The Raw Shark Texts

by Steven Hall

Book Overview

A thrillingly original novel published in thirty-three countries to worldwide acclaim, The New York Times Magazine called The Raw Shark Texts a genre-founding work of fiction. Eric Sanderson wakes up in a house he doesn't recognize, unable to remember anything of his life. All he has left are his diary entries recalling Clio, a perfect love who died under mysterious circumstances, and a house that may contain the secrets to Eric's prior life. But...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1847671748
• ISBN13: 9781847671745
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Canongate Us
• Length: 428 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

An Intellectual Bungee Jump and Emotional Rollercoaster

Steven Hall's "The Raw Shark Texts" is one of the most unique and enjoyable books I have read in years. Its hero, Eric Sanderson, is suffering from dissociative memory loss caused by grief and has to enter a terrifying and exciting world, chasing down lost memories and self-forgiveness, in order to heal. This book is rich in imagery and ideas ("Conceptual fish", "mnemonic predators", "the un-world" to name just a couple) and is simply an addicting and powerful rush. Right from the beginning I was taken aback by Hall's writing style and his awesome imagination and enjoyed every minute of the journey that is "The Raw Shark Texts". Get a copy of this one and set aside the time to read it, you will not regret it. An awesome read.

One more decent Sci-Fi writer. Thank God.

Why why why does this book only have a 3.5 star average? Do these people have any idea how rare it is that anyone manages to produce good science fiction? A great (or even decent) sci-fi novel is almost impossible to find. The genre suffers from a dearth of honed talent. In this respect, sci fi is a lot like romance - the books are produced by "storytellers" rather than "real" writers, who lack the irrepressible drive (and talent, and training) to produce great works. Hence, there is very, very little sci-fi out there that is not pulp fiction. I don't like to read pulp fiction because it doesn't satisfy me. I don't care if that makes me sound snobby. I love sci-fi but I can't stand to read stuff that is poorly written or boring. _Shark Texts_ is literature. Independent from its genre it is a great book: original, vivid, well-written, and intense. The kind of book you buy overpriced at the airport and feel like you got your money's worth. The characters are well-developed, the settings are clearly-rendered enough to imagine yourself in them. Add that to the fact that there's only about two dozen sci-fi novels in the world that are of this quality and you have something amazing. If you love Neal Stephenson, William Gibson, and Geof Ryman, you'll love this.

Raw Sharks (conceptual fish)

This debut novel promises an amazing future ahead. Like other great writers he paints an indellible picture in one's mind that challenges reality. Buy this book, borrow this book but make sure you read it. You will be rewarded with an adventure you will never forget.

Unique and Original

This novel is unlike any other. It is smart, surreal, imaginative and unique. I couldn't put it down. It's true that it didn't all add up for me, but I don't need to know everything or have every last loose end tied up neatly to enjoy the experience. If the book thrills and stimulates me, I'm happy. I read it in three days and haven't stopped thinking about it since. My only regret is that this is Hall's first novel so I'll have to wait for him to write another. If you like your science fiction intelligent, original and thought provoking, read it. For fans of 'Altered Carbon', 'Hard Boiled Wonderland' and 'Einstein's Dreams'.

A unique, intellectually exciting, bloody brilliant novel

When is the last time you read an "I woke up with amnesia" novel that was actually original and unique? Probably never - unless you've read Steven Hall's debut novel, The Raw Shark Texts. Hall totally unleashes the power of words and memories in the form of a Ludovician, a powerful conceptual fish that swims in the streams of human experience and communication, a devourer of memories that, should it focus on one specific individual, will not stop pursuing that unlucky victim until he has taken everything that made that individual the person he/she was. A person's only real defense against this most relentless of pursuers is the establishment of a non-divergent conceptual loop, a bubble in the pathways of human interaction that hides the individual from the tell-tale signs of cause and effect. No matter how many words and concepts you wrap around yourself, though, you can't hide forever, not from this predator. Eric Sanderson wakes up, face down on the carpet, with no self-identity or personal memories - but he does have a note instructing him to immediately call a Dr. Randle for help. According to the doctor, his is a rare case of disassociative disorder mixed with psychotropic fugue, its root cause tracing back to the death of a lover named Clio Aames two years earlier. Eric's former self is forgotten but not exactly gone, however, as letters from the First Eric Sanderson arrive almost daily. Eric ignores these communications on Dr. Randle's orders - until, that is, a most frightening and unexplainable event shakes the foundations of his newly rekindled world. Learning of the Ludovician-based danger he is in, Eric eventually sets off to retrace his former self's steps in an attempt to find the one man who might be able to help him, the mysterious Dr. Trey Fidorous. The First Eric Sanderson, we learn, had been obsessed with finding a way to undo Clio's death, and his desperate efforts to do so (with the help of Dr. Fidorous) led him to a hole in un-space, but rather than save his beloved he managed to unleash the text shark that now pursues the Second Eric Sanderson. Think of un-space as the unknown labyrinth beneath us and the abandoned locations hidden throughout the world around us. It's not an easy place to find, especially if you're on your own and all you have are assorted fragments of your former self's past and a coded manuscript you are still trying to decipher. You need help, and Eric eventually finds such help in the person of Scout, a mysterious character in and of herself - for a vast number of reasons. As Eric's quest intensifies, concept comes to trump reality, setting the stage for a conclusion that may push the limits of some readers' disbelief too far but will delight those with a strong literary imagination who yearn for something different. Hall's daring and experimental way of presenting the Ludovician's approach to the story's final battle was rather brilliant, if you ask me. I've barely touched the surfa