Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Compelling What-If, January 29, 2002
By A Customer
As somebody who at one time performed extensive study into the possibilities of such things as shadow governments, Freemason agendas, and so-called 'conspiracy theories', I can remember more than once thinking to myself ... what if it were all true?The fact is, it's practically impossible to know which bits of information or disinformation on these subjects are valid, no matter how much hard research you do and no matter how many 'experts' you speak to. Yet inevitably, when you are faced with a mountain of facts and testimonies and the convoluted histories of such mysterious groups as the 'Knights Templar', that one nagging question will always pop into your head, time and again ... what if it were all true? It's probably not. But what if it WERE? This, it seems, is the simple lever that DiLouie uses as a fulcrum to attempt to move the world -- or in this case, our preconceptions about 'conspiracies', and about the likelihood that a handful of powerful men could influence the fate of billions. To do this, he starts with an 'Everyday Joe' in a small town, somebody we either already know or may be ourselves, and he turns this man's life upside-down ... and in doing so, turns us as readers upside-down as well. Then he does it again. And again. Until, by the closing epiphany, we -- like the main character -- have no idea which way is up any more. In the end, by the time you have feverishly flipped through the pages of this compelling and informative novel -- at each turn wondering what could possibly happen next -- you may or may not believe in 'conspiracy theories' any more than you did when you started. But you will certainly be entertained. And even more certainly, those two seductive words will continue to resonate in your thoughts for days and even weeks afterward ... as you watch the news ... as you walk past your neighbor's door ... as you check your e-mail ... WHAT IF???
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Suspenseful & Informative, December 8, 2001
Paranoia is a taut, compelling read from start to finish. The narrator, Chad Carver, is an ordinary guy who's pulled into a nightmare world of conspiracy theories. When his long missing brother Palmer re-enters his life and tells him that the Illuminati, an immensely powerful group of conspirators, are about to kill the president and then committ further atrocities against the population, Chad must decide whether or not to believe him. Paranoia weaves many fascinating facts about actual conspiracies into the plot, enticing readers to do their own research. The novel is aptly named, for Dilouie manages to capture the essence of that state --the reader, like Chad, has no idea until the final pages who or what is to be believed. Readers of The Illuminatus Trilogy (by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea) will especially appreciate this book, though it's also a good introduction to the intriguing but frightening realm of conspiracy theories.
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Made Me Think--And Blink!, November 13, 2001
By A Customer
Synopsis adapted from the back cover: Chad Carvers, an orderly working at a mental hospital, knows all about conspiracy theories thanks to some of the more paranoid patients--dark fantasies about black helicopters, thought control, international bankers and secret U.N. armies. He happily dismisses them as insane until exposed to a fantastic two-thousand-year-old conspiracy that is at first titillating, then dangerous, as his brother Palmer--who claims to be a renegade from the biggest secret society of all, the Illuminati--predicts that the President will be assassinated in three days. When this actually happens, Chad plunges headfirst into Palmer's dark world where conspiracies are formed to fight conspiracies, where reality changes according to belief, and where even conspiracy theorists are agents of the Illuminati. When Chad learns that he must kill for his new beliefs, the line between fantasy and reality disappears. Because Palmer has told him that the Illuminati are about to release a biological weapon, and if he kills the Grand Master of the Illuminati, the world will be saved from holocaust and dictatorship. Or so the theory goes...From start to finish, DiLouie tells an exciting story and provides a balanced view of conspiracy theorists along with great insights about human belief. It also showed me what all the fuss is about with conspiracy theories--the factual info about real government conspiracies in American history scared me as much as the fiction. As for the plot it kept me turning pages, guessing, and being surprised. (Whether you believe in ghosts or not, PARANOIA is a great trip to a haunted house.) (...)
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
