The Grid

by Nick Cook

'A highly original, electrifying read' The Times
'A stylish, riveting thriller' Daily Mail
'An assured page-turner ... it combines action and foreign locations with big ideas a la Dan Brown' Sunday Times

Every day the President of the United States receives death threats. Every day his security team tell him there’s nothing to worry about. Today is different. Today he doesn’t believe them. Because he has been dreaming about his own death – over and over. A repeating nightmare that is so real, it feels like a warning.

Josh Cain, President’s Thompson’s doctor, is summoned to a church tower near the White House. A military psychiatrist with a complex past, he thinks he is there to talk down another suicidal ex-Marine. But this veteran tells him of a plot against Thompson, revealing secrets he can’t possibly have known – just seconds before a sniper’s bullet takes him out . . .

Battles have been fought man to man, then machine to machine, and even in cyberspace. But now there is a different battlefield human consciousness and the fight for our minds.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller

407 pages, ebook

First published November 14, 2019

Reviews

[Karin Meinen-Benjamins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grid is uitgeworsteld, echt mijn genre maar zó niet mijn boek! Voor mij geen inkomen aan, onsamenhangend, veel personages en de lijst achterin helpt me daarbij ook eigenlijk geen drol om eerlijk te wezen. Nick Cook denkt vast gezien de termen en het taalgebruik dat ik ook een gespecialiseerde spion bij de geheime dienst ofzo ben. Kan bepaalde zinnen wel 3x lezen en dan nog denk ik: Wut? Ieder zijn meug en het kan niet altijd leesfeest zijn 🙂

Karin Meinen - Samenlezenisleuker

[Willemijn jufwillemijnopallstars · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Grid word je gebombardeerd met informatie. Over personen en organisaties, van het heden en verleden. Gelukkig was er een namenlijst achterin. Er wordt een heel boek toegewerkt naar een moment en dat bleek een flop. Geen aanrader..

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love a political speculative/techno thriller and so I was irresistibly drawn to The Grid. It has some fantastic ideas and I really enjoyed the character of Colonel Josh Cain, the President's doctor, and his helper, Hetta Hart. I did find the first half, though, very difficult to follow due to the huge number of characters who I found almost impossible to keep track of (and there are so many security agencies and acronyms) - fortunately there's a vital dramatis personae at the back of the book. I'm glad I stuck with it though because the second half is excellent as it begins to come together. 3.5 stars rounded up. Review to follow very shortly on For Winter Nights.

[Tgv · Rating 1 out of 5]

A paint-by-the-numbers thriller, which relies on antiquated psycho-mumbo-jumbo and the supernatural for its rambling plot.

The style is quite obnoxious, too. It's as if describing scenes from a movie, and only explaining the context afterwards, which makes you think "did I skip a few pages", time and time again.

[Ian Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to read to be honest. It was a good story but just seemed far too complicated and too many characters to keep up with who was who at times.
It was enjoyable and a good thriller at times but slow and boring a lot of the time too. Don't think I'll rush to read anything else by the author.

[Dona van Eeden · Rating 3 out of 5]

An almost-futuristic techno-thriller? Sign me up!

The plot and the characters in this book is great, I would give The Grid 5/5 for that. I love the main male and female lead, they are wonderfully fleshed out, witty and individualistic. The plot is unexpecting, gripping, fast-paced and colourful.

So why 3/5?

The biggest reason is because the book is so full of technical jargon that is highly specific to American secret service and army. It's so difficult to follow at times. I skimmed over many sentences with four or five unknown abbreviations in them, and its too many to look up and it just throws you out of your reading groove.

Another (smaller) reason is the ending. Specifically the last 5 sentences probably. It feels like Cook took months to write the whole book and then ran out of time before the deadline, rushing the last paragraph in 5 minutes. The whole book we dive so deep into human psyche, metaphysics and the wonders of the interconnectivity of human life... And then he ends with the biggest cliche ever, not using even one of the grand possibilities that he unraveled during the book.

