Customer Reviews

Improbable: A Novel

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I just finished reading an advance proof of this debut novel by Adam Fawer, which his publishers are describing as "brilliantly accessible prose [that] weaves an action-packed, fast-paced plot with dynamic characters and straightforward explanations of historical and modern theories of mathematics, probability, quantum physics and psychology."

Based on this description, my interest and hopes were piqued, but I actually believed that the likelihood that the book would fulfill that ambitious promise was best described by the book's title. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, like the book's protagonist, this book beat the odds and lived up to its billing.

It's difficult to provide adequate exposition on such complex topics as quantum physics, probability theory, and Jungian collective unconscious, while still keeping the narrative flowing, interesting, and convincing. Like The Da Vinci Code, the sensation of a bestseller to which Improbable's publishers are appropriately likening this book, the book relies on the presentation of these ideas as much more than mere dressing. (Disclaimer, in case one is needed: I'm one of the millions of readers who enjoyed The Da Vinci Code.) Always a challenge for such "thinking thrillers," it's easy for an author to get sucked into scenes that read more like lectures than fiction. To this book's credit, much of the theory is actually presented as lecture, in the form of a college classroom, but not all of it can fit into that neat framework, and even the classroom bits can seem a little forced at times.

That said, the book is a lot of fun, and the smart use of probability theory to support the plot is one of the most satisfying aspects of the book, adding a great deal of thought to what would otherwise be a more standard action novel, which, though indeed fast-paced and exciting, was not what attracted me to the book in the first place. I found the sexy rogue CIA agent, explosions, and bullet-dodging less attractive than the brains of the book. Fawer clearly did his homework when he studied statistics in college, and the only thing that keeps me from thinking it's a shame that he's not teaching somewhere is the fact that he is instead using his talents and knowledge to write a book like this.

The end of the book was a little too tidy for my tastes. If wrapping up the various elements of the book into a single system is necessary or desirable for this book (I don't necessarily think it is), I'd expect it to be a little messier around the edges. Still, the fact that Fawer does pull it all together, and in a way that does work, is a testament to the ambition and talents of this author. I put the few criticisms I have for the book (and they're largely quibbles) down to the work of a debut novelist. I look forward to reading Fawer's next book and recommend this one highly.

When I started reading IMPROBABLE, I had no idea where it was going or whether or not I would even continue reading as it definitely was not my type of book.....or so I thought. Adam Fawer has created such amazing characters that suddenly became very real to me, maybe because of their faults....maybe because they 'spoke' out to me....maybe because of the talented writing....whatever the reason I found that I became so involved in their lives that could not stop reading. Page after page, like an onion with its layers, the plot started to reveal itself to me......or did it? David Caine's life wasn't the only one spinning out of control....mine was too since all else fell by the wayside as I kept reading ...and finally I forced myself to slow down, savor each and every word until the very end....and WOW!!!! what an ending!!! This phenomenal writer actuallly knew how to end this exceedingly complex book....!!!! So many times you'll be reading a really terrific book, you get to the end and it just folds flat....right????? Welll this one didn't at allll.....!!!! I wanted to go back to the beginning and read it all over again and that rarely ever happens with me!!!! What a completely totally original novel....what a fantabulous debut!!! I am so glad to hear that the publishers are going all out on the marketing thereby giving Adam Fawer the respect that he so richly deserves. Thanks for many hours of pure reading pleasure!!! Now hurry up with the next brilliant novel!!!

This is a superior debut. A wild ride, part-introspective, part-action, and never dumbed down. Pace is agressive without being cheesy or lazy. Nice dialogue. A great read...it's a thriller, and a smart one. Fresh perspective from someone who has some real talent.

Many times I have been told by people, "You won't be able to put this down!" Reading between 50 and 60 books per year for the last 10 years, I have never found this to be true....until now. I could not stop reading Improbable until I finished. Well, ok...I did stop to eat lunch.
Combine John Nash (A Beautiful Mind), Sydney Bristow (Alias), a mad scientist and his corrupt financier, and the crime organizations of several different countries with Statistics and Quantum Physics; throw in a little Jungian Psychology and give this combination to a brilliant new author and you have Improbable. This is the best novel to come along in a long time and very possibly the best debut novel EVER!
Take it from someone who recommends books to people for a living...You should NOT miss this book.

