Synopsis
Another terrifying sci-fi page-turner from the author of The Tomorrow Code!
Las Vegas is gone—destroyed in a terrorist attack. Black Hawk helicopters patrol the skies over New York City. And immersive online gaming is the most dangerous street drug around. In this dystopic near-future, technology has leapt forward once again, and neuro-headsets have replaced computer keyboards. Just slip on a headset, and it’s the Internet at the speed of thought.
For teen hacker Sam Wilson, a headset is a must. But as he becomes familiar with the new technology, he has a terrifying realization. If anything on his computer is vulnerable to a hack, what happens when his mind is linked to the system? Could consciousness itself be hijacked? Before he realizes what’s happened, Sam’s incursion against the world’s largest telecommunications company leads him to the heart of the nation’s cyberdefense network and brings him face to face with a terrifying and unforeseen threat.
Brian Falkner, author of The Tomorrow Code, has created an action-packed and thought-provoking science fiction adventure in which a brilliant young computer hacker fights to prevent the human race from being deleted.
Fans of Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother and M. T. Anderson’s Feed will love this high-octane techno thriller.
From the Hardcover edition.
VOYA
In America in the not-too-distant future, expert computer hacker Sam is recruited by Homeland Security after successfully engineering one of the most sophisticated hacks in history. Neuro-headsets that directly connect thoughts and computers are becoming all the rage. The headsets, however, leave users vulnerable to implanted memories and altered information, which some shady force seems to be using to its advantage. Sam, Dodge, and Vienna discover this before they are infected and are soon on the run to try to save the world by destroying the information infrastructure of the country, effectively freeing the minds of the people. Hacker-speak and tech-talk are heavily used in the book, particularly in early chapters when the work Sam is doing as a hacker and his subsequent work for the cyber defense division are being described. Once the setup for the novel is established, the pace picks up, and the action gets intense as the situation deteriorates into near civil war. The rapid turn of events at the conclusion of the novel may require a re-read in order to absorb the dramatic choice Sam makes—to become part of the collective consciousness—and to follow the shift in the narration to the point of view of the network. A strong cautionary warning is delivered in the brief section about the network trying to be a moral force to change the world. The story raises many thought-provoking questions about the future of technology and will find fans among computer enthusiasts. Reviewer: Erin Wyatt