A Blockbuster Technothriller – 5 stars
Two senior technical people from a leading online gaming software publisher have been killed in mysterious ways, but at first are deemed to be accidents. Further investigation by a local police detective traces the deaths back to computer bots that in turn activated booby traps by remote control turning both deaths into premeditated murder. It soon becomes clear that more bots are loose across the Internet, but what is unclear is their purpose and whether more deaths or tragedies will be unleashed.
Most of us have seen the classic monster movies that have a giant reptile or other beast attacking a major city and embarking in out of control mayhem. This book turns the classic monster into a digital one that is unleashed not only on a city, but on the entire computer-connected world.
The author is clearly someone who has worked in the computer world because his terminology and projections of what might be done with the right combination of programming and networking by someone who has the right genius to manipulate the system are technically correct, which is refreshing since too many computer-based technothriller plots seem to be created by writers with only fair to middling knowledge of the field.
The world of computer science has expanded greatly to the point that having one person knowing it all in depth, from low level hardware controls, to security, to artificial intelligence, and so on is not very likely, but might just be possible if that person had been a genius in the field as the book’s antagonist, Matthew Sobol was. Missing from the book is a clear picture of why Sobol has an ax to grind against humanity to loose these plots upon the world, and how he had time to conceive of the attacks, to design, program, and test them, even with help from his senior technical staff. But looking too closely at the evil genius would take away a lot of the fun of the technoride the book takes the reader on.
Two of the main characters who uncover the murders, Detective Pete Sebeck and computer consultant Jonathan Ross are contrasts. While Sebeck is fairly computer illiterate, he is a straight-forward detective from the old school who knows how to investigate the case and does so methodically. Ross is the computer and gaming expert who turns out to be not so straight-forward guiding Sebeck through the technical aspects of the investigation while the case becomes more and more complex revealing that there is more going on than simply two dead techs. The two characters work well, both in their respective roles in the plot and as partners in the continuing investigation.
There are a bevy of bad guys to choose from in the book as the bots recruit the scum of the criminal ranks, out of work engineers, and the overly ambitious to aid in the spread of Sobol’s plots. Mix in a cornucopia of remotely controlled robots and machines of mayhem, and you’ve got the bloodiest of computer game environments brought into the real world as a playground.
Recommended for those who enjoy technothrillers, especially ones that involve computers, gaming, and really bad bad guys.