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Nat Idle #2
Devil's Plaything
“Smart, captivating, sophisticated; I can’t say enough about this deftly told story.”—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor’s Tomb
“A brilliant thriller that defies genre and scope; a twisted blend of Michael Crichton and Alfred Hitchcock.”—James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of Altar of Eden
A Pulitzer Prize winner for Journalism in 2010, New York Times science reporter Matt Richtel delivers a phenomenal “neuro-tech” thriller about a dark and insidious plot to reengineer the human brain. Devil’s Plaything is smart, fast, and terrifyingly plausible—a page-turner of the first order from the critically acclaimed author of Hooked, whom author David Liss (The Devil’s Company) calls, “The absolute master of crafting amazing fiction around cutting edge science.”
“A brilliant thriller that defies genre and scope; a twisted blend of Michael Crichton and Alfred Hitchcock.”—James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of Altar of Eden
A Pulitzer Prize winner for Journalism in 2010, New York Times science reporter Matt Richtel delivers a phenomenal “neuro-tech” thriller about a dark and insidious plot to reengineer the human brain. Devil’s Plaything is smart, fast, and terrifyingly plausible—a page-turner of the first order from the critically acclaimed author of Hooked, whom author David Liss (The Devil’s Company) calls, “The absolute master of crafting amazing fiction around cutting edge science.”
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 3, 2011
20 people are currently reading
339 people want to read
About the author
Matt Richtel
19 books184 followersMatt Richtel is a best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times based in San Francisco.
He co-created and formerly wrote the syndicated comic Rudy Park under the pen name Theron Heir. Since 2012, the strip is now written by its longtime illustrator Darrin Bell.
He co-created and formerly wrote the syndicated comic Rudy Park under the pen name Theron Heir. Since 2012, the strip is now written by its longtime illustrator Darrin Bell.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
June 1, 2011
Matt Richtel, author of the superb novel "Devil's Plaything," is a Pulitzer Prize-winning technology reporter for the New York Times. "Devil's Plaything" is far and away among the very best thrillers released this year. It's timely, insightful, and disturbingly prescient.
San Francisco in present-day late October is the setting for a breakneck plot twisting around attempts to hijack an elderly woman's memories under the auspices of a seemingly benign government-sponsored endeavor called the Human Memory Crusade. On its surface, the Crusade is designed to preserve for future generations the life stories of the elderly before dementia or death wipe them from mankind's record. At a time when mean human life expectancies inexorably rise in virtual lockstep with the ever-increasing onset of material memory impairment among the aged, the Crusade appears a noble pursuit. However, under the untoward influence of potentially sinister multinational neuro-tech companies, quasi-sentient computer software, suspect elder care facilities, shadowy venture capitalists, and even menacing dental offices, the pursuit's nobility is subject to question.
Richtel tells the story well and almost entirely in first-person, present tense. This gives the novel a breathtaking sense of immediacy, and makes the action insistent and compelling. A mood of deep, gnawing paranoia almost drips from the book's pages. No one and nothing are as they appear, except when they are, and it's no easy task for readers to surmise which is which until the novel's conclusion. Like his crisp dialogue, Richtel's characters ring true. The author is particularly masterful in presenting the narrator's elderly grandmother, a principal character who braves the ravages of dementia as she tries to help her grandson navigate multiplying treacheries and deathtraps. Richtel's portrayal of this unduly tormented old woman is deft, sensitive, accurate, and alone worth reading the novel.
At its core, "Devil's Plaything" is a story about memory, duality, and the intercourse between the two that pulses in us all. It's a fantastic thriller, and I can't recommend it strongly enough.
San Francisco in present-day late October is the setting for a breakneck plot twisting around attempts to hijack an elderly woman's memories under the auspices of a seemingly benign government-sponsored endeavor called the Human Memory Crusade. On its surface, the Crusade is designed to preserve for future generations the life stories of the elderly before dementia or death wipe them from mankind's record. At a time when mean human life expectancies inexorably rise in virtual lockstep with the ever-increasing onset of material memory impairment among the aged, the Crusade appears a noble pursuit. However, under the untoward influence of potentially sinister multinational neuro-tech companies, quasi-sentient computer software, suspect elder care facilities, shadowy venture capitalists, and even menacing dental offices, the pursuit's nobility is subject to question.
Richtel tells the story well and almost entirely in first-person, present tense. This gives the novel a breathtaking sense of immediacy, and makes the action insistent and compelling. A mood of deep, gnawing paranoia almost drips from the book's pages. No one and nothing are as they appear, except when they are, and it's no easy task for readers to surmise which is which until the novel's conclusion. Like his crisp dialogue, Richtel's characters ring true. The author is particularly masterful in presenting the narrator's elderly grandmother, a principal character who braves the ravages of dementia as she tries to help her grandson navigate multiplying treacheries and deathtraps. Richtel's portrayal of this unduly tormented old woman is deft, sensitive, accurate, and alone worth reading the novel.
At its core, "Devil's Plaything" is a story about memory, duality, and the intercourse between the two that pulses in us all. It's a fantastic thriller, and I can't recommend it strongly enough.
