THE RAW SHARK TEXTS (Steven Hall) - July 28/07

I'm really conflicted on this one. On the one hand, the book has a lot of exciting sequences (ie the final shark attack) and the relationship between Eric and Scout is genuinely compelling. But on the other hand, huge chunks make absolutely no sense. All this stuff about concept sharks, conceptual loops, and people crawling through letters... It's just weird and nonsensical. And the emotional ending is completely negated by the unanswered questions (ie is Scout Clio? How did she not die scuba diving in Greece? Is the entire book a figment of Eric's madness?) I sporadically enjoyed reading it, but I also dreaded picking it up again. Hall is clearly talented, so I'm sure his next effort will be better (or even more obtuse; it could go either way). ** out of ****