose breakthrough in hedge-fund speculation seems to have led to a plot to discredit him, not to mention driving him insane. But as Dr. Alex Hoffman tries, increasingly frantically, to find out who has it in for him, we slowly begin to realize that he has no conception of just how clever the plot against him really is. In less sure hands, the story might have come off seeming either wildly implausible or just plain silly, but Harris displays a magician's talent for misdirection, focusing our attention on one thing while doing something else behind our backs. Full of sharply drawn characters and artfully revealed surprisesand a big dose of paranoiathe book is a first-class page-turner. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The multitalented Harris throws another bull's-eye. His built-in audience stands to grow still larger this time, fueled by strong reviews, word of mouth, and extensive marketing support.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)