Reviews
So unique — uses complex metaphors and ideas to explain simple things. Belongs in the same category as House of Leaves.
That's pretty goofy, Steven Hall.
Took me a while to get into it, but the concept is excellent and Hall doesn't assume the reader is an idiot - I get the feeling I'm going to need to read it again and hunt down the unchapters though…
The Raw Shark Texts is a work that relies on the traditional medium of a book for format, but plays with experimentation (through format and message) in various ways. It is a book in the traditional sense, but uses the digital to experiment with format in new ways, making it reliant on the digital. Presented in book form but speaks to topics of the digital - challenging the notions of depth, memory and association. The Raw Shark Texts uses technology as a medium to experiment with the visual creation of literature, while still staying within the traditional parameters of a bound book.
One of the coolest freaking book titles I've seen. Shark texts - that are raw??? I must know more!! (I was further amused once I discovered it is a wordplay on 'Rorschach tests'.) This very intriguing title is followed by a premise that is original, creative and also just wild. Eric Sanderson as a character is not much to talk about in the beginning (understandably so, since part of the premise is that he has lost most of his memory, has no friends/family and feels disconnected from Normal Life), but that is compensated for by the original ideas that the plot revolves around. I was reading non-stop, so excited to know more, to see how the story would evolve. Until I wasn't interested anymore. Somewhere around the 150-200 pages mark, the stuff that made the story feel fresh and inspired seemed to take a backseat to ... a love story? Admittedly this book is, at heart, a love story - but I'm referring to the second love interest, who appears somewhere around the middle: the Quirky, Hot, Cool and Witty Scout. Eric is still just Eric, with not much personality, which wouldn't need to be mentioned here unless this lack of character made their romantic relationship and dynamic difficult to believe. (Some other reviewers have mentioned this in regards to the portrayal of Eric and Clio's relationship, but I didn't feel that their dynamic/dialogue was unnatural.) While the Shark Stuff remains at the core even after Scout's entrance, the story definitely loses momentum around the middle. I found myself less than interested while reading their conversations, only sort of engaged during their adventures, and to be completely honest, I had half a mind to abandon the book. But the core idea, the thing that drives the plot forward, is so interesting, so special, that I couldn't bring myself to give up. So I finished it. And here are my three stars to account for it.
A stunning plot and a really unique writing style make this one a real page-turner.
Dear Book, You're critically acclaimed and a national best seller. You're apparently the bastard child of all the great writers and movies. You think you're clever. The fact of the matter is, if you weren't a required text for my class, I would have dropped your paperback ass in the recycling bin ages ago. I'm so glad we're done now and I never have to see you again. Sincerely, Sans
I think this is a book that needs to be read. I think some of the ideas while often wrapped in clunky prose are outstanding and if you're able to surrender any part of your reasoning mind to what's going on you can find yourself in an interesting world. He has, at least 3 sensational ideas presented which alone are worth the price of the book. And one of them is so insightful i think it may be proved true by science at some point in the distant (probably far) future. Sadly, this book seems destined to become a movie and i think some part of the authors mind knew that. It has a hollywood ending of sorts, at least as hollywood as one can get in the universe he created. The ending was the sour note on an otherwise really entertaining read. I felt he could have made the leap from pulp semi-sci-fi to literature had he chosen the harder to sell, far more obvious, and less satisfying end to the novel. he didn't and so he loses that all important 5th star.
