Like A Splinter In Your Mind: The Philosophy Behind the Matrix Trilogy –by Matt Lawrence

Nonfiction – philosophy

224 pages, Trade Paper

Footnotes/End notes: Yes

Illustrations: Some

Suitable for eReader: Not if you read the notes

Matt Lawrence is a Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Social Science at Long Beach City College.

First off, Rainy Day must get her rant out of the way. Dr. Matt uses not just the annoying end notes in his book, he uses chapter end notes in his book. End notes of any kind take points off a review (unless they are strictly reference/bibliography). So Rainy Day gives the book high marks for content and low marks for presentation.

One of the movie channels recently played the Matrix trilogy on succeeding nights, much to Rainy Day's enjoyment. Watching the movies together made Rainy Day wonder what books, for surely there were books, were available on the subject. After some research, she bought this book, and except for the end notes was not disappointed.

Rainy Day found the chapters interesting, insightful, and thought provoking – all good things to get in a book of this type!

What is real? How do we know it? What are we? Are we real? Do we really have free will to choose? What is the Matrix and do we live in one? Many questions are asked, and the reader is encouraged to find his own answers.

Rainy Day's copy of the book is dog eared in many places so she can go back and re-read and re-think certain areas. Matt Lawrence does not tell the reader what his opinion of the movies is and ask the reader to swallow his pill, he explains what he sees, and asks the reader to form her own opinions, to choose the pill of their choice.

At the end of the book is a character list, a glossary, and a list of the philosophers who's ideas are presented. Matt Lawrence has shown the door, or the pill, it is up to the reader to walk through the door, to swallow the pill. Or not.

If the movies left you with more questions than answers, give this book a try. And, read the end notes. Yes, Rainy Day grumbles, loudly, about their use, but they are there, and they are worth the extra flipping and flapping of pages to find them.