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The Phantom Scientist
A mind-bending graphic novel that teases devious thrills from the mysteries of systems theory
An isolated institute laid out in a Fibonacci sequence, hidden deep in the forest. Twenty-four labs. Twenty-four researchers. Until one of them disappears...
When physicist Stéphane Douasy arrives to occupy the vacant twenty-fourth lab at the Institute for the Study of Complex and Dynamic Systems, an ominous problem rises in his wake: what has happened to his missing neighbor in Building F?
When Stéphane's neighbors, a discouraged linguist and a computer scientist bent on predicting the future, discover that the missing researcher may have solved the P versus NP problem--a coup in computer science with revolutionary implications for everything from mathematics to philosophy--before vanishing, things turn stranger still, and even more menacing. Solving the mystery of the Institute and its devolution into mayhem and violence every seventh year quickly shifts from being an intellectual exercise to a matter of life and death.
The Phantom Scientist is part thriller, part mystery, part systems theory--and all enthralling. The tale slyly draws together linguistics, biology, astrophysics, and robotics in a mind-bending puzzle that will thrill and inform readers.
An isolated institute laid out in a Fibonacci sequence, hidden deep in the forest. Twenty-four labs. Twenty-four researchers. Until one of them disappears...
When physicist Stéphane Douasy arrives to occupy the vacant twenty-fourth lab at the Institute for the Study of Complex and Dynamic Systems, an ominous problem rises in his wake: what has happened to his missing neighbor in Building F?
When Stéphane's neighbors, a discouraged linguist and a computer scientist bent on predicting the future, discover that the missing researcher may have solved the P versus NP problem--a coup in computer science with revolutionary implications for everything from mathematics to philosophy--before vanishing, things turn stranger still, and even more menacing. Solving the mystery of the Institute and its devolution into mayhem and violence every seventh year quickly shifts from being an intellectual exercise to a matter of life and death.
The Phantom Scientist is part thriller, part mystery, part systems theory--and all enthralling. The tale slyly draws together linguistics, biology, astrophysics, and robotics in a mind-bending puzzle that will thrill and inform readers.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published May 2, 2013
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2907 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
February 21, 2023
Over the years I've come across a range of graphic novels and graphic popular science (that's 'graphic' in the sense of illustrated, not explicit) and rarely found one that wasn't a bit of a disappointment compared with a traditional book. I think this is because, despite the old adage about a picture being worth a thousand words, the reduction of text to speech bubbles and tiny captions means that it's difficult to get any subtlety into the fiction, or depth of understand of the science into non-fiction.
The Phantom Scientist is a graphic novel, but one that according to the description 'draws together linguistics, biology, astrophysics, and robotics in a mind-bending puzzle that will thrill and inform readers' - so it takes on the very difficult role of both being an SF mystery thriller and something that puts across mathematical and scientific concepts. Because what happens is certainly not possible at the moment, it does stray into science fiction. The combination of putting across real science and maths plus fiction is hard enough with words, and doubly so in a graphic novel form.
There is, however, good news. This is the best attempt I've ever seen at putting scientific and mathematical ideas into a graphic novel format - and Robin Cousin manages to give the book a distinctly intriguing sense of mystery. It's because of this, despite its quite significant flaws, that I've given it four stars. The book features a strange institute, the fourth of its kind, where various random scientists are brought in so that their interactions cause increasingly chaotic occurrences, supposedly to inspire creativity. We get bits of system theory, the travelling salesman problem, fractals and more, all coming together quite effectively.
This is very much the Lego Movie style of comic strip - there is no attempt at life-like imagery, but enough to get a broad pictorial feeling of what's happening across. Having said that, for at least half the book I thought two different characters were the same person, and I could never identify who half of them were, which was quite confusing.
For no obvious reason, some of the images are very low contrast (see the examples to the right) - unless you read it under a bright light, where there's text, for example, it's almost impossible to read in these sections, which is a real pain.
Apart from the impossibility of a system predicting human behaviour as occurs here (the reason it's impossible is even stated by one of the characters), there are also a couple of plot holes: something that supposedly was going to occur in 36 hours' time happening after about 2 hours, and also a group of astrophysicists who seem to have no relevance to the overall picture (and whose only role seems to be to provide a torch). There's also a decidedly confused ending.
Despite these flaws, though, there is a quite impressive introduction to the P=NP question and its implications, plus various other bits of science and maths that emerge from the interaction of disciplines. If not entirely successful, it's a very good try at a near-impossible goal (which given the whole P=NP business, is arguably not a bad thing for it to be).
