Improbable

From Publishers Weekly
As Sherlock Holmes once said, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Or as fourth-year Columbia statistics Ph.D. student David Caine tells his class in this science-driven, action-packed thriller, "[W]hen the chances of being wrong are minuscule, you have probably discovered the truth." Caine, a compulsive gambler, has just seen his sure-thing poker hand go bad, leaving him deep in debt to a Russian gangster. He can't skip town because he's started an experimental treatment for his temporal lobe epilepsy—a treatment that allows him to tap into the collective unconscious, a parallel universe known as the everywhen, where innumerable futures exist for him to choose from. Needless to say, this makes Caine a valuable commodity, and he's soon on the run from a number of government agencies, none having his best interests at heart. His schizophrenic twin brother, Jasper, aids him in his flight, as does tough female rogue CIA agent Nava Vaner. It's difficult to keep the competing bad guys straight, and discussions of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, Einstein's theory of relativity, Schrödinger's cat, Laplace's demon and probability theory tend to slow things down. But the success of The Rule of Four and The Da Vinci Code have shown that plenty of readers enjoy their science, as long as there's a compelling plot encircling it, which there is here. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
David Caine is not only a compulsive (and unlucky) gambler who owes a Russian mobster big bucks but he also suffers from violent epileptic seizures. In a desperate attempt to salvage what's left of his life, he agrees to be a guinea pig for an experimental drug. The medicine acts quickly to control his seizures, but it does have one frightening side effect: the ability to see the future. Thinking he has gone mad and being stalked by avaricious government scientists eager to use his power for their own gain, Caine goes on the lam. Teaming up with his schizophrenic twin brother and a rogue female CIA agent with secrets of her own, he must learn to use his new ability to survive against the powerful forces aligned against him. Although this brisk read is full of seat-of-the-pants and keep-you-guessing action, it occasionally gets bogged down in dry scientific explanations of probability theory and quantum mechanics (which can always be skipped over).This freshman offering from Fawer is highly recommended for both adventure and sf readers. Michael Gannon
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
A brilliant new talent bursts on to the thriller
scene with a dazzling work of spellbinding
fiction, a riveting story of chance, fate,
and numbers, and one man's strange journey past
the boundaries of the possible into the chilling realm of the ...Improbable

After nightfall, David Caine inhabits a world of risk, obsession, rich rewards, and sudden, destructive downfalls. A compulsive gambler possessing a brilliant mathematical mind -- and an uncanny ability to calculate odds in the blink of an eye -- he prowls the underground poker clubs of Manhattan, winning more than he loses. But Caine is a man prone to crippling epileptic incidents -- and one night he makes a costly miscalculation, suffering the most intense seizure he has ever experienced. And his life spins madly out of control.

Desperate to regain his equilibrium, he agrees to test an experimental drug with unnerving side effects. Suddenly he is having visions of the past, present, and future; either peering through a window into an alternate reality or teetering on the precipice of a psychotic breakdown. Chemistry and destiny have colluded to grant David Caine the astonishing ability to foresee the consequences of his actions and the probability of various outcomes, both good andterrible.

But with his "gift" comes grave danger, for he is not the only one who knows his secret. Frightening powers operating from the shadows now want him for their own, forcing Caine to seek help from a most improbable ally -- a beautiful rogue CIA agent skilled in the death arts -- on a desperate race for survival with his sanity hanging by the slenderest of threads.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"After nightfall, David Caine inhabits a world of risk, obsession, rich rewards, and sudden, destructive downfalls. A compulsive gambler possessing a brilliant mathematical mind - and an uncanny ability to calculate odds in the blink of an eye - he prowls the underground poker clubs of Manhattan, winning more than he loses. But Caine is a man prone to crippling epileptic incidents - and one night he makes a costly miscalculation, suffering the most intense seizure he has ever experienced. And his life spins madly out of control." "Desperate to regain his equilibrium, he agrees to test an experimental drug with unnerving side effects. Suddenly he is having visions of the past, present, and future; either peering through a window into an alternate reality or teetering on the precipice of a psychotic breakdown. Chemistry and destiny have colluded to grant David Caine the astonishing ability to foresee the consequences of his actions and the probability of various outcomes, both good and terrible." But with his "gift" comes grave danger, for he is not the only one who knows his secret. Frightening powers operating from the shadows now want him for their own, forcing Caine to seek help from a most improbable ally - a beautiful rogue CIA agent skilled in the death arts - on a desperate race for survival with his sanity hanging by the slenderest of threads.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

As Sherlock Holmes once said, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Or as fourth-year Columbia statistics Ph.D. student David Caine tells his class in this science-driven, action-packed thriller, "[W]hen the chances of being wrong are minuscule, you have probably discovered the truth." Caine, a compulsive gambler, has just seen his sure-thing poker hand go bad, leaving him deep in debt to a Russian gangster. He can't skip town because he's started an experimental treatment for his temporal lobe epilepsy-a treatment that allows him to tap into the collective unconscious, a parallel universe known as the everywhen, where innumerable futures exist for him to choose from. Needless to say, this makes Caine a valuable commodity, and he's soon on the run from a number of government agencies, none having his best interests at heart. His schizophrenic twin brother, Jasper, aids him in his flight, as does tough female rogue CIA agent Nava Vaner. It's difficult to keep the competing bad guys straight, and discussions of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, Einstein's theory of relativity, Schr dinger's cat, Laplace's demon and probability theory tend to slow things down. But the success of The Rule of Four and The Da Vinci Code have shown that plenty of readers enjoy their science, as long as there's a compelling plot encircling it, which there is here. Agent, Ann Rittenberg. (On sale Jan. 18) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews