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Customer Reviews of The Grid

A GRIDDY THRILLER
We've had all kinds of serial thrillers in the past two decades, but none is quite as formidable as this one! It's a building! Kerr's "The Grid," originally published in 1995 as "Gridiron" is a very good way to spend a few hours. Full of stock characters and some rather cliche situations, it nonetheless is a fun trip. Seems as though this building's computer has decided to "generate or procreate" and the smart computer whizzes make sure they kill the offspring...or do they. On a Friday evening, like an Agatha Christie novel, all the principals are brought together into this fantastic building, and then one by one, they are all picked off in uniquely grotesque fashion, as the building locks them in for the weekend. Some of the deaths are quite gory, and some come unexpected. Kerr paints a rather nasty portrait of our villain, Ray Richardson, but attempts by the end of the novel, to make this villain see the error of his ways and become a hero. Not the smartest thing to do, but it works anyway. Earlier in the book, when one of the first murders occurs, Richardson warns his employees they are not to attend the funeral unless they take personal leave. Wow, sounds like someplace I used to work.
There is an important clue early in the novel, one that you may miss, so keep those attentive reader's ears open.
This is a fun book, and even though it gets pretty far-out at the end, I still had fun.
RECOMMENDED.

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Inanimate object becomes self aware and plays a deadly game¿
A new, high tech building is ready for occupancy, but as its self replicating computer system, Abraham, is exposed to a child's hunt-and-kill computer game, it recreates itself in a deadly manner. Self awareness follows self replication, and the people trapped inside The Grid become enemies in Abraham's game to hunt and destroy them, following the programming code from the computer game that was incorporated into its system functions. The now self aware building begins killing the humans trapped inside one by one, using whatever it has available; elevators, bathroom cleaning systems, pool cleaning systems, etc. A gory and inventive tale of horror and survival, against an enemy that cannot be rationalized with. This is a great read for a night spent in any modern high rise, hotel or apartment or office. Enjoy.

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"Smart" building doesn't necessarily mean "smart" story
Philip Kerr's "The Grid" is a novel with an interesting premise ("state-of-the-art, computer-run building goes haywire and ends up murdering members of it's architectural team one-by-one") who's "interest elevator" doesn't get close to the top floor. An overuse of stereotypical characters dooms the plot from the start. Almost to the point where you find yourself "rooting" for the building!

The fireworks begin as the building reaches the last stage of construction and becomes ready to hand off to its new owners. Strange occurances begin to take place and members of the architectural firm find themselves trapped in the building and unable to leave. This is not your usual "serial-killer type novel" and for that I'll give Kerr credit, but IMHO it was too fantastic to be believable. A solid, strong human villain would have made the novel more effective.

There's plenty of gratuitous sex and violence to satisfy the "thriller" audience, but not enough action to entertain most readers. It's a shame because I really wanted this book to "work".

This one is for dedicated, "completist" fans of Philip Kerr only. Other readers who are interesting in reading "The Grid" should purchase a very cheap, used copy or check it out at the library.