Vitals / Greg Bear

Vitals

category: science thriller, author:

Greg Bear

original copyright 2002,
read in December 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

When I wrote my first review for a thriller I did not really know what a "thriller" was. I categorised Criminal Conversation as action and thought, near enough... But now I am writing my eleventh thriller review and I have a better understanding of the genre.

In my defence, I had not read many thrillers even before I began PissWeakly Reviews. With Vitals I believe that I am beginning to understand the genre. Here's how it works:

• Hero notices that people around him die suddenly and violently. Yes, always him, never her.
  
• Despite being a very ordinary guy / genius / scientist / ex-marine / test-pilot / husband... the hero escapes one or more attempts on his life.
  
• Hero discovers the (possible) existence of a super-secret, all-powerful organisation (SSAPO-1) which rules the world using money, influence, violence and some ancient yet all-powerful secret. Conspiracy theory... to the max.
  
• Hero is helped by life-long best friends who betray him because they are secret organisation plants.
  
• Hero gains support from quiet people who were always there but seemed to be so very, very ordinary.
  
• At least one very ordinary quiet person turns out to be a member of a super-secret, all-powerful organisation (SSAPO-2) which is dedicated, in secret, to defeating SSAPO-1.
  
• Hero is weakened beyond human endurance yet he endures. He then gets isolated from SSAPO-2 and single-handedly defeats SSAPO-1.
  
• In a final, post-climactic chapter the hero -- or perhaps just the reader -- realises that SSAPO-1 was not completely defeated.
  

And there you have the plot of Vitals. And of The Tenth Chamber. And of The Husband... and most of the others. (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo misses one or two steps; The Girl who Played with Fire is closer to the genre.)

Vitals does up the ante in terms of unbelievability. It's a "scientific" thriller -- so I've categorised it as both thriller and science fiction. And it's the scientific unbelievability which is way up there... If you find that the "science" is just too fantastic, feel free to label this book as fantasy thriller.

It is an entertaining book. Read it to happily pass the time. Just don't expect it to be a really good book. Oh, and while you read it, enjoy some of the stylistic essentials of the thriller genre...

• Brand names will be dropped. Regularly.
  
• The author will make several statements which highlight what's wrong with the world. What's wrong as well as the existence of SSAPO-1, that is.
  
• The plot must be complex.
  

Did Ian Fleming start the trend? James Bond was always driving brand-name cars, drinking brand-name drinks, eating at always expensive and now-famous-by-association restaurants... Now it's an essential element of the thriller. Including Vitals.

Then there are the statements of author opinion. Highlighting a problem which has nothing to do with the plot. A statement which simply emphasises the cleverness of the author.

For example:

White America, with so shallow a history, was always looking for affirmation from more rooted cultures.

Wow! So Black America never looks to Africa, Yellow America never looks to Asia, Red America never refers to its previous life in tepees? Goodness, what a clever insight! A clever insight into the unthinking blandness of Bear's analysis, anyway.

And then, there's the requisite of plot complexity... And Bear has outdone himself.

There are twists and turns. Gradual revelations. Even more hidden secrets. Traitors and turncoats at every twist and turn...

'How do you know whether or not they'll be [traitors],' I asked...
'I appreciate your concern...' [replies the SSAPO-2 agent]...

... and he changes the subject. Having built up a complex and all-pervasive system of SSAPO-1 treachery -- Bear has no answer to the way in which SSAPO-2 will detect traitors.

Oh well.

For those who like to know what the book is about, turn to the Epilogue. In an open admission that the plot is difficult to follow, Bear allows his hero to explain what just happened. Although there are still gaps, in both plot and explanation.

Perhaps you should save time. Just read the Epilogue. It's about as clear as the rest of the book. Quicker to read. And with less unbelievable science.

An entertaining book. Switch off your good sense, and maybe enjoy it.

..o0o..

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