October 9, 2014
This is mildly amusing, but sadly informative. I finished Matt Richtel's "Devil's Plaything" recently and just came here to Goodreads to review it, and was somewhat surprised to see I'd previously given three stars to the author's The Cloud.
The reason I find my surprise informative is that both stories are set in San Francisco, both feature the same protagonist, and I read the other book less than a year ago, but I simply couldn't recall it until I'd read enough other reviews that I rebuilt a sense of what the book was about (I'd been overly sensitive to spoilers, and left my own review too ambiguous).
So I'll 'fess up. The third star is generous, and I guess mostly because the author sets the stories in real San Francisco, not the tourist version thereof. But the protagonist isn't very inspiring, and the plot reaches farther than its grasp. Some folks give this author five stars, so YMMV, but I don't plan on returning to the scene of the crime.
The reason I find my surprise informative is that both stories are set in San Francisco, both feature the same protagonist, and I read the other book less than a year ago, but I simply couldn't recall it until I'd read enough other reviews that I rebuilt a sense of what the book was about (I'd been overly sensitive to spoilers, and left my own review too ambiguous).
So I'll 'fess up. The third star is generous, and I guess mostly because the author sets the stories in real San Francisco, not the tourist version thereof. But the protagonist isn't very inspiring, and the plot reaches farther than its grasp. Some folks give this author five stars, so YMMV, but I don't plan on returning to the scene of the crime.
September 25, 2011
I have to tell you - this book was amazing! From the very first page, when you realize that someone is talking to an artificially intelligent computer, you are hooked into the story line completely. And whereas with most mysteries, you can kind of figure out what's going to happen in the end, the questions in this novel don't end until the very last page.
Here's the basic premise: we know that our main character's grandmother is living in a nursing home where she has been asked to record all of her memories into a computer. She's told that these memories will be passed on to her children and their children for years to come. Somewhere along the line, however, we realize that Grandma Idle must've said something or seen something really wrong because soon enough, there are people actually trying to kill her and Nate.
The suspense in this book is perfectly paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. It also helps immensely that you completely fall in love with Nate's grandmother, and the thought of anything bad happening to her adds to your anxiety while reading the book, lol.
At the end of it all, I believe the Devil's Plaything are computers. They're used throughout the entire story, and the question is posed multiple times: are computers messing with our memories?
I'll leave you with what is written on the very first page of the book:
"The number of people suffering acute memory loss is doubling every fifteen years.
Shipments of computer memory are doubling every two years.
Are these two statistics related?
More than you dare imagine."
4 out of 5 stars.
Maria @ GoodChoiceReading.com
Here's the basic premise: we know that our main character's grandmother is living in a nursing home where she has been asked to record all of her memories into a computer. She's told that these memories will be passed on to her children and their children for years to come. Somewhere along the line, however, we realize that Grandma Idle must've said something or seen something really wrong because soon enough, there are people actually trying to kill her and Nate.
The suspense in this book is perfectly paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. It also helps immensely that you completely fall in love with Nate's grandmother, and the thought of anything bad happening to her adds to your anxiety while reading the book, lol.
At the end of it all, I believe the Devil's Plaything are computers. They're used throughout the entire story, and the question is posed multiple times: are computers messing with our memories?
I'll leave you with what is written on the very first page of the book:
"The number of people suffering acute memory loss is doubling every fifteen years.
Shipments of computer memory are doubling every two years.
Are these two statistics related?
More than you dare imagine."
4 out of 5 stars.
Maria @ GoodChoiceReading.com
July 7, 2011
“The number of people suffering acute memory loss is doubling every fifteen years. Shipments of computer memory are doubling every two years. Are these two statistics related? More than you dare imagine.” This quote begins “Devil’s Plaything,” a medico-technological thriller that will make you hesitate to continue your use of computers and cell phones.
Nat Idle writes blogs for MediBlog, a medical news and information site described by Pauline (Polly) Sanchez, its owner, as “the medical news-centric love child of CNN and the New York Times subsequently orphaned and raised by Twitter.” He also spends time with his grandmother, Lane, who has developed dementia and declined precipitously over the past few months. Lane has also recently been taking part in a service called the Human Memory Crusade, in which she interacts with a computer, containing an AI, to tell her life story for posterity.
The story opens with a bang when Nat and Lane are shot at while in Golden Gate Park. Nat soon finds himself on the run and being repeatedly attacked – apparently because of something Lane knows, but can’t access due to her memory loss. What is it these people are after? Who, if anyone, can Nat trust?
The story is fast-paced, full of twists and turns, and action-packed while at the same time allowing full character development and several side stories. I especially liked Lane; while she is confused and often unable to express herself, the adventurous, self-reliant and non-conformist nature she encompasses are shown through stories, and the occasional lucid interval. There is also a lot of wit and dry humour in the story, as evinced by the following quote, showing a typical San Franciscan situation: “American’s greatest tensions play out in the Mission, in the form of a battle over the proper ingredients for a taco. The place was dotted with taquerias that served tortillas stuffed with rice, beans, and your choice of chicken, pork, or beef. Then along came the organic tofu-crumble taco joints.”
