Adam Fawer, Improbable

Adam Fawer, Improbable - Columbia statistics Ph.D. candidate and teacher David Caine is a compulsive gambler, always believing in the odds. However, probability fails him when he loses while holding a near-perfect hand. He owes a Russian Mafioso big time.

At the same time he struggles with his dangerous debt, David also receives experimental treatment for his temporal lobe epilepsy. However, the treatment provides David the ability to enter the everywhen, where he "witnesses" countless futures in which he selects which one he wants for himself. Soon, the Feds and the Russians seek David for their own purposes. With his just-out-of-the-asylum schizophrenic twin Jasper and CIA killer Nava Vaner as his allies, David calculates the odds of survival in spite of probably turning into Laplace's Demon mathematically calculating the future.

IMPROBABLE is an enjoyable, action-packed thriller starring an intriguing antihero whose gambling is as out of control as an itchy edge in his blood. Having someone like that able to see the future is a delightful twist because the fever is in the paying not the winning (though David does not want to lose). Adam Fawer provides fabulous insight into the mathematics and physics that serve as the background to everywhen, but that also slows down the plot and feels awkward when killer Nava joins the fray. Though mindful of the Professor Q books of Trevor Hoyle, but with more of an espionage mob ring than the historical take of the latter, fans will appreciate this interesting thriller, which probably means an educated, dedicated fan base.

Harriet Klausner