Come on, Cook.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Grid was quite the epic, an intelligent speculative thriller that meshed edge of the seat action with thought provoking what if moments.
It is a political multi layered tale that challenges the reader in all the good ways – a deceptively intuitive story that plays with the fear that privacy is no longer and takes that to the furthest extreme.
Our main protagonist Josh Cain is likeable, relatable and genuinely compelling as he gets thrown into a maelstrom of secret projects, plots against the President and fear for the future, all whilst dealing with his ongoing grief for dead wife Hope. Hope indeed is a theme that runs through the narrative, the ending is both explosive and nuanced and all in all it was a most excellent read.
One for those of you who enjoy complex, engaging stories that keep you awake thinking about them long after you turn the final page.
Recommended.

[David Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts off promisingly but just too many characters and a confusing plot combined with a distracting style. You know a book is in trouble when (unless it's spanning multiple generations or translated from another language) it has to have a list of characters - and even more so when that list doesn't provide enough basic info to help you place whichever of the endless characters is temporarily the focus of this sadly distracted and congested novel.

[Celina Lively · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.
Too many characters made the storyline super confusing. Also, any tension built up in dramatic moments like the car crash and the helicopter crash just left you flat on the following page. Cook never really goes into detail, or is all surface and no substance. Excellent subject matter but poorly executed.

[Leanne Graham · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to have got through a book. That was painful though. The 1 star is for the 1 section of the book that actually got me, unfortunately that was the section that made me refuse to give up on it. Now I wish I had.
I think it was just trying to be too many different things. A political thriller, then it went spiritual and almost supernatural, then it was religious. Then the Russians were involved and then the Pope turned up. Just pick a lane.
There was way too much going on, far too many characters, I had no idea what was happening, by the last quarter I was just skimming. Also so overly descriptive to the point where it was like live commentary in the first person of every single second and action.

[Jord Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was hard to get into because of the many different characters. The list at the end helps with understanding the dialogue and the situations. A lot of problems and what ifs were brought continuously during the start of the book that got my interest. I liked the main character and his perspective from him in his role as a doctor and also as a person who had a lot of history and baggage where he had to deal with. Complex story but interesting. For me personally I lost a little bit of interest when it went to the whole remote viewing and looking into the future. It didn’t seem very realistic but it was set up and written well to the point it kinda made sense and I still enjoyed reading it.

[Miss R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have no doubt that Nick Cook's highly ambitious novel, "The Grid", will find mass appeal. It is what marketing experts would term a 'high concept' thriller and given how much we readers like originality, it will surely rocket up the bestseller charts and become a hit. While I find a succinct summary of the plot somewhat elusive, without resorting to bland platitudes and the usual book review tropes (yes, we reviewers resort to the too), I can safely say that this is a bold novel, full of big ideas but written with intelligence and philosophically speaking, a great deal of subtlety, with Nick Cook as a more cerebral Dan Brown. There is an element of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" too, with Cook's incisive exploration of the limits of human consciousness and the acceptance that there is no objective external reality outside of the highly subjective individual mind. Throw in a few Philip K. Dick motifs and the zeitgeist of post-Bond spy thrillers and you may be somewhere near to approaching the drive and influences that appear to have electrified "The Grid". This is indeed an electrifying novel - full of energy and thrust - a literal page-turner. To be lost in the pure imagination of someone as creative and knowledgeable about defence matters, special projects and the bewildering array of law enforcement agencies as Cook, was a true education. My review is not without a few reservations, however. Somewhat ironically, given the subject matter, I did not always find it easy to assimilate the ideas conveyed in the narrative with my own imagination. An exceptional reading experience involves an effortless translation between the words on the page to a clarity of image in the mind's eye. This for me was lacking. I was missing that vital connection that elevates this novel from a satisfying read to a great read. This could be a broader issue with the author's writing style or just my personal preference for the highly descriptive. These are, as I said, quibbles, because without doubt Nick Cook has written a novel of style and originality that will surely become a smash-hit.

Stylish, intelligent and original. #TheGrid #NetGalley

[Anne Van Der Ziel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een bijzonder einde dat je aan het denken zet. Waar worden gedachten opgeslagen? Is het inderdaad mogelijk daarbij te kunnen? Is er een ‘wereld’ waar alle gedachten zich opslaan? Het is een einde waar ik zelf niet echt in geloofde, maar wat wel mogelijk zou kunnen zijn!

