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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.
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.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Excerpts-
Chapter One
1 | Dirty Tricks
On Friday, on his way to school, Sam Wilson brought the United States of America to its knees.
He didn’t mean to. He was actually just trying to score a new computer and some other cool stuff, and in any case, the words “to its knees” were the New York Times’, not his—and were way over the top, in Sam’s view. Not as bad, though, as the Washington Post’s. Their headline writers must have been on a coffee binge, because they screamed
National Disaster
in size-40 type when their presses finally came back online.
Anyway, it was only for a few days, and it really wasn’t a disaster at all. At least not compared to what was still to come.
A juddering roar reverberated off the high-rise buildings, and Sam glanced up as the dark shadow of a police Black Hawk slid across the street. His breath caught in his chest for a moment, as if all the oxygen in the street had suddenly disappeared, but the chopper didn’t slow; it was just a rou- tine patrol. It weaved smoothly between the monoliths of uptown Manhattan, a cop with a long rifle spotlighted in the open doorway by a brilliant orange burst of early- morning sun.
He tried to remember a time when armed police in helicopters hadn’t patrolled the city, but he couldn’t. It seemed that it had always been that way. At least since Vegas.
Gray clouds were leaking a dreary, misty drizzle from high over the city, but low on the horizon, there was a long thin gap into which the sun had risen, teasing New York with a short-lived promise of a sunny day.
Sam cut down 44th Street and turned right at 7th Avenue to avoid beggars’ row along Broadway. He took 42nd to Times Square, where the tall video screens flickered intermittently or were silent and dark. The M&M’s screen still worked, although there were several blank spots that were said to be bullet holes.
Forty-second Street station was crowded—jostling, bustling, shortness-of-breath crowded—at this time of the morning, but he was used to that, and the subway was still the fastest and safest way to get around Manhattan.
He got out at Franklin Street station and took Varick Street down to West Broadway. He quickened his step as he passed Gamer Alley. His nose wrinkled involuntarily at some of the odors that hung around the entrance.
Two dogs were fighting on the corner of Thomas and West Broadway but stopped as he approached. He slowed, not comfortable with the narrowing of their eyes or the jelly-strings of drool dripping from their fangs.
One took a step toward him, a low growl in its throat. The other followed, its lips drawing back from its teeth.
Sam took a step backward. The dogs moved closer, haunches high, stalking him. He stumbled backward a few more steps. A police Humvee cruised past, and he half turned toward it, hoping the cops would stop and intervene, but they either didn’t see or didn’t care.
The entrance to Gamer Alley appeared to his right. As the dogs spread out to cut off his escape, he turned and strode into the smoky unease of the alleyway.
He glanced behind but the dogs had not followed.
The walls of the alley were high, and the street was narrow, a deep saw-cut across a city block. None of the dawn glow penetrated, just a tired dullness that washed through the clouds and was swallowed up by the steam and smoke from the food stalls. Gaudy fluorescent signs appeared indistinctly through the haze, promising the latest in video-gaming technology. The games they promoted outside were innocuous, but everyone, especially the cops,...
About the Author-
Since his childhood, Brian Falkner has been surrounded by computers. His older brother built one out of spare parts, and Brian was programming it at a time when nobody could imagine the PC revolution that was to come. As computers developed, so did Brian’s love affair with them. His first major in college was computer science. Brian has been fascinated by the gradual emergence of the cyberworld alongside the real one. When he read the first articles about neurotechnology, he was hooked, seeing this as the start of the convergence of those two worlds. In the real world, Brian lives in the beautiful country of New Zealand, in the South Pacific. In the cyberworld, you can find him at www.brianfalkner.com.
Reviews-
August 1, 2010
A cyber-thriller that reads like a video game. Sam Wilson isn't out of high school yet, but he's on his way to becoming the most wanted hacker in the world--first for crashing the international computer grid (well, he didn't mean to), then for subverting the White House security system (OK, that was on purpose). But when he escapes from federal custody, he learns that his country needs him: Terrorists prowl the Internet, and Sam's skillz may be the last defense from a neuro-virus wiping out humanity. The adrenaline-pumped action relentlessly levels up from caper novel to virtual combat to elaborate chases to military apocalypse, culminating in the traditional god-mode confrontation with the Final Boss. Plausible tech and a series of deftly detailed settings make up for pixel-thin characterizations, although thoughtful readers may be frustrated at the ethical dilemmas and sociological issues that are raised only to vanish like vaporware. But most will blast through to the epilogue, simultaneously satisfying and deeply unsettling, and eye their keyboards with more respect and a little nervousness. Geektastic. (Science fiction. 12 & up)
(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
December 1, 2010
Gr 7 Up-Seventeen-year-old Sam single-handedly hacks into a large telecommunication company (thought to be impenetrable) and inadvertently takes out the world's infrastructure in his attempt to cover his tracks. He is recruited by a secret government department staffed by former hackers to protect the Internet and is taken to San Jose, CA. They find a malicious presence on the web that could destroy the world and must work as a group to preserve life as we know it. The story takes place in the near future, and the technology has some interesting new enhancements, most notably neuro helmets that allow one to control a computer with one's mind. On occasion the author provides too much detail about San Jose. Occasional use of non-American slang by American characters also detracts from the dialogue: "mates" is used instead of "friends," food is described as being "tinned" rather than "canned." Still, the nicely paced plot and well-crafted story arc make this a title worth recommending, particularly to boys who like technology or science fiction. This book will also have broad appeal since, despite the age of the main character, the content is appropriate for younger readers.-Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH
Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 1, 2010 Grades 9-12 In a not terribly distant future, teen Sam Wilson catches the eye of the Homeland Security Cyber Defense Division because of his preternatural hacking instincts; he is given the classic work-for-us-or-go-to-prison-forever nonchoice. The department is reluctant to use the newfangled neuro-headset technology (which lets users interface directly with their computers and the Net through brain waves), but the advantage they give to the bad guys is too much to discount. What they dont fully consider, though, are the implications of such unfettered access to the human consciousness. The hacking scenes are relentlessly paced, and Falkners stimulating mix of technobabble (Im going to crash the shell with a buffer overflow and get in via the rhosts file) and metaphor (A trapdoor in the firewall, Sam thought as he hurled a frag grenade at a murky pool of the intruders code) should appeal to geeks but carry the less savvy as well. Think of this as the high-octane, adrenalized sibling of Cory Doctorows more lesson-laden Little Brother (2008).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2011 Sam Wilson can hack his way into any computer, and with the new neuro-headsets he can do it at the speed of thought. Working for the cyberdefense industry, Sam realizes that the headsets make his--and everyone else's--thoughts easy prey for hacking. What's more, Internet users' collective unconsciousness becomes a threat to society at large. Falkner's pulse-pounding story is rich in futuristic details.
(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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