However, there were some serious information/continuity flaws that I wanted to point out, in hopes the author reads the review (I will be intentionally vague to help minimize spoilers). For instance, at one point a character is told to find shell casings after a drive-by shooting. Now, shell casings are the part that is ejected by the gun after the bullet is fired, not the part that is shot out the barrel. So, in a drive-by shooting, the shell casings should be in the car itself or possibly the street, not by the victim; which is where the character looked, and discovered, the casings – AND the slugs. Also, there is a common issue with people not knowing what the parts of the eye are called. The black in the middle is the pupil. The coloured ring is the iris; and the white of the eye is called the sclera. Therefore, one’s eyes would have (for instance) narrow, blue irises (not pupils), and a person would NOT have “heavily blood-shot pupils,” because it is the sclera, or white of the eye, that becomes blood shot. I was disappointed that the author, who obviously spent a lot of time studying the information about brains and computers, made these sorts of simple mistakes.
Nonetheless, the story itself is entertaining and I can highly recommend this book to fans of the thriller/suspense genre, or the medical/technical subsets thereof. Check it out; you won’t regret it!
Nat Idle writes blogs for MediBlog, a medical news and information site described by Pauline (Polly) Sanchez, its owner, as “the medical news-centric love child of CNN and the New York Times subsequently orphaned and raised by Twitter.” He also spends time with his grandmother, Lane, who has developed dementia and declined precipitously over the past few months. Lane has also recently been taking part in a service called the Human Memory Crusade, in which she interacts with a computer, containing an AI, to tell her life story for posterity.
The story opens with a bang when Nat and Lane are shot at while in Golden Gate Park. Nat soon finds himself on the run and being repeatedly attacked – apparently because of something Lane knows, but can’t access due to her memory loss. What is it these people are after? Who, if anyone, can Nat trust?
The story is fast-paced, full of twists and turns, and action-packed while at the same time allowing full character development and several side stories. I especially liked Lane; while she is confused and often unable to express herself, the adventurous, self-reliant and non-conformist nature she encompasses are shown through stories, and the occasional lucid interval. There is also a lot of wit and dry humour in the story, as evinced by the following quote, showing a typical San Franciscan situation: “American’s greatest tensions play out in the Mission, in the form of a battle over the proper ingredients for a taco. The place was dotted with taquerias that served tortillas stuffed with rice, beans, and your choice of chicken, pork, or beef. Then along came the organic tofu-crumble taco joints.”
However, there were some serious information/continuity flaws that I wanted to point out, in hopes the author reads the review (I will be intentionally vague to help minimize spoilers). For instance, at one point a character is told to find shell casings after a drive-by shooting. Now, shell casings are the part that is ejected by the gun after the bullet is fired, not the part that is shot out the barrel. So, in a drive-by shooting, the shell casings should be in the car itself or possibly the street, not by the victim; which is where the character looked, and discovered, the casings – AND the slugs. Also, there is a common issue with people not knowing what the parts of the eye are called. The black in the middle is the pupil. The coloured ring is the iris; and the white of the eye is called the sclera. Therefore, one’s eyes would have (for instance) narrow, blue irises (not pupils), and a person would NOT have “heavily blood-shot pupils,” because it is the sclera, or white of the eye, that becomes blood shot. I was disappointed that the author, who obviously spent a lot of time studying the information about brains and computers, made these sorts of simple mistakes.
Nonetheless, the story itself is entertaining and I can highly recommend this book to fans of the thriller/suspense genre, or the medical/technical subsets thereof. Check it out; you won’t regret it!
June 18, 2011
3.0 out of 5 stars Step away from your computer!
This was an OK thriller that has to do with the bad guys using computer technology to secretly mess with peoples' brains and their memories. But why? The main character, a medical blog writer and former doctor named Nat Idle, and his grandmother Lane are running around San Francisco trying to figure out why her dementia is progressing so rapidly and what memories of hers have been tampered with or altered. Nat is detracted from solving the mystery by suspicious characters at every turn. He can't seem to get answers from the caregivers at the nursing home where Lane lives or from her neurologist, nor from a quasi military type venture capitalist named Chuck who appears out of nowhere to save Nat and his grandmother from an attack by a gun toting man in a Prius.
The action scenes are there and the ingredients for a fast paced thriller are in place, but the story and the main plot really don't go anywhere. The narrative seems to be more a social commentary about the danger to human minds because of multitasking and the internet than a real suspense thriller. The revelations about the "big secret" that Grandma Lane has and the resultant case breaking clues that are finally exposed aren't really very exciting and the story sort of limps to a less than compelling or satisfying conclusion. The moral of the story seems to be that humans should stop using computers and have more face-to-face interactions with their loved ones lest we all forget simple things, ruin our long term memories and our brains.
Fine, escapist beach read -- don't expect a high octane thrill ride because it's not found in these pages.
This was an OK thriller that has to do with the bad guys using computer technology to secretly mess with peoples' brains and their memories. But why? The main character, a medical blog writer and former doctor named Nat Idle, and his grandmother Lane are running around San Francisco trying to figure out why her dementia is progressing so rapidly and what memories of hers have been tampered with or altered. Nat is detracted from solving the mystery by suspicious characters at every turn. He can't seem to get answers from the caregivers at the nursing home where Lane lives or from her neurologist, nor from a quasi military type venture capitalist named Chuck who appears out of nowhere to save Nat and his grandmother from an attack by a gun toting man in a Prius.
The action scenes are there and the ingredients for a fast paced thriller are in place, but the story and the main plot really don't go anywhere. The narrative seems to be more a social commentary about the danger to human minds because of multitasking and the internet than a real suspense thriller. The revelations about the "big secret" that Grandma Lane has and the resultant case breaking clues that are finally exposed aren't really very exciting and the story sort of limps to a less than compelling or satisfying conclusion. The moral of the story seems to be that humans should stop using computers and have more face-to-face interactions with their loved ones lest we all forget simple things, ruin our long term memories and our brains.
Fine, escapist beach read -- don't expect a high octane thrill ride because it's not found in these pages.
July 12, 2011
The San Francisco setting may be the best part of this book for me. The author clearly knows the city and waxes poetic about it in a way that locals will love. The story is a suspenseful walk through a mystery, but nothing truly grabbed me. It all wraps up, as usual in all but the best thrillers, very conveniently and a little too quickly in the end. The characters aren't as developed as they could be, and the title gives you a very different feel than what you'll find. The attempt at bringing modern technology that affects all of our daily lives into a suspenseful novel is strong, but didn't totally succeed.
January 23, 2015
This book started off pretty strong. Unfortunately it kind of slowed at the end. Got to be a bit convoluted with all the description of binary codes, etc.
That being said, I liked the premise a lot. The idea that someone can use the internet to take away your memory was pretty cool. And what's funny is how Dementia is a growing problem in the world, the suggestion might not be too far off. Some experts think by watching too much television, you can cause Dementia to grow at a faster rate, so why not the internet?
I'd read another book by Matt just to see how it holds up. In fact, I got a sneak peak at the next book, "The Juggler", and I'm already intrigued.
Some curse words.
That being said, I liked the premise a lot. The idea that someone can use the internet to take away your memory was pretty cool. And what's funny is how Dementia is a growing problem in the world, the suggestion might not be too far off. Some experts think by watching too much television, you can cause Dementia to grow at a faster rate, so why not the internet?
I'd read another book by Matt just to see how it holds up. In fact, I got a sneak peak at the next book, "The Juggler", and I'm already intrigued.
Some curse words.
November 10, 2012
In Devil’s Plaything, Matt Richtel masterfully combines suspense with deep-rooted family history. The plot reveals profound possibilities based on real scientific studies, and is paced in such a way that urges the reader to keep reading. Even with great books, I often forget the characters and specifics shortly after finishing the book--not so with this one. Devil’s Plaything serves as a model of the kind of writer I’d like to be. Matt Richtel’s got me hooked (pun intended—-his first book is titled Hooked) and I’ll keep coming back for more.
February 14, 2014
Great book! I was on the edge of my seat from the very beginning with this one, and that's exactly what I like to see in a book. The only problem I had with it was a little bit of the wording confused me, (but hey, I don't blame the author for that its probably just me) and the ending of the book gave me a sense of unfulfilled wishes for the story line. I guess maybe a lack of closure is what I'm getting at here, but other than that, it was truly a great book. I would recommend this to all people who like a good thriller, and even some who don't.
January 30, 2016
I bought this book at Family Dollar for about 97 cents. The title caught my interest. It's actually one of those books you think is going to be terrible, because it's so cheap. However, it's a wonderful book. The main character is witty and I found myself not only liking him, but everyone else as well. It's twisted and suspenseful.
July 27, 2011
Really interesting premise - very now - a bit of a mystery. I enjoyed it, a page turner. Makes you thing about the hours you spend at a computer!
April 24, 2021
I had not read anything by Matt Richtel before though had just finished "The Excavation" written by James Rollins and he gave a review that was in the front cover of this book.
Matt's writing style is different, which I believe may be due to his journalism experience, and I find interesting and not typical which I really appreciated!! It took a little bit for me to be accustomed to him identifying people through their pathologies but once I got the hang of it it was pretty cool. As much as I enjoyed the story though I felt that parts of it were a little bit disjointed.... the main character's grandmother has dementia and the author does a good job of documenting what that's like which is why some of the story comes out disjointed the way it does. I found I enjoyed the story enough to flip back through the pages of the book to look for clues that I felt I missed while reading the book.
Another reason why I like this book is all the facts that are interspersed in it about San Francisco and neurotechnology. Will I read a sequel? I think I will. I am interested to see where this main character goes. Unfortunately, I read the beginning of it At the tail end of this book and it looks like his relationship in this book does not work out. 🤔🤷♀️
Matt's writing style is different, which I believe may be due to his journalism experience, and I find interesting and not typical which I really appreciated!! It took a little bit for me to be accustomed to him identifying people through their pathologies but once I got the hang of it it was pretty cool. As much as I enjoyed the story though I felt that parts of it were a little bit disjointed.... the main character's grandmother has dementia and the author does a good job of documenting what that's like which is why some of the story comes out disjointed the way it does. I found I enjoyed the story enough to flip back through the pages of the book to look for clues that I felt I missed while reading the book.
