Customer Reviews

Death Match

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Christopher Lash is a psychologist specializing in marital relationships. He previous worked for the FBI, giving him insight into criminal behavior. This is the reason officials at Eden Inc. have contacted him, to investigate the mysterious double-suicide of two of their clients.

Eden is a matchmaker, but unlike any before it. Eden uses a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence to match individuals on every little detail (more than a million criteria). Lewis and Lindsay Thorpe were two such individuals, and were also the company's first "supercouple:" two people who are a 100% match. But now they are dead...and Lash must find out why. Because another supercouple has killed themselves...and there are four more such couples to go. But finding out why two perfect couples would want to kill themselves is only half of Lash's problem, because somebody is messing with his life, in ways that could only be done through the technology available at Eden...

"Death Match" is a top-notch thriller from Lincoln Child, who has brought us (especially in collaboration with Douglas Preston) so many enjoyable, well-planned thrillers. This novel is no exception; though it is a bit predictable, it is still enthralling. The technological details are broken down into layman's terms, but with serious research behind them. Lash is an appealing, conflicted character, as are those he encounters. While "Death Match" may not be Child's best work to-date, it is certainly worth checking out, and a repeated reading or two.

Eden, Incorporated is a huge corporation that promises to find the perfect love match for each of its applicants. These matches are performed using a powerful artificial intelligence-based computer called Liza. The matches are so accurate and the resulting partnerships so idyllic that not a single client has ever claimed a refund from the money-back guarantee. When two of Eden's "perfect match" couples are found dead of double-suicide, a former FBI forensic psychologist, Christopher Lash, is brought in to investigate whether Eden has failed to predict a psychological instability when it performed its thorough personality testing of each applicant. Lash finds nothing in the psychological profiles of the four suicides and he suspects foul play. Could this be homicide made to look like suicide, and if so, why? Could it be a disgruntled former Eden employee? Or could it be a rejected applicant for Eden's services? As Lash is granted complete access to the mysterious workings of Eden, he finds that someone is out to stop him from discovering the perpetrator, and soon Lash finds his reputation and his life in jeopardy.

Having read Child's previous novel "Utopia," I found a lot of similarities between the two books. Both feature a large and highly successful corporation engineered using next-generation computers and incredibly futuristic technology. Both companies are being undermined, and ultimately threatened, by evildoers. In both cases an outsider is brought in to investigate the problem. Both investigators are drawn into the dangers and must race against the clock to save the lives of innocent people, including themselves. Both stories are fast-paced, suspenseful thrillers. The main difference is that "Death Match" has several plot twists and turns before the mysterious perpetrator is unmasked, and its ending is not as satisfying as that in "Utopia." This novel is still a worthwhile read, whether or not you have read its predecessor.

The book's details on psychological testing and profiling are quite interesting, although I cannot judge how accurate they are. The story also made me ponder the nature of attraction that people feel for each other, how its characteristics could be scientifically quantified, and whether there is such a thing as one or more "perfect matches" for every individual. I recommend this story for those who enjoy high-tech thrillers and cinematic action.

Eileen Rieback

I really enjoyed Death Match. For the right amount of money, you can be paired up with the perfect mate for you. No need for blind dates and changing your phone number after going out with a psycho. It's simply to good to be true, and you know what old wise ones tell you about that scenario. There is a group of super couples who match up 100% perfectly, but for reasons unknown, they are comitting suicide. Forensic psychologist Chris Lash is called in by Eden Inc. to determine what is going wrong. What Lash discovers will astound you. Will he be able to save the supercouples that are left?

The characters in this book are real people. There are no super heroes. There are characters you will cheer for and some you will despise. The plot is well thought out and executed nicely. This book was a breath of fresh air. The ending was predictable and a little bit silly, which is why I didn't give it a 5 star rating. Overall, it is well worth your time and attention.

The singles seeking mates from Eden International paid $25,000 for the most comprehensive evaluation. Eden matches their couples on over a million criteria. They even have a money back guarantee, which has yet to be claimed.

Then, one of the supercouples--a 100% perfect match is found dead. The coroner's report is suicide pact, yet, everyone who knew the couple says they were deliriously happy--and there's nothing in their extensive psych profiles from Eden to indicate suicide.

Dr. Christopher Lash gets called in from his lucrative private practice to help. Lash, a former FBI profiler of serial killers, left the Bureau a few years before when a serial killer struck to close to home.

Now, the further Lash gets into the case, the more he's beginning to sense that someone's setting him up. If he doesn't find out quickly who the killer is--it's not just another super-couple at stake.

"Death Match" is very well-written. Child explains computer tones in a manner that avoids the usual sophorific geek's explainations and makes the whole story come alive.

DEATH MATCH is the first novel I have read that was written independently by Lincoln Child. However, I have read the following books he co-authored with Douglas Preston: RELIC, MOUNT DRAGON, RELIQUARY, THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES and STILL LIFE WITH CROWS. I found all of the co-authored books profoundly intense. With that in mind, I read DEATH MATCH.

I can make two points that will assist people to decide whether to read this novel. First, like the co-authored novels, there is a level of intensity that takes the reader into the eyes of the central character -- in this case, Christopher Lash, a forensic psychologist. I relish novels that make me forget about meals I need to eat or meetings I am suppose to attend. Child's work does this. This writing style locks outside environmental stimuli out of my consciousness.

Second, this novel has the same favor as MOUNT DRAGON, the second novel Lincoln Child wrote with Douglas Preston. In that respect, I felt this novel was a bit too predictable. By chapter 36, I eliminated the culprit to two possibilities. In a later chapter (I can't identify it), Richard Silver says, "Don't hurt him." At that second, everything fell into place and knew how the novel was going to end. The rest of the novel was anticlimactic and I found myself disappointed. I found myself reading more rapidly and with much less relish in my mind. As a result, I skipped the epilogue. DEATH MATCH was too much like other novels.

About five days later while I was bored, I picked up the DEATH MATCH and finally read the epilogue. Everything changed! Child should have entitled this epilogue "Chapter Sixty-Five." The ending is not as predictable as I had thought when I heard Richard Silver utter those words, "Don't hurt him." The epilogue provides an unexpected twist. It is the kind of twist I love in a novel. Most importantly and unlike MOUNT DRAGON, this story doesn't end. Child can easily write a sequel; perhaps he can entitle it, LIFE MATCH.

I have read all of Child's collaborations with Douglas Preston and have generally liked them-some of their stories are among my favorites. I have also read Child's and Preston's solo books and they have never been quite as good as their team efforts. Much like Child's last solo work, Utopia, this book starts with an interesting premise that grips the reader, but it degenerates as the technology is introduced and fails to follow through with an equally compelling ending.

The story begins with the apparent suicide of a couple that were supposedly perfectly matched by the Eden corporation. The main character, a forensic psycologist named Christopher Lash, is brought in to determine why this happened. Then a second perfectly matched couple commits double-suicide and the intrigue builds. At this point, Lash is exposed to the highly secretive operations of Eden and their extensive matching process and this is where the story begins to lose credibility.

The matching process accumulates a massive amount of data that are analyzed by a super computer named Liza. We are told that Liza is based on artificial intelligence concepts and is actually self-aware and can learn. We are supposed to believe that Liza is by far the the most powerful and advanced computer in the world and yet it is owned by a private company and used primarily as a matchmaker? We are told that some of the early funding to build Liza came from the government and that Liza does contracting work for various Federal agencies, but the fact that Liza is not under government control is too unbelievable.

Another ridiculous aspect of Liza is her construction. She is cobbled together with computers dating back to the 1960's! Anyone who has ever tried to install a CD/DVD drive or a new operating system is aware of the considerable compatability issues with computers. And yet we are supposed to believe that the world's most advanced system is pieced together with Apple IIe's, Commodore 64's, and whatever else could be found. Finally, the data gathering is over the top and highly illegal. Liza has access to clients' (and Eden employees') internet-related data: bank/credit card records, traffic tickets/crimianl records, etc. I can believe that clients would allow this, but Liza has unfettered access to rejected clients and the general public and constantly spies on them! Liza: the world's most advanced hacker!