As the greatest bookseller in the great southwest (this can't be disputed...so don't try...lol), I am always looking for the next big book to handsell and more importantly, to tell my staff about because everyone at work is always waiting to see what I recommend next. I never let them down and I'm sure IMPROBABLE will not let them down either. Adam Fawer has written one of the most intelligent and original thrillers I've ever read. IMPROBABLE is a smart, multi-layered novel, full of fascinating characters. I hope we see these characters again and I hope we see another book by Fawer SOON.

My job allows me to get some really great books before anyone else and I am grateful for that. Word-of-mouth is one of the most important things in this business, and I think that IMPROBABLE should generate some excellent word-of-mouth. I think if enough people get behind this wonderful novel, IMPROBABLE WILL be the book of 2005! I will do what I can to ensure this happens. I hope Adam Fawer writes quickly and Adam, I'll see you on the bestseller lists. Congratulations on a perfect book. To sum up. . . Improbable is GENIUS and you need to stop reading this and go buy a copy and see for yourself. What are you waiting for? GO!

Adam Fawer, Improbable (Morrow, 2005)

I'm sure you all remember The Da Vinci Code. How can you possibly have forgotten it? Hasn't it been on the bestseller list since the beginning of time? That such a perfectly average thriller could have garnered such a huge following, and still be selling that many copies per week, is absolutely astonishing to me. Especially when so many better, more intelligent thrillers roam the world looking for that kind of devoted readership.

Improbable is one of those thrillers. It attempts many of the same things as does The Da Vinci Code, but where Dan Brown's book fails so miserably in its attempts, Improbable often succeeds.

David Caine is a gambler. He spends most of his nights in the basement of a Russian private club playing Texas Hold 'em and trying unsuccessfully to avoid synaesthesia, usually followed by crippling seizures. One night, after losing a hand he had almost no chance of losing (and going deep into the Russian mob's debt in the process), Caine loses consciousness, only to wake up in the hospital later. He's faced with one last shot at alleviating the problem: an experimental treatment that's never been tested on humans before.

Meanwhile, a CIA agent is selling secrets to the North Koreans, and a professor obsessed with tapping into the unconscious is performing experiments on a grad student he also happens to be sleeping with. How does it all tie together? Wonderfully.

The plot itself, however, is not the true pleasure of reading Improbable. Nor is it the characters, who are somewhat inconsistently drawn; some of them are deep, rich creations, while others are cardboard stereotypes. No, the best thing about Improbable is that Fawer can take you through so many different things that need explaining, explain them, and not break the flow of the story, much less come off sounding didactic. He assumes (perhaps rightly) that his readers know nothing about the ground he's treading, and he fills us in on what we need to know for the book to pack maximum punch. And it does.

The best thriller I've read since Joe Finder's Paranoia. A fantastic debut novel, not to be missed by thriller readers. ****

Columbia statistics Ph.D. candidate and teacher David Caine is a compulsive gambler, always believing in the odds. However probability fails him when he loses while holding a near perfect hand. He owes a Russian Mafioso big time.

At the same time he struggles with his dangerous debt, David also receives experimental treatment for his temporal lobe epilepsy. However, the treatment provides David the ability to enter the everywhen, where he "witnesses" countless futures in which he selects which one he wants for himself. Soon, the Feds and the Russians seek David for their own purposes. With his just out of the asylum schizophrenic twin Jasper and CIA killer Nava Vaner as his allies, David calculates the odds of survival in spite of probably turning into Laplace's Demon mathematically calculating the future.

