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4.0étoiles sur 5
Net Caper, Jui 17 2004
Mother of God reads like the result of a bet: take three of the most trite and hackneyed cliches in the modern literary lexicon, and make an interesting tale. Okaaay...Tessa Lambert is a beautiful young computer expert who has written a brilliant Artificial Intelligence program... and just happens to be single and lonely. Excellent! Everybody loves that one, implausible as it is. California has a serial killer on the loose. Great! That's as common as smog! Keep 'em coming! The FBI has assigned a handsome young agent to the serial Killer case who just happens to be cynical and have a drinking problem and a troubled past. Oh, yeah... he's single and lonely. And that's where the predictability ends, my friends. From there, it's a wild ride, as Ambrose takes the three most trite and hackneyed plot devices in history and winds a great tale, full of surprises and suspense. Like Charlie Monk, I can't give it away. You just have to trust me. Even though the book was written in '95, Ambrose anticipated what the Internet became, at a time when even those making a living at it could barely guess. I don't know how accurate his depiction of Artificial Intelligence is, as I am far from an expert, but the book is plausible. On the other hand... there are interminable philosopical discussions, both with the AI program and on it's behalf. Luckily, they have nothing to do with the plot, as I was able to skip all of them without missing anything. I am not a fan of philosophy discussions, a fact that is the source of much disappointment to Medb. The other thing is unpredictability on the part of the serial killer character. In the beginning, he is highly disciplined and very, very careful. But as we get to know him better, he becomes careless, sloppy, and credulous. It's disappointing, and it didn't have to be that way. You also have to swallow just the least bit of deus ex machina, but no more than any other suspense novel. Comes with the territory. Other than the tiresome philosophy, Mother of God is a good book and a quick read. I recommend it highly!
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