Super-Cannes

Book excerpt: In this acclaimed speculative novel, the author of Crash imagines an exclusive business park that hides a ghastly mystery: “One of his finest” (San Francisco Chronicle). For forty years, J.G. Ballard has shared his unnervingly prescient vision of where civilization was headed. He kept his unflinching eye on the point where technological progress has worn away our humanity. And Super-Cannes is Ballard at his best: “Rarely has his vision been so total, his creation so complete” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune). Eden-Olympia is more than just a multinational business park. Isolated and secure, overlooking the French Riviera, it is a virtual city-state offering the latest in services and facilities for the most elite high-tech industries. Yet one day Dr. Greenwood from Eden-Olympia’s clinic goes on a suicidal shooting spree. Dr. Jane Sinclair is hired as his replacement, and she and her husband, Paul, are given Dr. Greenwood’s house as a residence. Convalescing after an accident, Paul becomes fascinated with Dr. Greenwood and his shocking crimes. Clues in the house lead him to question Eden-Olympia’s official account. While Jane is lured deeper into Eden-Olympia’s inner workings, Paul uncovers the dangerous psychological vents that maintain its smoothly running surface. Soon he finds himself in race against crushing forces that may be beyond anyone’s control.