Mass Market Paperback
$6.57

Buy used:

$6.57

FREE delivery May 15 - 16. Details

Or fastest delivery May 9 - 13. Details

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by ThriftBooks-Seattle

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (7) from $6.57 & FREE Shipping

Follow the authors

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Zig Zag: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – July 29, 2008

by Jose Carlos Somoza (Author), Lisa Dillman (Translator)

4.2 28 ratings

See all formats and editions

While studying advanced physics at a prestigious European university, Elisa Robledo was invited to join a select research team on a secret project to manipulate String Theory. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for the eager young scientist—the chance to actually view monumental events from the far distant past: dinosaurs roaming the Earth, life during the Stone Age, the crucifixion of Christ. But on a remote island in the Indian Ocean, the team's experiments went horribly awry . . . and something terrible was awakened.

Now, years later, Elisa's former colleagues are dying, one by one. The nightmare they created by meddling with Time is taking a shocking and gruesome toll. And only by uncovering the sinister truth behind the science can Elisa hope to survive the dark, devouring forces that mean to destroy her and the world she knows.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“It never occurred to me that playing with time could have such terrifying consequences. This novel reveals them all.” — Javier Sierra, author of New York Times Bestselling The Secret Supper

“Literate, savvy, tense, and thoughtful with plenty of atmosphere. It’s a pleasure to read a Jose Carlos Somoza novel.” — --Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Templar Legacy and The Third Secret

“Slices like a serrated dagger. Relentlessly paced, fiercely narrated, brilliantly clever, here is a thriller for the new millennium.” — --James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of Map of Bones and Black Order --James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of Map of Bones and Black Order

“Magnificent…belongs on every thriller fan’s must-read list.” — Booklist (starred review)

“An ornate rumination on the razor-thin line between satisfying one’s scientific curiosity and violating the laws of nature.” — Booklist (starred review)

“...A scrupulously researched and terrifying scientific thriller...it’s impossible not to be hooked.” — Miami Herald

About the Author

José Carlos Somoza was born in Havana; his family moved to Spain when he was one, and he remains there today. A psychiatrist by training, he has won several awards for his novels, which have been published in thirty countries.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper; Reprint edition (July 29, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 484 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0061193739
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061193736
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 0.99 x 6.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,508,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,916 in Technothrillers (Books)
- #5,791 in Deals in Books
- #431,447 in Genre Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.2 28 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Lisa Dillman
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Lisa Dillman is based in Atlanta, Georgia, where she translates Spanish, Catalan and Latin American writers and teaches at Emory University. Her recent translations include The Frost on His Shoulders by Lorenzo Mediano, Op Oloop by Juan Filloy (longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award), Me, Who Dove into the Heart of the World by Sabina Berman and Rain Over Madrid by Andrés Barba. She is obsessed with words, running, cooking and her dog, Maya.
See more on the author's page
José Carlos Somoza
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
See more on the author's page

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

28 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

JamieWrites

Brilliant and riveting. Unforgettable.

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2023

This story is so well-crafted...it just doesn't let you go. I read it years and years ago and still think about it. I wish it had been made into a film.

Helpful

Jamil Bhatti

Everything that is, is past.

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2012

I bought this book a long time ago and then shelved it. Turns out that was a smart move because I forgot the premise completely and was floored the entire time (I have since sworn off reading the book jacket synopsis before I start a book).

I won't ruin anything for you here, but this is a physics based mystery (string-theory, don't panic!) which quickly becomes engrossing and more than a little terrifying. I really enjoyed the sense of dread and suspense as I read through it. Being a fan of big books, the length didn't bother me, in fact I ate it up, reading the whole thing in only a few days. Consider me a huge fan of this author. If someone could pull it off, this would make a sweet movie. GREAT Thriller!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Timothy Schott

An absolute page-turner!

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2007

It is always a wonderful feeling knowing you are reading a book without even thinking about the actual reading. You feel immersed in the book. You're standing there alongside the characters, contemplating the issues at hand. Waiting, wondering, hoping that they succeed in their tasks. Zig Zag will have you forgetting where all the pages went.

A non-stop, adrenaline-rushing novel from start to finish. The book gravitates around physics, but does not require any knowledge of supersymmetry, branes, or any other terms you are probably not accustomed with. The details are in the book, and the details are mouth-watering. The implications the characters face are serious. Extraordinary, even. Zig Zag is translated from the Spanish, but you would not guess it. The writing is superb and spot on. The suspense is mind-numbing. The 500+ pages are gone before you know it. Fortunately, it's a novel that will stay with you. Once you close the book, you'll smile knowing that Zig Zag is one you're going to be recommending.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Damian Kelleher

Zig Zag

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2007

Zig Zag follows the Michael Crichton school of technological thriller - Think up an interesting concept, use it to stir fear and doubt toward science and progress. While admittedly a lot of what science offers us can be used for harm - Hiroshima, massive tanks, anthrax - science does a lot of good, as well. Of course, that hardly makes for a suspenseful thriller. Jose Carlos Somoza weaves his (very) long tale of suspense and murder, constantly ratcheting up the stakes, constantly blowing out of proportion the problems of science and technology. Scrape away the physics, though, and what Somoza has written is a competent if slightly ridiculous thriller, that has enough titillation and gruesome details to satisfy readers.

