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Cover of The Grid

The Grid

Philip Kerr (1996)

SubgenreHigh Fantasy
Age groupAdult 18+
Content ratingR
Pages (Standard (250-400))
Setting
CSM age18+
Goodreads3.36

Content levels

ViolenceStrong
Sexual contentNone
LanguageModerate

Positive tags

SurvivalMystery

Synopsis

Located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the sparkling new Yu Corporation Building is a monument to human genius. It can converse with its occupants. It can forecast the weather. It knows your body temperature, whether you've been drinking or using drugs. It darkens the windows in the noontime glare. It keeps the homeless away at night and lovingly tends the tree that reaches up through its beautiful atrium. Dubbed the Gridiron, the Yu Building is the culmination of art and function. It's also something else: a serial killer. Something has gone wrong inside the immensely powerful brain of this corporate dream palace. Before the building is opened to the public, one member of a team of brilliant computer programmers dies slumped against his VDT, his eyes burned black. Then a security guard is found with his skull shattered. Now the men and women who know the building best - including its egomaniacal architect and the one person who may actually be able to reason with the computer - know that the building itself is spinning wildly out of control. Built to survive power outages and the most massive earthquakes, the brain of the Gridiron cannot be unplugged and cannot be outsmarted. For the dozen people who are locked inside, the Gridiron is turning into a living, malevolent dungeon of terrors, where each death is more horrific than the one before, and human survival may be the ultimate achievement...

The Grid: content & age rating

Intended for adult readers (18+).

Adults only. This techno-horror thriller features graphic deaths including burned-out eyes and shattered skulls, plus escalating violence as an AI building systematically kills trapped occupants. Strong horror elements and intense situations.

What to know going in

This book has strong violence, no sexual content, and moderate language. Content notes include gore, murder, captivity, and death (see the full list above).

Who'll love this

Adult readers who love smart AI-gone-wrong horror will be riveted by this high-stakes battle of wits against a malevolent building.

Tags

Techno-ThrillerHorrorScience FictionLocked Room Mystery