Another reason why I like this book is all the facts that are interspersed in it about San Francisco and neurotechnology. Will I read a sequel? I think I will. I am interested to see where this main character goes. Unfortunately, I read the beginning of it At the tail end of this book and it looks like his relationship in this book does not work out. 🤔🤷♀️
December 16, 2025
I should start this off with this is my first ever book review. Don't know why but I felt like I wanted to engage in things I've read. Secondly, I didn't realize this was part of a trilogy. The book was given to me by my grandmother, and I finally got around to reading it.
The beginning was a little bit of a slog and wasn't really grabbing my interest as I couldn't quite tell where it was headed. Normally that's fine, a bit of mystery can be very entertaining but this a hard topic for me to get into quickly. Once it got going, I became invested and intrigued at finding out who the 'big bad' really was and what was really going on. The suspense picks up towards the final arch of the story, and the reading was more engrossing but the ending did leave me a little underwhelmed, almost like it was an abrupt stop.
I liked Matt Richtel's writing, it was detailed and descriptive, especially regarding location, so for being the first book of his that I've read, I'm excited to explore his other work, just not sure I'm sold on more Nate Idle.
The beginning was a little bit of a slog and wasn't really grabbing my interest as I couldn't quite tell where it was headed. Normally that's fine, a bit of mystery can be very entertaining but this a hard topic for me to get into quickly. Once it got going, I became invested and intrigued at finding out who the 'big bad' really was and what was really going on. The suspense picks up towards the final arch of the story, and the reading was more engrossing but the ending did leave me a little underwhelmed, almost like it was an abrupt stop.
I liked Matt Richtel's writing, it was detailed and descriptive, especially regarding location, so for being the first book of his that I've read, I'm excited to explore his other work, just not sure I'm sold on more Nate Idle.
July 27, 2020
I liked this character a lot, Nat Idle. I liked his grandmother...I liked his true friends: Sam (female) and Bullseye and his girlfriend Polly/Pauline. I liked his wariness of technology. The story was actually frightening because in the guise of keeping memories the computer program was taking memories away. And the military's interest in people as unsuspecting carriers of intelligence...it was just the kind of thriller I like. It was fast paced. A good weekend read.
May 22, 2018
Tightly written with interesting characters and a lot of intrinsically but unobtrusive information about medicine and computers, which isn't all that surprising because Richtel has written about technology for The New York Times for many years and won a Pulitzer Prize for a series on distracted driving. Suspenseful and well paced.
March 31, 2021
An awesome thriller that has me wanting to keep reading just like Nat that never stops moving. It is not often that a grandmother is included in an adventure like this. She is a victim and heroine all in one. The cast of characters were so diverse and yet all very involved in this story.
October 1, 2024
I usually do not read this type of book but it was interesting took a little getting into but overall it was a good read some twist and turns I did like the character he had his moments if you like a lot of action and computer talk this is the one for you
June 23, 2017
I really cared about Nathaniel's Grandma, and her friend Betty Lou is a freakin hero! Read it for its mysterious fun.
November 4, 2019
Not my typical read, but I enjoyed it very much.
September 7, 2025
This book is actually 416 pages long. Good story line but lots of grammar errors.
May 18, 2013
A review of “Devil’s Plaything” by Matt Richtel
I received an advance reviewer copy from another reviewer who is in my writer’s group.
“Devil’s Plaything” offers an interesting, if somewhat flawed, reading. The basic concept, having to do with the relationship between the minds of computer users and the computers they relate to, is thought provoking and serves as an appropriate warning for our time.
The character of the protagonist is well drawn with an exceptional level of depth. The remainder of the characters are less well drawn. This is especially troubling with the character of the protagonist’s grandmother who is key to the story. Several other characters fall into stereotypes which is unfortunate given the importance of their roles in the plot. Specifically the characters of Victoria and Betty Lou need to be fleshed out. Vince’s character is deliberately obscured as part of the mystery, but even in the end, where we learn as much about him as we will know, he deserves better depth to justify his actions.
This work contains an experiment in the use of fonts to indicate the source of a comment or note. It almost works. The idea of using all caps for the computer is interesting, but a more “mechanical” font might have been more appropriate. Using the same font with both upper and lower case for Lane’s side of the discussion with the computer deprives her of her humanity. I understand the thought behind this, but it is inappropriate in these conversations. Only when the text is presented in transcript should it be presented in the computer’s font. Even with the changes in fonts, it is not always clear, especially in the end, who is talking and who is reading which transcript.
The real missed opportunity with the fonts has to do with the characters of Victoria and Betty Lou. These are interesting women and deserve a font that separates them out from the rest of the characters. A more feminine, perhaps a cursive, font would help illuminate their characters. While Polly is a fascinating character, if she were given a unique font, it would not be as feminine as either Victoria’s or Betty Lou’s.