The Phantom Scientist is a graphic novel, but one that according to the description 'draws together linguistics, biology, astrophysics, and robotics in a mind-bending puzzle that will thrill and inform readers' - so it takes on the very difficult role of both being an SF mystery thriller and something that puts across mathematical and scientific concepts. Because what happens is certainly not possible at the moment, it does stray into science fiction. The combination of putting across real science and maths plus fiction is hard enough with words, and doubly so in a graphic novel form.
There is, however, good news. This is the best attempt I've ever seen at putting scientific and mathematical ideas into a graphic novel format - and Robin Cousin manages to give the book a distinctly intriguing sense of mystery. It's because of this, despite its quite significant flaws, that I've given it four stars. The book features a strange institute, the fourth of its kind, where various random scientists are brought in so that their interactions cause increasingly chaotic occurrences, supposedly to inspire creativity. We get bits of system theory, the travelling salesman problem, fractals and more, all coming together quite effectively.
This is very much the Lego Movie style of comic strip - there is no attempt at life-like imagery, but enough to get a broad pictorial feeling of what's happening across. Having said that, for at least half the book I thought two different characters were the same person, and I could never identify who half of them were, which was quite confusing.
For no obvious reason, some of the images are very low contrast (see the examples to the right) - unless you read it under a bright light, where there's text, for example, it's almost impossible to read in these sections, which is a real pain.
Apart from the impossibility of a system predicting human behaviour as occurs here (the reason it's impossible is even stated by one of the characters), there are also a couple of plot holes: something that supposedly was going to occur in 36 hours' time happening after about 2 hours, and also a group of astrophysicists who seem to have no relevance to the overall picture (and whose only role seems to be to provide a torch). There's also a decidedly confused ending.
Despite these flaws, though, there is a quite impressive introduction to the P=NP question and its implications, plus various other bits of science and maths that emerge from the interaction of disciplines. If not entirely successful, it's a very good try at a near-impossible goal (which given the whole P=NP business, is arguably not a bad thing for it to be).
August 29, 2023
Am I not smart enough to fully understand this? Possibly.
Did I enjoy it nonetheless? Definitely.
I let myself swim through the unknowable.
Did I enjoy it nonetheless? Definitely.
I let myself swim through the unknowable.
April 30, 2023
I picked this up from OPL while browsing the graphic novel section. I had no idea what it was about, but it looked interesting. After reading it, I still have no idea what it's about, and it was indeed interesting. The focus of the narrative seems to be a scientist who has disappeared after potentially solving an extremely difficult (& real world) problem in computer science called the P vs NP problem. Here's why I love landing on books this way: I became aware of things I didn't even know existed that are super fascinating. I have no idea why the solution to this problem would fundamentally change how mathematicians see the world or how it would "explode the possibilities of computing," but it is intriguing. This book was first published in 2019 but was just translated to English in 2023. It mentions Google Cleverbot and AI technology, which given the current fascination with AI and writing bots, it seems prescient, which is slightly humorous, given one of the focuses of the book is about the predictability of the future.
May 4, 2024
Absolutely bizarre, but nonetheless quite interesting.
The ending was, however, admittedly unsatisfying and slightly confusing.
The ending was, however, admittedly unsatisfying and slightly confusing.
May 17, 2023
Well. That was, without question, French.
September 28, 2023
As a “member of the scientific community” I found the duality of this mysterious tale to be intriguing yet based in fact. Many discoveries are meant to be “unsettling”. Unfortunately, most innovative research (often underfunded) that counters the norm, is subjected to scrutinization thus allowing elitists the task of deciding significant.
May 7, 2023
好玩但是不懂！
December 31, 2024
4 stars. Sometimes a little over my head and sometimes more vague than I would have liked, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
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August 8, 2025Definitely didn't get the science parallels/symbollism but still a good time.
April 13, 2023
The ambiance created by the artist was very nice! I'd rate that a 5 star on its own.
I was hoping the concepts would make sense even for someone who isn't a scientist or MIT grad/student. I was following the plot well enough, or so I thought...until the ending. Maybe it's actually genius...? 🤔 Totally over my head though, in a way that feels intentionally exclusive if you're not studied enough to know. It doesn't have to be that way.
I also want to mention that there's not a lot of emotion from the characters. They're very analytical, and that's fine. It fits the vibe. Just letting people know it's not that kind of story. However, drama/suspense is shown well in the art style.
I was hoping the concepts would make sense even for someone who isn't a scientist or MIT grad/student. I was following the plot well enough, or so I thought...until the ending. Maybe it's actually genius...? 🤔 Totally over my head though, in a way that feels intentionally exclusive if you're not studied enough to know. It doesn't have to be that way.
