IMPROBABLE follows the unlikely series of events that
transpire in the life of David Caine as he attempts to
juggle a gambling addiction, temporal lobe epilepsy and
savant like abilities in the field of statistics. Here's a
synopsis of the story without providing a spoiler: As a
result of trying to gather the money to payoff a debt to
Russian mobsters he lands in a web of intrigue that
involves CIA, FBI, NSA, North Koreans, and rogue elements
of the Columbia Statistical Sciences Department. The
remaining cast of characters are epic in scope and include
a cold blooded CIA agent (who is actually a KGB sleeper
agent of whom Mother Russia has lost track), David's
schizophrenic twin brother, some Russian mobsters, a gang
of poker players, a former FBI agent gone freelance, a
corrupt NSA administrator, David's graduate school
advisor, a lotto jackpot winner, a moonstruck female grad
student, a "means justify the ends" mad scientist, a
skatepunk-hipster-hacker working for the NSA, a team of
stereotypical special forces goons and the passengers of
Amtrak Train 183 to Washington, DC. Sprinkle liberally
with quantum mechanics, probability theory, psuedo-
psychology and eastern mysticism and you've got a pretty
good idea of what to expect.
In general, I found the book to be a rather engaging and
entertaining page-turner. As good, light entertainment
(albeit with some very dark elements) this seems to hit
the mark. I was left feeling, however, that the book could
have delivered more. For me the three areas that
undermined the story's ability to suspend disbelief were:
the transition of the rogue CIA agent from stone-cold
killer to champion, the treatment of how omniscience
presents itself upon an individual's personality and the
gimmicky reveal of the true villain.
Redemption is a classic theme that finds itself in many of
the best stories on paper. Redemption stories give us
reason to hope that no matter how far we stray off of the
path, there must be a way back. When an evil character
suddenly decides to become "good" there needs to be some
noble motivation - a newfound respect for life, the
discovery of true love, or at least a psychotic break. For
the rogue CIA agent, Nava, we have none of that. She moves
from a character that would think nothing of killing 20
people because they were in front of her in line at the
movies, to a character that is the champion of the
helpless and downtrodden David Caine. She's not in love
with Caine, she's still willing to decapitate anyone that
looks at her cross-eyed and she's seems fully in touch
with her faculties, so the reader is left wondering... why?
Omniscience. Further explanation would seem unnecessary.
Once you gain the access to the complete knowledge base of
the universe it should be game over for the bad guys. You
know all, you see all - and there really isn't any
downside. You certainly wouldn't allow yourself to be
placed in a position where you couldn't use your
superpower; Superman certainly wouldn't hand Lex Luthor a
set of kryptonite handcuffs. David, however, allows the
bad guys to capture him and then do the one thing that can
keep him from logging into the big crystal ball - they
keep him from closing his eyes. Yes, gentle reader, you
read that right. You can have total wisdom, but only if
you can blink.
Now for the villain reveal - I won't ruin the book's big
got-ya here. I should say that my eyes made an audible
noise when I rolled them after reading about the villain's
secret identity.
In general, not a bad read, especially for a first effort.
The action keeps the story moving and there is enough
intrigue to make the reader wonder what's next. If you can
overcome some of the loose ends, you will enjoy it...
probably.
David Caine inhabits a world of obsession, rich rewards, and
rapid, destructive downfalls. A compulsive gambler and
brilliant mathematician prone to crippling epileptic
seizures, he possesses the uncanny ability to calculate odds
of any hand in the blink of an eye. But one night at an
underground poker club, Caine makes a costly miscalculation,
sending his life spinning out of control.
Desperate, he agrees to test an experimental drug with
unnerving side effects: inexplicable visions of the past,
present, and future. Unsure whether he's perceiving an
alternate reality or suffering a psychotic breakdown, Caine
embarks on a journey that stretches beyond the possible into
the world of the improbable. Gradually, he discovers the
extent of his astonishing new ability -- but powerful,
shadowy forces know Caine's secret. Now Caine must fight for
his survival -- and his sanity...
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