Ah, the titillation. It comes in the form of Elisa, a young, beautiful physicist. Somoza describes her as having 'long, wavy black hair and the face and body of a model.' That doesn't exactly tell us what she looks like, but it's all we are given to work with. All throughout the novel, Somoza has Elisa strip down to her panties, showing off her 'hourglass figure', or she becomes naked - often without realising it! Yes, it is the tragedy of Somoza's world that all of the beautiful, hyper-intelligent females tend to remove all of their clothes without actually realising they ever intended to become naked. Did I say tragedy? Excuse me. Coupled to that are constant references to her own 'hotness', a shocking level of examination on the status of her breasts and thighs, and, unbelievably, in the last third of the novel, three of the female characters actually become short skirt and tight dress wearing, heavy makeup using, fast talking nymphomaniacs who spend each and every night preparing themselves (without wearing underwear, no less!) to 'serve' the unknown killer in his every sexual fantasy and desire. Readers, I only wish I was making this up.

To the plot. Elisa is, as noted, a brilliant physicist. She and others have been selected to travel to a remote island with David Blanes, world famous physicist whose mathematical and theoretical constructs about string theory are so far above everyone else's head he is simply stratospheric. They learn, to their amazement, that Blanes' string theory allows the ability to watch events that have happened from another time. The implications of this are very interesting, but unfortunately, Somoza seems afraid to explore the possibilities. Very briefly, the concept of watching the Crucifixion surface amongst the assembled island-goers, but something very strange happens when the attempt to view Jerusalem, and from there, everything goes haywire.

It seems that when something from the past is observed, not all of the 'strings' that make up a person's spatial and temporal (that's space and time, folks) definition is able to come along for the ride into the future. Thus, we have a flat plain cratered like the moon, or a woman's face rotted and collapsed, without a mouth or nose. Even worse, it seems that once a person has observed an item from the past, that item seems to stay with them, to hover randomly in front of their vision. The harrowing implication of this is - what happens when you look back in time to someone who is still alive, say, and they start to appear in front of your eyes?

Somoza answers this, though he answers none of the other million questions which spring from such a fabulous premise. Consider the range of possibilities that could be done with a device that sees back in time, but also carries with it difficult moral weight. Now consider that Somoza turns Zig Zag into a standard, run of the mill murder mystery, and that it runs along for over half a thousand pages.

Throughout, Somoza repeats two techniques, one of which is irritating, one of which is really quite good. The former is a technique whereby we are privy to all of the information contained within a character's minds, and everything they experience, except for the very thing which allows us to remain in suspense. We may be traveling inside Elisa's mind, learning of her theoretical hunt for sense in the world of strings, or her moral dilemma regarding observing living and dead people throughout time, and then, suddenly, absurdly, we are cut off just as she receives a phone call that 'changes everything', or she opens a door to see something that 'makes her blood run cold'. The scene changes, we lose our focus, and later have to suffer through whatever problem or plot point by a series of dull conversations. Why not show us the action? Why not reveal your hand?

The latter technique is more interesting. Somoza likes to go off onto little tangents, mini-essays on subjects such as mystery, time, physics, morals, God, Heaven, Hell, and so forth. When he does this, he is generally measured, reasoned, interested and interesting. One wonders why he does not continue along in this vein, but instead he invariably opts for a stunning plot twist, or a depraved murder - which, unfairly, Somoza never details except to point out how even thinking about the murder sends people mad. All smoke, all mirrors.

A final word on, of all things, font. The ordinary font for the novel is quite good, very readable and clear. But the italics font, however, presents a problem. The s and r letters are so twisted that they become almost gibberish, and a number of other letters are extremely similar to one another. Long stretches of italics become difficult to decipher, which does not bode well for a text covered with internal thoughts presented as italics.

Zig Zag is José Carlos Somoza's latest and twelfth novel. Considering his prolific output, it is perhaps understandable he was unable to give what is admittedly an interesting subject matter its deserved respect. With a little more time and a lot more effort, Somoza may have crafted a fine, intelligent, genuinely suspenseful thriller. Unfortunately, he did not, which means we are left with a novel filled with interesting ideas that are never given their due, and one very generic, very boring idea that is stretched out into five hundred plus pages of tedium.

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

Bookish Guy

A smart thriller

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2008

I have to admit that I usually don't find science thrillers an enjoyable read. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Somoza's _Art of Murder_, so I decided to give this novel a try. I'm glad I did. Somoza has clearly become a master at plotting a story. He maintained a sense of suspense for most of the novel, making for an engrossing read. It is one of those books that makes you go to bed very late because you want to find out what comes next. He explains the scientific concepts very clearly, so you are never lost. The novel is an interesting examination about good and evil and the ways both aspects define us. Highly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

David Keith

Hybrid Mash Up

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2007

Verified Purchase

This here's a hybrid mash up of mainstream thrillers, SciFi and horror (with a monster movie bent). It doesn't really succeed in breaking any new ground in any of those genres. The first 1/3 of the book is pretty plodding and when the action and plot get going by the final 1/3 of the book, I was feeling pretty disenchanted. I'm sure this book will please some folks, but as a fan of SciFi and Horror, it didn't work for me.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

David J. Ross

Still contemplating this story!

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2007

This book still has me contemplating the themes addressed. It is very fast-paced with plenty of mystery and thrilling situations! I highly recommend this book. Jose Carlos Somoza has you wondering at every turn of the page how the story could unfold. At each turn you find the story unfolding in unexpected and delightful ways! This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys astrophysics, science fiction, mystery and thrillers.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful