The Ultimate Rush

by Joe Quirk

1st No Exit, very large paperback vg++

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Novels, Science Fiction Fantasy

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Clara Prizont · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very conflicted. On the one hand this is a fantastic book. Action but with good character development and enough societal implications to keep it interesting. I was glued to the pages the entire time. On the the other hand this book is horrifically sexist all the time and terribly racist whenever it has the chance. Its like the author was trying to create the modern enlightened white man and instead wrote the modern racist and sexist white man who thinks he's enlightened. Dissapointing that the author did so little with what was an incredibly promising setup.

[Anthony Eaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, this is a strange one. It's sort of a crime fiction work, I guess. Also vaguely postmodern. Also got bits of techno-thriller. Parts of it reminded me of Chuck Palhanuk, parts of it reminded me of Michael Crighton, parts of it vaguely resemble Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, there was the odd cyberpunk moment, and a good deal of it brought to mind that dumbass MTV show where that bunch of idiot guys pushed themselves down hills in shopping trolleys while wearing only nappies. (That'd be diapers, for our American friends).

It's a kind of odd conglomeration of styles and ideas, thrown together at breakneck pace, with some nice character touches to help offset the often ludicrously held together and completely unbelievable plot.

And yet, oddly, almost unwillingly, it works. It's a page-turner. A brain-in-neutral page-turner, to be sure, but it keeps you reading, nonetheless.

I'm not going to go into plot details etc... here. You need to experience that joy for yourself. Let's just say that this is brain candy of the best sort. Not too sweet, but definitely more-ish. It also has one of the best final chapters I've read in a while.

Give it a look.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirk does a great job of capturing speed in the way he writes - especially the beginning and end of the book where the sense of speeding along is palpable. Ok, the techno-speak (the technology) and some of the dialogue seems a little dated now, but only insomuch as it's clearly set in the early 90s when it was written and in certain circles that's how people talked! I can imagine a good portion of people not getting along with this book, but I really enjoyed it - convicted ex-hacker Chet is now scratching a living as an outsider roller-blading-delivery boy who gets drawn into a financial conspiracy hosted by a whole set of different badasses. It slows up a little in the middle, but in all fairness this really is a very short period of the book because the pace builds with the action, leading to a fantastic set-piece towards the end. I'm pretty surprised this wasn't ever picked up as a film because it would lend itself quite nicely. Great!

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been more happy that I've picked up a random author and more gutted when I discovered everything else he has written is of a more serious nature.

A really fun read filled with action, scrapes, hot punk chicks, rollerblader's and gangsters!
&more 90s nostalgia than you could shake a skateboard at!

[Susan Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, this one is really different. It is written through the inside of a roller balding messenger guy in San Francisco. Yes, generally, you would not want to be inside this head and it is rough but really different and although I'm not sure I'm going to rush out to get his second novel, this one was worth the read.

[Gaylin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this book shortly after it came out and it was so fun, odd and cutting edge.
Just read it again, more than 20 years later, not so cutting edge on the computer stuff but still a great read. And still fun and odd.

[Dan Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fun read. Cheesy in parts and it really has the old 90s feel. maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much.

[Glen Guldbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much fun!!! Great book and highly recommended!!!

[A. Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

top 5 favorite of all time

This book was awesome. This was my fourth grade through. Joe Quirk was totally robbed by Hollywood and the public at large

[Jamie E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is hilariously over the top.
Part of the hilarity is how absurdly outdated the technology is...this is not a book that will travel through the ages.
I'd recommend it just for the sheer amusement of reminiscing the younger days of computers, lack of cell phones, the non-Russian mafias and rollerblades.

[Erika Mailman · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh this book is....such a ride. Such a rush. And although the plot is HUGE in this book, it's really the language that I love. The author's wit just resonates through every page. This book deserved WAY more noise than it ever got.

[Matthew Lockwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts well but gets a bit silly towards the end. Some of the dialog is somewhat stilted too, but it might just be a product of its time. It's fun enough though and I'd definitely read another book by Joe Quirk. Unfortunately, he seems to have disappeared.

[Mike Oconnor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the worst book that I have read this year, and that is saying something. The book is poorly written and the plot is very weak. I regret that I even wasted my time and finished the book at all.

[Jens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly. Fun.

[Selina Grissom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced, fun! Full of intrigue! LOVE IT! He's an awesome writer!

[robynluckystars · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes this book was really good, but most of the time I didn't really understand all the hacking stuff.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of all time. Screamingly funny.

[Mike Sp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read what I found sad though is how they adapted a movie with a Bike Messenger based off this book.