IMPROBABLE is an enjoyable action-packed thriller starring an intriguing antihero whose gambling is as out of control as an itchy edge in his blood. Having someone like that able to see the future is a delightful twist because the fever is in the paying not the winning (though David does not want to lose). Adam Fawer provides fabulous insight into the mathematics and physics that serve as the background to everywhen, but that also slows down the plot and feels awkward when killer Nava joins the fray. Though mindful of the Professor Q books of Trevor Hoyle, but with more of an espionage mob ring than the historical take of the latter, fans will appreciate this interesting thriller, which probably means an educated dedicated fan base.

Harriet Klausner

ok, maybe not, but darn close. And even if that doesn't interest you, the plot Fawer uses to get you there will keep you up late reading, reading, reading. After spending too much time reading news analysis and non-fiction, this book reminded me how fun fiction can be. I'm looking for more from this author, as his potential seems infinite.

I picked this book up thinking it would be a lot like The Da Vinci Code or Rule of Four... some interesting intellectual background, a pacy plot, and absolutely ridiculous, laugh-out-loud dialogue and characters. I'm happy to say that I got only two out of three right! Unlike those other books, which I found entertaining but ultimately disappointing, this book had complex and compelling characters, interesting situations, and very smooth and natural dialogue. Plus it's a total page-turner-- I would have finished it in one day if I hadn't had to go somewhere that I couldn't get out of!

I definitely recommend this book.

It is always a joy - and a rush - to find a truly intelligent thriller, and that is just what I found in Adam Fawer's Improbable. There's plenty of action, suspense, and even a little bit of gore here, but a strong, fascinating story is the beating heart that keeps everything else moving. There is a strong element of scientific theory at the core of this novel, which I as a bona fide nerd delighted in, but those with nonmathematical minds should have no fear, as Fawer takes great pains to explain everything in such a way that it is understandable. For those who enjoy ruminating upon quantum physics, probability theory, biochemistry, and determinism vs. chaos theory, Improbable offers a bounty of speculations regarding Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, Schrodinger's Cat, and - most of all - Laplace's Demon. The latter is in fact what this novel is all about, for its main character becomes the very personification of Laplace's Demon.

You would think David Caine has enough problems already, as he has devoted his life to the academic study of statistics (but I kid my statistician cohorts). Actually, Caine has not taught in over a year, ever since he began having seizures attributed to temporal lobe epilepsy. When we first meet him, he is pursuing his gambling vice at a shady Russian game room, losing big on a sure-thing bet just before suffering a major seizure. He wakes up very much in debt to his Russian Mafioso friends and helpless against the mentally debilitating effects of his seizures. His doctor recommends an experimental drug, as nothing else can possibly help him. Having a schizophrenic identical twin makes Caine fear a possible break with reality, but he figures he has little to lose and volunteers for the new treatment - which definitely has an effect on him. He soon finds himself seeing possible futures at any given time, a power which comes in handy when you're trying to evade Russian gambling debt collectors as well as elite forces of the NSA and FBI. Unknowingly, David has become the successful test case of a scientist trying to make Laplace's Demon a reality - an individual who can see and know past, present, and future.

A rogue CIA agent with a past even her employers know nothing about is put on David's trail. Nava has her own agenda, but she ends up becoming David's greatest ally, using her expertise to help keep him alive. As David grows into his new-found power to determine the best course of action available in order to achieve the most desired result, he reestablishes some control over his own future. That actually makes his life harder than ever, as the best possible outcome sometimes requires sacrifice and pain. The thrill of the chase occupies the first two-thirds or so of the story, after which point things slow down a little bit, but there are plenty of fireworks left over for the closing chapters.

Fawer makes great use of scientific ideas in order to lay the foundation of this intricate yet tightly wound story; he does go a little bit textbook from time to time, but such detail is necessary in order to sell the science fiction aspects of the story completely. I must admit I seemed to miss the occurrence of one important plot twist (which may be my own fault), but the rest of the novel was meticulously laid out. Only in the final chapters does one get a true appreciation of the vast interconnectedness of everything in the novel, but it is the almost non-stop action of Caine's flight from his pursuers that impresses itself upon you the most. Fawer is a talented writer, probably one of the few people on earth who can actually make statistics and probability exciting. In my opinion, Improbable is one of the most impressive thrillers to come along in quite a while.