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HOOKED
After World War 2, the Japanese invented Godzilla movies in part as a response to the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Godzilla
you'll recall is a large, out of control, non rational reptile who lays
waste to the land, only to be overcome by science and civilization.
Hooked, like Godzilla, is a response to our increasing fears of the computer world. What if use of technology can be like crack cocaine? I'm over simplifying the plot here of course. There's also a girl in jeopardy and a girl gone bad, and dead lab rats. Thrillers are largely about our fears. James Bond battled evil commies that were set to take over and turn us into worker drudges. Same with Will Smith in Independence Day. Hooked is written by a New York Times reporter so it's fitting that the ending is essentially a news article saying "this really could be true". It's ironic that a thriller about overstimulation is being published by Twelve, the Hatchette (Grand Central/ former Warner Books) imprint dedicated to publishing only one book a month. It's really ironic that in saying they'll publish on a smaller scale they're still publishing the exact same stuff that all the other big lists do. Hooked could have been published by anyone hoping for a Godzilla blockbuster summer read. Like Godzilla though, this one falls victim to its own overreaching. .--Molly Sue Vlacky
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