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The Fear Index [Paperback]

Robert Harris (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (242 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 24 May 2012

Meet Alex Hoffmann: among the secretive inner circle of the ultra-rich, he is something of a legend.

Based in Geneva, he has developed a revolutionary system that has the power to manipulate financial markets. Generating billions of dollars, it is a system that thrives on panic - and feeds on fear.

And then, in the early hours of one morning, while he lies asleep, a sinister intruder breaches the elaborate security of his lakeside home.

So begins a waking nightmare of paranoia and violence as Hoffmann attempts - with increasing desperation - to discover who is trying to destroy him - before it's too late ...

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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Arrow (24 May 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099553260
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099553267
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.5 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (242 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Robert Harris
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Review

"The Fear Index could scarcely be more of the moment" (The Times )

"Harris is a master of pace and entertainment, and The Fear Index is a thoroughly enjoyable book . . . Read the book." (Observer )

"The Fear Index is an escapist thriller to rank with the best of them, and as a guide to what hedge funds actually do, it is surprisingly clear and instructive." (Economist )

"There are moments when this book feels so up to date it could have been written next week... spookily exciting." (Express )

"I would recommend The Fear Index, the new novel by Robert Harris that delves into the world of modern finance. The writing is as elegant as ever" (Lionel Barber Financial Times )

Book Description

The gripping new race-against-time financial thriller, from the award-winning master of the literary thriller genre: Robert Harris. Shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller of the year at the 2012 Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars More Michael Crichton than Robert Harris 27 Dec 2011
By Julia Flyte TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Dr Alex Hoffman is an intensely private, brilliant physicist who has developed a series of algorithms capable of predicting, with uncanny accuracy, how stockmarkets will react to events. His investment company has made him - and others - a billionaire off the calculations of his artificially intelligent VIXAL-4 super-computer. He is happily (if somewhat improbably) married and has built his company with a partner who has the social skills that he lacks. One night Hoffman is awoken by the sound of an intruder in the house - the catalyst in a chain of events that over the next 24 hours will end some lives, cause those close to him to doubt his sanity and potentially may bring down the global economy.

It took a little while for this thriller to pull me in. The tension takes some time to build. I didn't particularly care for any of the characters, none of whom (with the possible exception of Hoffman) felt very believable. However it's deftly written and even as I started to work out parts of the plot and where the story might be going, other elements kept me guessing. It's a strange change of pace for Harris, reading more like a Michael Crichton novel than a Robert Harris one. It has the scientific edge that I associate with Crichton's books, it's highly topical and grounded in recent events. It's also very readable - I tore through it in a day. So where's the problem? It's more shallow than I expect Harris's writing to be. The plot doesn't have a massive twist, some some small kinks. I simply didn't care about any of the characters. I read it happily enough, but I don't think it will stay with me.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Son of HAL 10 Feb 2012
By Blue in Washington TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Disappointing for me. Like many other reviewers, I'm a big Robert Harris fan--his historical fiction is terrific. "The Fear Index" went a little too far toward sci-fi without fully preparing a layman reader like me for what was technically possible or what was actually happening. My own lack of technical knowledge of the mechanical workings of the contemporary stock markets was no doubt a factor in limiting my understanding and enjoyment of the novel's plot.

While trying to avoid open spoilers, I still have to wonder out loud what the motivations of the story's "villain" were. Why send a book? Why order a murder ala Hannibal Lechter? Why buy an art collection? There weren't any direct answers to these and other questions on offer other than a kind of suggestion that they amounted to events in a struggle of man vs.mechanical beast.

This is a short book meant to entertain for a few hours. It will do that for many people. For me there wasn't enough there there.
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94 of 103 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Unreached potential, but still good! 11 Oct 2011
By Miss Chloe S. Batten
Format:Kindle Edition
This is a very topical thriller based around the current economic depression and its beginnings. The plot throws a different twist on Artificial Intelligence getting out of hand and plays on the human fear of computers taking over, as well as the AI using THE FEAR INDEX to determine where to invest. The book revolves around the main character Dr Alex Hoffman, a physicist who sets up a hedge fund which, using his self-learning programme, earns him a vast fortune. Strange things start to happen and Alex realises he is not as fully in control of his life as he thought and begins to doubt himself and events. The writing is good, the descriptions and dialogue spot on.

Where the book let me down was in the somewhat stereotypical characters and lack of their development, the hedge fund investors are all self-involved geeks and the policeman predictable. The Darwin analogy, although interesting, seemed to fizzle out and not reach its full potential, much like the novel.

Don't get me wrong, this is a good book and I enjoyed reading it, but it could have been so much more!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Pace! From start to finish.
This book was holiday reading of the best kind. A perfect tonic after my previous, as it turned out, mediochre book choice.
Published 4 days ago by therealstevejames
1.0 out of 5 stars Robert Harris - It's official : He's the Emperors' New Clothes.
The Fear Index is utterly pretentious nonsense. Pretentious in the sense that this writer is not actually fit to lace Grisham's or Coben's boots.... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Mickey G
3.0 out of 5 stars Baffling Jargon
This is definitely not his best book and I probably won't read it again. Sadly most of the characters are fairly unlikeable and I really didn't care what happened to Alex or his... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Sussex bookworm
2.0 out of 5 stars Barely worth it
I bought this after reading a most interesting book review on related themes by Harris, a review of a non-fiction work that is. Read more
Published 15 days ago by MediaMan
4.0 out of 5 stars Always Interesting
I'm definitely a Robert Harris fan but I did wonder if I would be disappointed by this book due to the reviews on here. Read more
Published 23 days ago by L K Jay
4.0 out of 5 stars gripping
Allthough I checked out the reviews and downloaded the sample before ordering it I enjoyed it more than expected - enough to recommend it to friends and family - an unusual plot,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jayne Attwater
5.0 out of 5 stars Fear index
Bought as a present for my auntie i havent read it. Arrived in good condition. I know she likes the author and was looking forward to it.
Published 1 month ago by lisa hall
5.0 out of 5 stars Filled my evenings
This is a book I took to Italy on holiday and no-one could persuade me to go out in the evenings because I wanted to finish reading it! 5 star book.
Published 1 month ago by Mrs D M Thomas
1.0 out of 5 stars not my cup of tea
I have read most of the Robert Harris books, and this is the one I like the leaste. Suffice to say that I almost skipped half of it to read the end, something I never do. Read more
Published 1 month ago by agata
4.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced page turner
Having read most other RH novels I was keen to try this one on a kindle fire. I read it inside 24 hours. Read more
Published 1 month ago by PJEN
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