Reamde
Neal Stephenson
Morrow, Sep 20 2011, $35.00
ISBN 9780061977961
Peter saw an opportunity to make some fast cash. However, he handed the Russian mafia a virus infected thumb drive that was destroying their encrypted data base. Ivanov the customer is unhappy but wants more than just his money back and his files freed; he wants to scatter Peter’s remains across the states before his comrades learn what happened and scatters his.
His girlfriend Zula takes him from their home in Seattle to her black sheep Uncle Richard’s farm in Iowa. When Nixon was president, Richard fled to British Columbia to avoid the draft; there he became a millionaire smuggling marijuana into Idaho. Years later with Carter amnesty, Richard used his money to create his remote “farm” in which his niece and her boyfriend visit him. However, his biggest success since he stopped trafficking is T’Rain multiplayer virtual game; that is until now, as hackers in China have deployed the REAMDE virus that encrypts a player’s electronic files until remittance is made to release them.
This is an exciting international thriller starring two black sheep and the woman who connects them. The story line travels the globe while containing engaging spins and a horde of characters from many points around the world. Although at times the subplots go seemingly forever nowhere, overall readers will enjoy the adventures of Zula and the two rogues in her life.
Harriet Klausner
No comments:
Post a Comment