If you are wondering about the title of this post, I don’t blame you. There aren’t a whole lot of books that would merit review by a coaster website, and certainly not any that have been released recently. In fact, this is not a review of a recently released book at all, it is a book from 2002 that I just discovered on Monday while I was browsing my local Barnes & Nobles, Utopia by Lincoln Child. I would have actually passed over that entire section of shelves had there not been a picture of a roller coaster on the cover (all I can tell is that its an Arrow or Morgan), and I am really glad that I did end up picking it up before I left.

I have read a lot of thrilling novels, and in fact have what I like to think is a rather nice collection of them. Tom Clancy, the late Michael Crichton, and Dan Brown are my favorite modern authors and all of them write very intense, gripping novels. Whenever I pick up a new book anymore my expectations are very high, and unless it catches my interest by the second chapter, I will probably put it down and not end up finishing it. Knowing that this book was specifically about an amusement park brought a whole new set of expectations to bear, though, as I have spent two summers actually working at a park. Right from the start I was on the lookout for any technical mistakes in descriptions of rides, operations, and even management. But before I start going into specifics I will say that the author seems to have done very good research on every thing in the book.

The title of the book is the name of the park that is the focal point of the book, Utopia. This ultra-modern theme park set in the Nevada desert a bit outside Las Vegas has become the new Disney World of the nation. Designed from the ground up around the cartoons of a Mr. Nightingale, the park makes extensive use of holographic and other high tech systems, which are all actually very believable and actually close to being realized. When you involve all of the things that you need to make a park believable in a book, it may seem that it just would not work, become too boring with all of the little details. Surprisingly though, the plot and all of the technicalities that come with the operation of a park actually flow together very well and make for a very gripping story. The specifics of ride systems and the management becomes the focal point, the source of mystery that keeps you turning the page. Things that may otherwise be boring to read about now grab your existence because the very existence of the characters and the park hinge upon their normal operation. I say “normal operation” because, of course, things haven’t been working normally, and the antagonist character of John Doe is to blame.

Memorable and personable characters are very important parts of any story, and in Utopia, the characters that Child has penned seem very real. Dr. Andrew Warne, the protagonist, is the creator of the backbone system that actually runs the park, and is at the park for what he thinks is preparation to expand his Metanet. He is soon confronted by his ex and head of operations at Utopia, Sarah Boatwright, and learns that he will actually be tasked with a rather unpleasant task. What he doesn’t know is that John Doe is about to make things a lot worse for everyone involved. Throughout the story you see the characters changing, which is something else that helps keep your attention. As far as characters go, these are some of the most loveable and easily hated characters you will ever read about. Their reactions are often unpredictable and surprising, contributing even more to the extremely twisted plot that unfolds almost too quickly.

Like I said earlier, I am a tough person to please when reading a novel, and Utopia passed my test with flying colors, even satisfying my desire for accuracy when it comes to rides and parks. Overall a wonderful book with great characters and a gripping story that will have you turning pages faster than you thought you could. This is definitely a must read for any enthusiast out there looking for a new book to read. Despite being a bit on the short side, I feel that it deserves an outstanding 9/10. Thanks for reading, now go out and buy the book!