[Steve Goethals · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished... maar eindelijk niet. Denk dat je om dit boek te snappen continue notities moet nemen en dan nog lijkt er info niet meegegeven worden die cruciaal is. Halverwege komt er ook een plottwist in die echt onrealistisch is en daarna opgegeven.

[Marcel van Driel · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

Too many characters and too dull

[Aniek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een diepgaand psychologisch verhaal, maar met alle personages en manier van schrijven niet altijd helemaal duidelijk.
Dit is een boek dat ik twee keer zou moeten lezen om het verhaal helemaal te begrijpen.
Niet te min een spannend verhaal!

[E Cheong]

DNF

[Hana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a political thriller and loved the concept that this was ‘Inception meets Homeland’.

I really, really wanted to give this more than 3 stars. It was gripping for the most part and the blend of political thriller and other-worldliness was brilliant. I know some people like their genres to be firmly in set boxes; I don’t need that.

But unfortunately there were just too many things that stopped it clinching more stars. It comes with a list of characters, a who’s-who’s to aid you as you read. There are a lot of characters! Slightly off putting at the beginning and I ended up using the aid a lot. But I also needed a glossary to understand all the different acronyms and branches of policing. So many agencies involved and each having a part to play, it got very confusing in places. Also the story is so complex. Not the over-arching idea or even the mystical concepts but rather with the nitty gritty details - the ‘who did what and when and why’. I had to stop and map it and character connections out a little. Ends of chapters read like a light-bulb, revelatory moment for the main character, but they weren’t for me. I felt like I’d missed something! Or just wasn’t smart enough to understand the implications of what had just occurred to him.

Without giving anything away, the ending was a let down for me. I was expecting a big twist or a huge moment and it felt like a soft ending that still didn’t explain lots of threads. This left other moments in the book feeling like they were pointless detail.

Perhaps worth a second read at some point and I’d certainly look at work by this author again.

[j. j. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but gave up before I was even half way through. Too many characters, the story seemed great at the start but didn't seem to be going anywhere. Too convoluted. There are too many great books out there for me to be getting on with...

[Johannes Dongstra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Na een twintigtal pagina's weggelegd. Een boek dat begint met een lijst van personen is of heel goed of heel slecht. Hier is dat laatste het geval. De volgende lezer meer succes.

[Alex Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another just acceptable read, where I made it through the book, but wasn't all that happy that I'd spent the time to do so. A techno thriller with some interesting ideas and so-so execution.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Je gaat gehuld in je aardse vorm, maar in wezen ben je zuiver bewustzijn. Je bent de onverschrokken hoeder van goddelijk licht.” (Maul na Mohamed Djhalal al – Din Roemi)