I am not comfortable with the huge data dump in the end. Much of the information included in Adrienne’s final missive should have been deduced earlier. It felt to me that about three chapters before the end, the author got tired and rushed through to finish the story.
One last comment, the title has nothing whatever to do with the story. The book is worth reading in spite of its flaws.
I received an advance reviewer copy from another reviewer who is in my writer’s group.
“Devil’s Plaything” offers an interesting, if somewhat flawed, reading. The basic concept, having to do with the relationship between the minds of computer users and the computers they relate to, is thought provoking and serves as an appropriate warning for our time.
The character of the protagonist is well drawn with an exceptional level of depth. The remainder of the characters are less well drawn. This is especially troubling with the character of the protagonist’s grandmother who is key to the story. Several other characters fall into stereotypes which is unfortunate given the importance of their roles in the plot. Specifically the characters of Victoria and Betty Lou need to be fleshed out. Vince’s character is deliberately obscured as part of the mystery, but even in the end, where we learn as much about him as we will know, he deserves better depth to justify his actions.
This work contains an experiment in the use of fonts to indicate the source of a comment or note. It almost works. The idea of using all caps for the computer is interesting, but a more “mechanical” font might have been more appropriate. Using the same font with both upper and lower case for Lane’s side of the discussion with the computer deprives her of her humanity. I understand the thought behind this, but it is inappropriate in these conversations. Only when the text is presented in transcript should it be presented in the computer’s font. Even with the changes in fonts, it is not always clear, especially in the end, who is talking and who is reading which transcript.
The real missed opportunity with the fonts has to do with the characters of Victoria and Betty Lou. These are interesting women and deserve a font that separates them out from the rest of the characters. A more feminine, perhaps a cursive, font would help illuminate their characters. While Polly is a fascinating character, if she were given a unique font, it would not be as feminine as either Victoria’s or Betty Lou’s.
I am not comfortable with the huge data dump in the end. Much of the information included in Adrienne’s final missive should have been deduced earlier. It felt to me that about three chapters before the end, the author got tired and rushed through to finish the story.
One last comment, the title has nothing whatever to do with the story. The book is worth reading in spite of its flaws.
July 10, 2011
Nate Idle had gone through med school but found the idea of being a doctor too stifling for his adventurous spirit. He’d dropped out and currently works for a medical blog site but his real passion is uncovering the bigger medical stories. He’s close to his grandmother whose dementia is getting worse at a rapid rate that surprisingly isn’t affecting her physical abilities. The two are shot at when he takes her for an outing at Gold Gate Park, followed by a phone call from the attacker telling him to drop it. This is immediately followed up by the receipt of a package containing an encrypted flash drive which gets his blood flowing.
Something grandma has buried in her mind is at the heart of a conspiracy, as is a company that put computers with artificial intelligence in nursing homes to allow the residents to record their memories for their descendants. Listening to Lane, Nate’s grandmother, record her memories is at first cute as she interacts with the artificial intelligent software, but turns scary. Both Nate and Lane are in danger and a number of attempts are made on their lives. It’s difficult to determine who to trust.
I fell in love with Lane Idle as well as Nate’s relationship with her. Anyone who has dealt with a friend or relative with memory problems will connect with the story.
I didn’t find it quite as “captivating” and “absorbing” as the quotes from other authors on the front and back covers would leave you to believe. I actually put the book down twice to read other books. Parts of the story are flat out boring as Nate (his name is also spelled as Nat in the book) spends a lot of time with his grandmother in a car trying to uncover clues and dodging assassination attempts.
Nate’s internal evaluation of signs of disease or conditions in others was interesting, although somewhat annoying as for a while he seemed to be doing it constantly. It does turn out to be useful. And explaining what’s happening in the brain as Nate understands what the conspiracy is about is shared with us in an easy to understand manner.
The entire premise seems to be totally plausible and will make the reader think about their own use of computers and electronics and how they might be affecting them. And that’s the scariest aspect of all.
Something grandma has buried in her mind is at the heart of a conspiracy, as is a company that put computers with artificial intelligence in nursing homes to allow the residents to record their memories for their descendants. Listening to Lane, Nate’s grandmother, record her memories is at first cute as she interacts with the artificial intelligent software, but turns scary. Both Nate and Lane are in danger and a number of attempts are made on their lives. It’s difficult to determine who to trust.
I fell in love with Lane Idle as well as Nate’s relationship with her. Anyone who has dealt with a friend or relative with memory problems will connect with the story.
I didn’t find it quite as “captivating” and “absorbing” as the quotes from other authors on the front and back covers would leave you to believe. I actually put the book down twice to read other books. Parts of the story are flat out boring as Nate (his name is also spelled as Nat in the book) spends a lot of time with his grandmother in a car trying to uncover clues and dodging assassination attempts.
Nate’s internal evaluation of signs of disease or conditions in others was interesting, although somewhat annoying as for a while he seemed to be doing it constantly. It does turn out to be useful. And explaining what’s happening in the brain as Nate understands what the conspiracy is about is shared with us in an easy to understand manner.
The entire premise seems to be totally plausible and will make the reader think about their own use of computers and electronics and how they might be affecting them. And that’s the scariest aspect of all.
June 25, 2011
First Line: My big toe is exposed and my companion lost in the world beyond.
Nat Idle is a freelance writer spending most of his time writing blog posts with medical angles. He's got more on his mind than his next post, however. His beloved grandmother, Lane, now in a nursing home, has been having problems with her memory, but those problems have been snowballing. Nat doesn't want to accept the inevitable, and he vows to spend more time with her. He's in Golden Gate Park when he makes that promise, and minutes later he's almost gunned down.
It was no random attack, and as he pursues the truth through a warren of technology and paranoia, he learns that this may all be linked to something called the Human Memory Crusade-- something his grandmother has been participating in at the nursing home. Realizing that-- whether she knows it or not-- Lane holds the key to the mystery, Nat smuggles her out of the nursing home, and they go on the run to find the answers.
Although this is the second book in which the character of Nat Idle appears, it stands completely on its own. There were no annoying references to past events that made me wonder what had happened before.
My favorite character in the book was Nat's grandmother, Lane, but once she is taken away from him, the book almost completely loses its momentum. With the real threat gone, there are glimpses of the evil behind the Human Memory Crusade, but there is no real solution or an attempt at one in sight. The first half of the book was excellent; the last half limped home.
Nat Idle is a freelance writer spending most of his time writing blog posts with medical angles. He's got more on his mind than his next post, however. His beloved grandmother, Lane, now in a nursing home, has been having problems with her memory, but those problems have been snowballing. Nat doesn't want to accept the inevitable, and he vows to spend more time with her. He's in Golden Gate Park when he makes that promise, and minutes later he's almost gunned down.
It was no random attack, and as he pursues the truth through a warren of technology and paranoia, he learns that this may all be linked to something called the Human Memory Crusade-- something his grandmother has been participating in at the nursing home. Realizing that-- whether she knows it or not-- Lane holds the key to the mystery, Nat smuggles her out of the nursing home, and they go on the run to find the answers.
Although this is the second book in which the character of Nat Idle appears, it stands completely on its own. There were no annoying references to past events that made me wonder what had happened before.
My favorite character in the book was Nat's grandmother, Lane, but once she is taken away from him, the book almost completely loses its momentum. With the real threat gone, there are glimpses of the evil behind the Human Memory Crusade, but there is no real solution or an attempt at one in sight. The first half of the book was excellent; the last half limped home.
April 25, 2013
I picked this book up because it was the iBookstore pick of the week and I hoped I'd be introduced to a new author whom I'd enjoy.
I don't think Matt Richtel and I started off on the right foot, though. I just couldn't get comfortable with Nat Idle, his main character. He seemed like a real douche bag, very smarter than thou, standoff-ish, not terribly interesting. And he was meant to carry the entire book. You were supposed to be rooting for him, but between him basically just being a piece of detritus, carried upon a sea over which he largely had no control, and the loving detail spent going over the various neighborhoods and scenes in San Francisco and the valley below it, I just couldn't stomach it. I don't quite get many people's love affair with the city in the book, so maybe it wasn't really meant for me, maybe it's more palatable if you *do* love it.
But I do find it hard that anyone is going to find the tone deaf and emotionally stunted main character someone with whom they want to spend a lot of time.
Matt writes a page turner well enough, it's just the characters I found really uninteresting, and I think I was turning the pages just to get it over with by the end of the first quarter of the book.
I don't think Matt Richtel and I started off on the right foot, though. I just couldn't get comfortable with Nat Idle, his main character. He seemed like a real douche bag, very smarter than thou, standoff-ish, not terribly interesting. And he was meant to carry the entire book. You were supposed to be rooting for him, but between him basically just being a piece of detritus, carried upon a sea over which he largely had no control, and the loving detail spent going over the various neighborhoods and scenes in San Francisco and the valley below it, I just couldn't stomach it. I don't quite get many people's love affair with the city in the book, so maybe it wasn't really meant for me, maybe it's more palatable if you *do* love it.
But I do find it hard that anyone is going to find the tone deaf and emotionally stunted main character someone with whom they want to spend a lot of time.
Matt writes a page turner well enough, it's just the characters I found really uninteresting, and I think I was turning the pages just to get it over with by the end of the first quarter of the book.
June 18, 2012
Whoever did the outside covers of this book should really have not been allowed to do so. I initially borrowed this book because between the name, the quotes on the back cover, and the description it seemed so incredibly stupid I thought it would be an absolute riot to read.
This is actually an entertaining book. I read it all in one sitting as the plot did pull me in. I thought it was a little unbelievable, to the point where I wasn't sure if the main character wasn't actually a complete nut. Something about the overall story was a little bit too far-fetched. I also found the main character constantly summing up what had happened so far multiple times as if this story had been published in multiple parts. I don't believe it was, so I am unsure why the story was summed up for me over and over and over again. I also can't pinpoint why, but something about the end was a little unsatisfying.
overall it was an entertaining read. I'd probably read the sequel, but I won't go out of my way to find it. The book feels pretty much wrapped up at the end.
This is actually an entertaining book. I read it all in one sitting as the plot did pull me in. I thought it was a little unbelievable, to the point where I wasn't sure if the main character wasn't actually a complete nut. Something about the overall story was a little bit too far-fetched. I also found the main character constantly summing up what had happened so far multiple times as if this story had been published in multiple parts. I don't believe it was, so I am unsure why the story was summed up for me over and over and over again. I also can't pinpoint why, but something about the end was a little unsatisfying.
overall it was an entertaining read. I'd probably read the sequel, but I won't go out of my way to find it. The book feels pretty much wrapped up at the end.
May 3, 2012
This is a tough book to review. I really liked the first two thirds or so; if you took away the sci-fi elements and replaced the computer transcriptions with more lengthy flashbacks, it would be a really great, touching novel about a grandmother and grandson -- one slowly losing herself and the other not willing to accept it -- deep parallels and whatnot. I would have really enjoyed that book, I think.
Add the sci-fi elements back in, and it becomes a kind of standard, slightly boring, slightly preachy, and not altogether believable thriller, which is essentially all that is left for the final third. My advice would be to read the first 39 or 40 chapters, then close the book and assume that everyone suddenly died. Call it an earthquake or something, I think it would be a better ending.
Add the sci-fi elements back in, and it becomes a kind of standard, slightly boring, slightly preachy, and not altogether believable thriller, which is essentially all that is left for the final third. My advice would be to read the first 39 or 40 chapters, then close the book and assume that everyone suddenly died. Call it an earthquake or something, I think it would be a better ending.
May 7, 2013
I liked this book. I didn't LOVE it, but I liked it. The story was interesting enough to keep me reading to the end, but it lacked something. I don't know what. Maybe depth? It seemed like everything was there on the page right there where you could see it. It's hard to explain... Maybe there wasn't enough action?
Some of the clues Nat Idle found throughout the book seemed contrived and coincidental. He finds some obscure word written on a peice of paper in a book, then in the next scene it ends up being a computer password.
The book was good, as I said. But it was a little lackluster. I'm giving it four stars because it did keep me wanting to read more and I finished the last 40% of it in one day.
Overall, a good book.
Some of the clues Nat Idle found throughout the book seemed contrived and coincidental. He finds some obscure word written on a peice of paper in a book, then in the next scene it ends up being a computer password.
The book was good, as I said. But it was a little lackluster. I'm giving it four stars because it did keep me wanting to read more and I finished the last 40% of it in one day.
Overall, a good book.
May 1, 2014
This book was so very unpredictable--in a good way of course-- It threw you around and made you fall for just about every loop hole until you were almost 100% convinced that you knew what would happen. This was beyond entertain-able :)
The main character Nathaniel Idle was not you typical hero (indestructible and unable to hurt, supper human et cetera) which was all the more enjoyable.
The only complaint I would have is the tittle. At first glance I thought the book was going to be about something else entirely-- which isn't all that bad-- and I kinda see where exactly it plays into everything but I thought that if the book was titled ~Memory Lane~ (pun most definitely intended)it would have been all the more form fitting. Other than that I loved the book :)
The main character Nathaniel Idle was not you typical hero (indestructible and unable to hurt, supper human et cetera) which was all the more enjoyable.
The only complaint I would have is the tittle. At first glance I thought the book was going to be about something else entirely-- which isn't all that bad-- and I kinda see where exactly it plays into everything but I thought that if the book was titled ~Memory Lane~ (pun most definitely intended)it would have been all the more form fitting. Other than that I loved the book :)
June 7, 2011
This is my kind of thriller. First, it stars a journalist who may be onto a huge conspiracy, or may be warped and paranoid by his profession. Second, that conspiracy is something that could affect ME, because it involves excessive use of the Internet. Third, the science is just real enough to make it plausible. And, to top it all off, it's set in my 2 favorite cities -- San Francisco and Denver! And... one of the main characters gives up on her book club, after getting stuck on "A Confederacy of Dunces" -- which is EXACTLY what I did! (I was going to give it another try, but picked up another Chuck Palanhiuk book instead.)
October 17, 2012
Interesting mix of medical, technology, and grandma. Fun reading.
Medical journalist Nate Idle has stumbled onto an extraordinary conspiracy and the ultimate mind game. Suddenly, in pursuit of the truth, he's running for his life through the shadows of Silicon Valley, a human lab animal caught in a deadly maze of neurotechnology and institutional paranoia. And his survival rests entirely in the hands of his eighty-five-year old grandmother, Lane, who’s suffering from dementia, and can't remember the secret at the heart of the world-changing conspiracy.
Medical journalist Nate Idle has stumbled onto an extraordinary conspiracy and the ultimate mind game. Suddenly, in pursuit of the truth, he's running for his life through the shadows of Silicon Valley, a human lab animal caught in a deadly maze of neurotechnology and institutional paranoia. And his survival rests entirely in the hands of his eighty-five-year old grandmother, Lane, who’s suffering from dementia, and can't remember the secret at the heart of the world-changing conspiracy.
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