I also want to mention that there's not a lot of emotion from the characters. They're very analytical, and that's fine. It fits the vibe. Just letting people know it's not that kind of story. However, drama/suspense is shown well in the art style.
August 1, 2024
Unfortunately I am not learned enough in science nor mathematics for this one.
Not much happens. There’s a lot of groundwork for a compelling mystery, there’s A LOT of scientific theory banded about, there’s even some drama - but the story feels very short, like it was cut off at the knees before it really started going.
Super interesting premise, I think my favorite plot line was Vilhelm, since it felt like an actual story arc, but overall it was like everyone’s story was touched on and introduced and then it just ended super abruptly.
Not much happens. There’s a lot of groundwork for a compelling mystery, there’s A LOT of scientific theory banded about, there’s even some drama - but the story feels very short, like it was cut off at the knees before it really started going.
Super interesting premise, I think my favorite plot line was Vilhelm, since it felt like an actual story arc, but overall it was like everyone’s story was touched on and introduced and then it just ended super abruptly.
July 4, 2023
If you are a fan of “Gödel, Escher, Bach”, you should consider this systems science based thriller.
I really enjoyed this book - I found it engaging from the beginning and frequently found I had to start over to put new information in context.
I was initially not thrilled with the art style, but after a few pages I found it worked for me.
I’m not quite sure the author landed the ending, but I’m also not sure it could be improved - or maybe that was the point all along?
I really enjoyed this book - I found it engaging from the beginning and frequently found I had to start over to put new information in context.
I was initially not thrilled with the art style, but after a few pages I found it worked for me.
I’m not quite sure the author landed the ending, but I’m also not sure it could be improved - or maybe that was the point all along?
March 29, 2023
A bit confusing and brainy, but maybe that's always a possibility in a comic coming from MIT Press. It doesn't really detract from the enjoyment, and this weird-in-a-good-way workplace mystery delivers some surreal intrigue.
August 24, 2019
C'est bizarre comme ambiance... Et on dirait qu'il n'y a pas de fin.
October 26, 2023
i enjoyed this but i did not understand it
November 9, 2024
I agree with the sentiment from several other reviewers that this book has an interesting premise but seems to peter out suddenly in an unsatisfactory way...although that might be intentional. Someone with more expertise in the science underlying the plot might see some kind of resonance between the science and the nature (and/or style) of the ending that I just don't have the knowledge to pick up on.
Nevertheless, it was still an enjoyable read, and I'd recommend it to others (as long as they're comfortable with a bit of ambiguity, both plot-wise and expertise-wise). I read it in a couple hours, even going back frequently to revisit earlier bits for clues to the mystery and clarification about characters and plot points. I enjoyed the pacing in particular, as well as the art style, which was impressively effective at creating a foreboding aura with such simple lines and colors.
I don't fully understand this graphic novel; I'm not even sure I fully *liked* it--at least, not in the way I usually like a book. But it certainly made an impression on me, I appreciate its efforts, and I have a feeling it'll keep rolling around in my head for quite some time.
Nevertheless, it was still an enjoyable read, and I'd recommend it to others (as long as they're comfortable with a bit of ambiguity, both plot-wise and expertise-wise). I read it in a couple hours, even going back frequently to revisit earlier bits for clues to the mystery and clarification about characters and plot points. I enjoyed the pacing in particular, as well as the art style, which was impressively effective at creating a foreboding aura with such simple lines and colors.
I don't fully understand this graphic novel; I'm not even sure I fully *liked* it--at least, not in the way I usually like a book. But it certainly made an impression on me, I appreciate its efforts, and I have a feeling it'll keep rolling around in my head for quite some time.
November 15, 2024
Another interesting read. I am not sure this is a book for everyone. There were a lot of things I liked about it. The storyline was unusual. A group of scientist are able to live in a remote area and work on their science projects all day everyday. It seems like a great opportunity but when you get to know the scientists they all are working on some strange project. For example one was working on predicting the future. However, three of them get together and start to form a little bond until they realize that one of the scientist who is supposed to live there has never been seen. Thus begins a mystery that I actually found engaging but I really didn't understand why the scientist went missing. The book takes a sudden turn explaining a math concept that was very foreign to me but I couldn't stop reading. The things I did not like about the book was the lack of character development (I don't even remember their names) and the way the characters were drawn. My daughter and I kept laughing at the faces. The good thing is what you think is going to happen doesn't happen and the author keeps you guessing all the way to the end.
