The Fear Index by Robert Harris, Hutchinson, $19.95
It’s a rare writer who can link the deep-science world of particle physics with the incomprehensible business of hedge-fund management — and make you want to read on.
But Robert Harris does the trick with this edge-of-the-seat thriller about a mathematical genius, Dr Alex Hoffman, designer of a complex computer program which taps into human fear and panic to predict movements on the stock exchange.
He’s now filthy rich (“one billion, ballpark”) and about to launch VIXAL-4, the ultimate, failsafe version of his dealer-machine — when someone breaks into his mansion and things start to unravel.
Because VIXAL-4, like Hal in 2001:A Space Odyssey, is developing a will of its own, threatening not just its creator, but the entire financial system.
Can Hoffman stop his monster in time? The ingenious plot skirts so close to reality it’s hard to know the truth from fiction, making this book not just fun, but genuinely scary.
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