The Equalizer

by David Deutsch

tv tie-in

173 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

David Deutsch, FRS is a British physicist at the University of Oxford. He is a non-stipendiary Visiting Professor in the Department of Atomic and Laser Physics at the Centre for Quantum Computation (CQC) in the Clarendon Laboratory of the University of Oxford. He pioneered the field of quantum computation by being the first person to formulate a description for a quantum Turing machine, as well as specifying an algorithm designed to run on a quantum computer. He is also a proponent of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.

In his books, he also made philosophical contributions. In epistemology, he stressed the importance of explanation, and proposed 'hard to vary' as a criterion for good explanations. In memetics, he gave an account of how memes work, separating them into 'dynamic' or rational memes and 'static' or anti-rational memes. He also advocates optimism, potentially boundless progress, objective beauty in aesthetics, and reason.

Reviews

[Tom Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Equalizer #2: “To Even The Odds” by David Deutsch. Based on the television episodes “The Defector” and “Back Home”. In “The Defector” McCall is helping a minor Russian Trade Attaché to defect when Control’s man on the scene messes up and the defector is killed. Now, it’s up to McCall to protect the man’s daughter, and assist her in defecting. Control’s man is back on the case, and The Equalizer must make sure nothing goes wrong this time. McCall is also helping a young schoolboy learn to defend himself against a gang of boys. In “Back Home” elderly people in a tenement building are being forced out of their rentals by their landlord. Tough hoodlums are placed in the building with a mean dog to frighten them. McCall brings in tough Irishman, George Cook to protect them while he digs into the landlord’s background and dealings. Although I’ve seen all the episodes, it was still fun reading the book.

[Jeff Correll · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book had all the strengths and weaknesses that novelizations generally have. In this case, the book, at 170 pages, novelizes two episodes of the series (dealing with 3 of McCall's clients). It's really for fans of the show only.