July 24, 2023
Interesting book that is one part science class and one part mystery. Hard to describe this graphic novel as it seems to poke fun of the average routine of a scientist's life. At least I think it is meant to be satire is a small way.
Anyways it follows a group of scientists who are in strange research facility that has a few mysteries going on. Do you get answers to all these mysteries not really. I was invested in the Paniandy story line but the whole ending either went over my head (very likely) or it is meant to be an open ending.
The art is nothing special at all, very basic but it sort of works with the story. Hard to recommend but i did enjoy it.
Anyways it follows a group of scientists who are in strange research facility that has a few mysteries going on. Do you get answers to all these mysteries not really. I was invested in the Paniandy story line but the whole ending either went over my head (very likely) or it is meant to be an open ending.
The art is nothing special at all, very basic but it sort of works with the story. Hard to recommend but i did enjoy it.
March 1, 2024
This book was my first foray into graphic novels and as far as that, it was an interesting one. I gravitated towards it given my background in robotics and CS. And as far as that was concerned, it contained a gentle introduction to a plethora of relevant topics which made it quite enjoyable. But the plot was weak and it disappointed with a very inconclusive end. You do however get to see chaos theory and systems engineering in action and scientists/researchers who are as quirky and obsessive as their real life counterparts.
October 7, 2024
An interestingly paced, visually engaging journey through the peculiar workings of a research institute of possibly-nefarious provenance, this tale of the interactions between scientists of wildly varying disciplines who have been thrown together for uncertain purposes was surprisingly engaging.
The artwork is simple but not simplistic, with clean lines, the characters are well-wrought and nuanced, and the overall arc of the tale ultimately satisfying. Cousin gives us a good premise smartly executed. A four point three.
The artwork is simple but not simplistic, with clean lines, the characters are well-wrought and nuanced, and the overall arc of the tale ultimately satisfying. Cousin gives us a good premise smartly executed. A four point three.
May 31, 2023
This was a fun read! I really loved the clean artwork, bright color palette, and forest setting since it was wonderfully contrasted with the sinister “evil scientist” vibe the rest of the story gave. I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed in this one since there was so much opportunity to explore this intentionally divided world that the author built. Had we more time dedicated to each scientific department the ending would have felt less rushed.
April 23, 2023
I just didn’t feel this one. Truthfully, it was the visuals that took me out of the intriguing yet complicated story premise. As the story drew me in with its mystery, the simple rudimentary art was a distraction. Perhaps someone will take this story and present it in a different medium with visuals that compliment the tale.
July 19, 2023
It was interesting in some parts. Honestly it was mostly over my head. A lot of scientific research & computer science terminology that was hard to follow that the most critical parts made it tough to fully enjoy.
There was some good characters who were developed well in a short period of time. And I enjoyed the artwork.
There was some good characters who were developed well in a short period of time. And I enjoyed the artwork.
March 15, 2024
3.5 stars and like an intellectual among us with scientific characters. cousin does an excellent job with the art and creating a mysterious vibe and environment. it's beautifully done and creative. something about the ending bothered me - i just wanted a little more closure after all the anticipation.
July 17, 2024
Great little book, beautifully illustrated with a compelling storyline, although it loses its way towards the end and struggles to stick the landing. The colorful universe, with its minimalist architecture and schematic forests, serves as an immersive backdrop for an intriguing case of missing person mixed with theoretical science. I enjoyed this book!
August 21, 2024
If Black Mirror released a graphic novel. The subject of the story is so complex it's hard to understand, but it is facinating. The characters are drawn like the ones in short comic instagram memes, which adds humor. If only our science books were made in this style, I might have understood the science discussed in this book.
December 30, 2024
I absolutely loved the plot, the characters, the atmosphere and the artstyle (minimalistic clean lines and vibrant colors). However, I need to take one star away for the ending, it could have been a bit more polished and less abrupt. Regardless, I hope the author writes more graphic novels like this one.
July 26, 2025
This is an odd little comic, with a pared-down art style that feels like it's from a comedy webcomic, a bizarre semi-dystopian setting, an intriguing mystery, and a load of dialogue about maths and science. It made for an interesting read, though in the end the different elements don't quite come together as neatly as I'd expected – either that, or the way they come together went over my head.
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July 4, 2023Odd little book, I thought I would learn more as an “outsider” to the concepts, but NOPE. Not rating it because I just didn’t understand enough to know what the fuck was going on. The mystery kept me engaged, though!
September 14, 2023
Big concepts, used reasonably well. I just wish the characters had more life to them. Most of them feel very detached from their own lives, which gives everything a layer of unreality that makes it more difficult for me to get invested.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews