The Raw Shark Texts - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

Eric Sanderson, a British man in his late twenties, was working with the Un-Space Exploration Committee after the death of his girlfriend, Clio Aames. His hope was to preserve his memories of her within the body of a conceptual creature. This leads to his intentional release of a Ludovician—the most dangerous of the conceptual fish—on himself. He loses memories of his life as they are devoured by the Ludovician, but still the Ludovician pursues him until all is lost and he awakes as the Second Eric Sanderson. Eric is told by a psychologist that he has a dissociative condition known as fugue. However, the First Eric Sanderson, even as he was losing his memory, has left him with a large number of letters explaining Conceptual Fish, the death of his girlfriend, the Un-Space Exploration Committee, and other such things. When Eric Sanderson is attacked once more by the Ludovician, he decides to go in search of a doctor named Trey Fidorous, who is a member of the Un-Space Exploration Committee who may be able to explain what is happening to him.

Eric travels through Britain in search of clues, and ultimately finds one in a hotel he is staying in during a rainstorm. He is contacted by a mysterious figure known as Mr. Nobody, who is actually a part of a larger, internet-based intelligence called Mycroft Ward. Mr. Nobody attempts to subdue and control Eric with a smaller Conceptual Fish, but Eric manages to escape. Eric soon meets with a member of the Un-Space Exploration Committee named Scout. Scout and Eric have a close encounter with the Ludovician before venturing into Un-Space in search of Trey Fidorous. It turns out that Scout has a small bit of Mycroft Ward in her, but is not truly a part of the intelligence.

Eric and Scout develop a romantic relationship throughout their un-space journey. However, the relationship becomes turbulent after it is revealed that from the beginning, Scout sought out Eric and his Ludovician in order to destroy Ward. When they find Fidorous, they help him rig up a conceptual boat with which to hunt the Ludovician. The climax of the book takes place on a conceptual ocean, aboard the Orpheus, the shark-hunting boat. In a climactic encounter, a laptop hooked up to the Mycroft Ward database is thrown into the mouth of the Ludovician, destroying both. Trey Fidorous is killed in the sinking of the boat, and Scout is lost at sea.

Eric is then seemingly given a chance to return to the 'real' world through a postcard showing his house; he declines, choosing to remain in the conceptual world. Scout returns to the boat unharmed, and together with Ian the cat. She and Eric, now reconciled, swim to a "conceptual island" which resembles the Greek island on which Clio and the first Eric holidayed before she died. At this point, it is strongly suggested that Scout is in fact Clio, and that the first Eric Sanderson's plan to preserve his memories of and life with Clio via the Ludovician has succeeded.

The book ends with a newspaper cutting reporting that the body of Eric Sanderson was found not far from his home. The newspaper clipping mentions that a postcard from Eric was sent to Dr. Randle, but from Greece, just prior to the discovery of his body. The postcard is shown on the next page, and claims to be from Eric, stating that he is unhurt and happy, but will never return.