This month’s featured book comes from an author I have much respect for. Chuck Wendig is an author, comic writer, screen writer and blogger; so a man of many talents. Zeroes (also written as Zer0es) follows some outcast hackers who are forced to work for the government on some NSA related program. The hackers then uncover some type of conspiracy and must decide whether to shut down the program and risk being busted, or conform and let a rogue A.I become uncontrollable. I’m hoping for this one to whet my appetite for some fun and thoughtful cyberpunk drama.
Look out for my review at the end of the month, and if you choose to join in reading Zer0es then share your thoughts either in the comment section or on social media using #ReditalBookClub.
Zer0es Synopsis
An Anonymous-style rabble rouser, an Arab spring hactivist, a black-hat hacker, an old-school cipherpunk, and an online troll are each offered a choice: go to prison or help protect the United States, putting their brains and skills to work for the government for one year.
But being a white-hat doesn’t always mean you work for the good guys. The would-be cyberspies discover that behind the scenes lurks a sinister NSA program, an artificial intelligence code-named Typhon, that has origins and an evolution both dangerous and disturbing. And if it’s not brought down, will soon be uncontrollable.
Can the hackers escape their federal watchers and confront Typhon and its mysterious creator? And what does the government really want them to do? If they decide to turn the tables, will their own secrets be exposed — and their lives erased like lines of bad code?
Combining the scientific-based, propulsive narrative style of Michael Crichton with the eerie atmosphere and conspiracy themes of The X-Files and the imaginative, speculative edge of Neal Stephenson and William Gibson, Zer0es explores our deep-seated fears about government surveillance and hacking in an inventive fast-paced novel.
Buy this book (US)