Overall the characters are well written and their dialog is not distractingly bad. But the book is pretty short and the ending unoriginal. As I read it I couldn't help but think this was a cross between Wargames and The Lawnmower Man. I do not regret reading it, but I was disappointed with it.

The problem I have with this book is its underlying premise, let's see, the greatest computer ever built, a computer named Liza (a mate for Hal of 2001 fame?)that is capable of work that NASA computers cannot even dream of doing, and the purpose of this computer, why, to match loveless people together, to do the same thing the dating game used to do!

Eden is the company name and that's what they do, match people up using their super-computer to make as perfect a match as possible. When one of their "perfect" matches, a super-couple, commit suicide, and then another couple does the same, the company knows something is wrong. They hire a former FBI man named Lash to investigate and some pages into the book he realizes it is murder made to look like suicide. Why? Who is killing these people? The suspense generated in this book arises out of this mystery and it is sufficient to keep the reader's interest to the end, although most will have figured out the villain long before the final page is read. Still, a decent read.

Lincoln Child needs to be very ashamed of himself for this one.

It begins so promising. A psychologist is brought in to research a double suicide. The couple was seemingly perfect: wealthy, intelligent, incredibly happy together, and with a newborn baby. Why had this couple self-destructed?

The company bringing him in is Eden, Inc, a matchmaking service. Founded by reclusive Richard Silver, the company is famous for matching couples that are nearly perfect for each other, with wild success. This couple was a so-called "supercouple," one that was indeed a perfect match.

It begins strong and fluid, and is quite enjoyable. It feels different, as the company isn't dark, sinister and shadowy. They have some aspects of your standard dark, sinister and shadowy companies, but none of the characteristics. In fact it's refreshingly honest and benevolent.

So what changes? Well, the company is based on an incredible computer. This computer, named Liza, is a learning machine capable of passing the Turing Test. That is, the AI can pass for human. It learns, evolves, and adapts. It even teaches itself.

Gee, have you heard this one before?

*Spoilers*
Ok, so you have a smart machine. You read this and your first thought was "did it have something to do with the suicides? Was it acting on its own without people realizing?" Then you think, "No, can't be. This book is refreshingly different. Lincoln Child has done this before, he won't be that lazy. Utopia wasn't a lazy book, aside from Wingnut. The books with Preston aren't lazy books. No way will he be lazy."

Sorry, folks, he's lazy, uninspired, and retells a story you've read a few thousand times before.

/end spoilers.

I give the book three stars because it begins so well. Somewhere between pages 200 and 260 you'll have the entire ending figured out, though. Every tiny twist, every little detail - you'll know it all. With an extra 100 pages left (the book is a bit thin), well, I'm sorry to say you won't care. You already know the ending, so you won't want to read it all that carefully.

Even worse, many of the final pages get bogged down with technical aspects you don't care much about, either. I've done extensive programming in Assembly and even found myself skimming over his discussions on machine language and registers. I feel bad for the non-technically inclined, they'll be utterly lost just as the conclusion is playing out.

Not that it matters, I'm sure they figured the ending out long before and are just reading to get it over with, hoping they are somehow surprised.

A worthy first 200 pages, a sad final 250 pages. Two and a half star book, at best. I rounded up out of respect for the author, I suppose, but even then I feel this should only be getting one star for being so stale, predictable, and ten or fifteen years too late.

Do you think your mate is 100% compatible with you? Do you think that is even possible? Many say no, but this book peeks into that with a twist. Finding that perfect mate ends in death for one of them. Not the happiest ending one would expect.

I appreciated how simple the characters were in the story, making it seem more real. Dr Lash is brought back into the story and even finds himself wondering if he has a perfect mate.

I won't spoil any ending, but you start to assume it towards the middle of the book, but you forge ahead knowing you just have to put together how it was done.

Good book and a fast read

This book started out in a way that I could not put it down. It was a very interesting and well written beginning. Unfortunately, the narrative broke down a bit towards the end. I was able to predict what was happening about 100 pages before everything was explained. To me this lessens the quality of the book.

However, much of the information on psychology given in the book was absolutely fascinating since I do not have any sort of background in it.