Bestaat er technologie die data haalt uit een holografisch universum? Kunnen regeringen gedachten lezen van hun burgers?
Zoals vrijwel elke Amerikaanse president wordt ook Robert Thompson door een scala aan beveiligingsdiensten omringd. Wanneer hij op steeds regelmatiger tijdstippen last krijgt van nachtmerries, telkens dezelfde droom (hij geeft een speech en zijn moordenaar komt op het podium), haalt Reuben Kantner, de chef-staf van het Witte Huis, Josh Cain er bij. Deze legerarts, psychiater en strijdmakker van Reuben in Irak en Afghanistan moet de president van zijn nachtmerries afhelpen.
In een kerk vlakbij het Witte Huis dreigt een ex-militair met zelfmoord indien hij Cain niet te spreken krijgt. Samen met Hetta Hart, een Special Agent van de Secret Service gaat Josh er naartoe. Net voor de onbekende door een politiekogel wordt doodgeschoten waarschuwt de man Cain voor een moordaanslag op de president. “Het zit goed in elkaar, heel vernuftig, en het zal goed worden uitgevoerd, tenzij u het weet te voorkomen.” Deze verwittiging is niet het enige waar Cain door wordt gealarmeerd, maar vooral omdat de man dingen van hem weet die niemand weten kán gaat hij op zoek naar wie en wat de man was en deze zoektocht verandert zijn beeld van macht en wetenschap behoorlijk.
Hier geen politieagent of een geheimagent die de hoofdrol mag hebben in het boek maar een man die een rugzak met trauma’s en ongeluk meedraagt. Als arts dienstdoend in Irak en Afghanistan heeft hij genoeg ellende gezien en veroorzaakt om er PTSS aan over te houden. Hij verliest zijn net zwangere vrouw in aan auto-ongeval waarna hij een aantal donkere maanden aan de drank geraakt. Het is zijn mentor en professor, Ted Van Buren die hem weer aan het normale leven laat wennen en hem overhaalt om als psychiater te gaan werken. Ook Ted Van Buren heeft zijn geheimen. Zoals zo vaak onderzoeken wetenschappers een veld van hun vakgebied met het doel de maatschappij of de mensheid te verbeteren maar worden hun ontdekkingen nadien door minder nobele geesten als wapen gebruikt. Dat overkomt ook Van Buren.
-“Ik heb lang gedacht, zoals je weet, dat het mogelijk is onze geest af te stemmen door middel van de ontwikkeling van technologie om angstsymptomen te verlichten. Maar de Russen denken dat al decennialang. Kaloenin was bijna in zijn eentje verantwoordelijk voor een Sovjetonderzoeksgebied: een uniek terrein dat keek naar de integratie van geest en machine. De Russen hadden daar een naam voor: instrumentele psychotronica.”- gebruikt hij als verontschuldiging wanneer blijkt dat Russisch maffiageld werd gebruikt om zijn onderzoek te financieren.
Ook president Thompson is een goed mens. Zijn streven om een einde te maken aan -“de diepe staat’: dat duistere, onkenbare deel van de regering dat onder de waterlijn van de aansprakelijkheid bestaat.”- en zijn doelstelling om vrede te stichten tussen Rusland en Amerika, tussen de Christelijke Kerken en de Islam, is gevormd tijdens zijn jeugd in een weeshuis.
Er spelen heel veel personages mee in deze thriller. Senatoren, veteranen uit diverse oorlogen, politiemensen van de Metropolian Police, mensen van de Secret Service en deskundigen op het gebied van massavernietigingswapens. Maar ook een Russische oligarch uit Moskou, een Russische academicus en jihadistische terroristen. Voeg daar nog de primaat van Moskou en een aantal nonnen bij en het vermoeden kan bestaan dat het onoverzichtelijk wordt. Maar de hoeveelheid personages stoort totaal niet. Het dwingt tot aandachtig lezen. Nergens kreeg ik het gevoel dat ik niet meer wist wie er aan zet is al is de lijst van belangrijkste personages achteraan in het boek wel een hulp.
Er gebeurt heel veel in het boek en dat had best een beetje minder mogen zijn maar daartegenover staat dat er ook op een begrijpelijke manier heel wat technologische hoogstandjes worden uitgelegd wat het interessant maakt om te lezen.
Nick Cook heeft in deze thriller de grenzen van de actie vooral verlegd naar het beheersen van het bewustzijn van mensen en naar wat er technologisch allemaal mogelijk is of zou kunnen zijn. Kwantumcomputers en onderzoek naar buitenzintuigelijke waarnemingen zijn al lang geen utopie meer en het bestaan van geheime onderzoeken is eveneens een realiteit. Hoe zou een wereld zonder geheimen zijn is één van de vragen die overblijven na het lezen van dit boek. En net zoals in ‘De Cirkel’ van Dave Eggers is ook deze mogelijke realiteit ronduit beangstigend.
Ik heb nogal wat wantrouwen tegen de aanduiding ‘Literaire thriller’ maar in het geval van Grid is dat wantrouwen ongegrond. De personages zijn realistisch, er zijn voldoende onverwachte plotwendingen en meer psychologie dan geweld. In zijn genre is het een boek dat best heel hoog op de lijst mag staan.

Alle info over dit boek kan je vinden op
www.boekensite.gent.be

[Randhir · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Author has written a cerebral thriller about what can happen if unscrupulous elements combine quantum physics with psychic ability. He also brings in mysticism and a nuclear threat. Despite the difficulty in grasping certain, what seem bizarre, but logical prognosis, he builds the book to an excruciating climax. Joshua Cain is a military psychiatrist who is the President's Military doctor. While trying to understand the President's strange behaviour, he himself faces situations incomprehensible to him. He's assisted by a feisty Secret Service agent (I hope the Author has his next book with her as his main protagonist). It seems elements in the National Security Agency have been able to create a vast digital complex with the help of quantum computers, which can see a situation anywhere in the world in real time. Not only that, the future itself is known to an extent. Cain's problems are compounded by a guilt complex as well as some kind of connection with his dead wife. At places the plot gets convoluted and it's difficult to grasp all the threads. Nevertheless, the book is a good read.

[Tanaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first Nick Cook book and I gotta say, I found it quite confusing in a lot of areas.
I picked this up randomly cuz the synopsis seemed interesting, and the first few pages gave the sense of a good potential for the story. As I started getting into it, (and this may be because I'm not used to reading this style or my vocabulary is poor...ish?) I found the first few chapters difficult to understand and hence, kinda boring. It didn't carry the same momentum the first few pages had. I tried my best to get over this part, thinking it would get better eventually, after the author finished building the world of this novel, and it did.
Right when the story was picking up (somewhere around the middle) and I was really getting into it, our MC reveals the identity of one of the people behind it and how he came by all the information, and honestly that reveal was kind of a let down. I can't really explain this let down without spoilers..... But in the end, in kinda worked out. I did enjoy it after getting over that disappointing reveal, and I wasn't able to put it down till I finished it, in that sense I liked this book, but I don't think I'd read Nick Cook again...

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every day the President of the United States receives death threats. Every day his security team tell him there’s nothing to worry about. Today is different. Today he doesn’t believe them. Because he has been dreaming about his own death – over and over. A repeating nightmare that is so real, it feels like a warning.

Josh Cain, President’s Thompson’s doctor, is summoned to a church tower near the White House. A military psychiatrist with a complex past, he thinks he is there to talk down another suicidal ex-Marine. But this veteran tells him of a plot against Thompson, revealing secrets he can’t possibly have known – just seconds before a sniper’s bullet takes him out . . .

Battles have been fought man to man, then machine to machine, and even in cyberspace. But now there is a different battlefield human consciousness and the fight for our minds.

[Bor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bijzonder boek dat de grenzen opzoekt tussen wilde scifi of dingen die over een paar jaar misschien wel kunnen (of die misschien al wel kunnen zonder dat wij het weten, wie weet).

Jammer is dat het boek ongeveer drie keer teveel personages heeft waardoor je als lezer de draad steeds kwijtraakt. De enorme hoeveelheid (Amerikaanse) overheidsinstanties waar continu naar wordt verwezen met drieletterige afkortingen helpt daar ook niet bij. Daarom, en ook omdat de ontknoping bijzonder tegenviel, drie sterren en geen vier.

[Carine Cattellion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een pageturner die je maar moeilijk kan wegleggen.
Je wordt ondergedompeld in de wereld van de Amerikaanse inlichtingendiensten, hun internationale tegenhangers en de nodige complotten die ingenieus in elkaar zitten.
Toch enigszins verontrustende theorieën die je doen nadenken en afvragen waar de realiteit stopt en de fictie begint.
Een interessant hoofdpersonage die meteen mijn sympathie had.
De namenlijst op het einde is een handige tool om bij te houden wie wie is, er zijn veel personages maar gezien het aantal actoren is dat ook logisch…

[Peter Earle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harness psychokinetic power and turn it into a weapon. Far fetched Sci-fi nonsense, of course. The stuff of thriller novels...
Or is it nonsense? The personal physician to the US President, a military psychologist, Josh Cain, is called to the scene of a potential suicide as the man asks for him by name. Moments before a sniper’s bullet silences the man, Dr Cain is told of a plot against the President.
Top notch. Read the complete review on www.bookpostmortem.wordpress.com

[Alan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m amazed that I finished this book. What a load of old tosh!
The story line was all over the place and to be honest, most of the time I didn’t have a clue what was going on.
There was American secret agencies doing stuff that shouldn’t be done. Something happened in Afghanistan, the Russians did something and I think we were in Finland at some point for no apparent reason.
There was a nun and a priest in there as well, don’t know what they were up to!

[Kevin Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and original plot that has been well thought out and researched. It cleverly interweaves the personal tradgedy of the protagonist with an international conspiracy.
The novels only pitfall for me is that it is character heavy and i found myself moving backwards and forwards to try and recall who certain individuals were.

I look forward to Cooks next work.