The Blue Nowhere

Rating:
Summary: Fast and well-thought
Review: This book surprised me on many levels, and I start by saying that I highly recommend it. As a person who likes to savor books, I read this one in two evenings. After Speaking in Tongues, I was a little wary of getting excited about another Jeffery Deaver's book. But as a programmer, I decide to pick it up because it is about something I have an interest in. Wyatt Gillette, a convicted felon, and the California Computer Crimes Unit attempt to stop a man, and an unknown accomplice, who uses his computer for the ultimate evil: murder. Jeffery Deaver throws out a few curve balls to keep the reader guessing, but avoids the unbelievable twists that seem to be rampant in thrillers. Generally I find that hi-tech fictional works are usual laughable in their portrayal and explanations of the technologies involved. Along this line,I have long felt that Michael Crichton is one of the best authors in researching his topics. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Mr. Deaver did a great job in his own; all-in-all, his events and explanations were realistic and they reflect his opinion that the reader is not stupid, without going so far as to be a textbook on the subject. It is a very fast moving book, and there are complaints that the characters are not deeply developed. I attribute this to two things. It would take away from the quick pace of the story, and furthermore it is unnecessary. You learn enough about Wyatt and Phate without needless filler. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple of spots where I crinkled my nose in disbelief, but it is a work of fiction and it is a very good one at that.

Rating:
Summary: The Blue Nowhere
Review: Deaver's novel, The Blue Nowhere explores the modern sociological experience of the impact of computers and the internet on modern society. It is a novel of intrigue, suspense, and mystery in which murders are occurring that can be tied to computer intrusions and the use of social engineering by the master hacker, Phate. Detective Andy Anderson of the California computer crimes division, while an expert computer user himself, realizes he is in over his head with this case and decides to get another master hacker, Wyatt Gillette, temporarily released from prison to help him track down and capture Phate. Wyatt has been banned from any computer usage while in prison and works out a deal with Andy Anderson that should he be successful in capturing Phate he be allowed a computer in prison, one not connected to the internet.
As the book continues the plot takes many twists and turns but the murders continue and Phate begins to prey upon those that track him. It is a game to him. He has developed a program named Trapdoor which infiltrates the computers of his victims and steals their personal information which he then uses to socially engineer his victims. Social engineering is a common tool used by hackers to gain access to systems by supplying enough personal information about a person to make the person being engineered think that the hacker is who he is trying to portray. Social engineering can also be used against the weaknesses of the target victim and identity theft, a big problem in the information age, is a part of social engineering.
Deaver continues to unravel his story allowing us first to think that one of the investigators is working with Phate, and finally we learn that Wyatt knew Phate from being part of an online hacker group with him. Wyatt had just never seen him in person. Phate lures Andy Anderson to a place known as hacker's knoll and kills him. Frank Bishop ends up working with Wyatt to continue the case. There are other murders and even a robbery. After many twists and turns, in which we are given quite a bit of information on computer hacking, Frank Bishop and Wyatt find Phate-Jon Patrick Holloway-packing up his equipment to make a getaway. There is a struggle and Frank is knocked unconscious by Phate. Wyatt and Phate struggle and one of the investigators, Patricia Nolan, who followed them, barges in and stuns both, Wyatt and Phate with a stun gun. We find out that Patricia is not who she portrayed herself as and that she has ulterior motives. She wants the source code to Trapdoor. She ends up torturing Phate and gets the code from him, and then she kills him by lethal injection before turning on Wyatt. Wyatt is rescued by another investigator, Tony Mott, but Patricia Nolan escapes and we never learn her true identity. Frank finds Phate's computer and we are subjected to a very exciting ending as the story is wrapped up.
This story offers some very interesting lessons that affect us today. Our identities, or as C.W. Mills defines as our personal biographies, are very important to our sociological well-being. However, since the age of computers, now known as the information age, never before has it been so easy to steal personal identities and when you consider this issue, it can be frightening how easily your own identity can be turned or used against you. Your own identity can be used by others to cause you great personal damage and even harm. We see this in some television ads these days, but most of us probably think that it won't happen to us, maybe we should think again as this is going to be a continuing problem plaguing our modern society.


Rating:
Summary: The Blue Amazing
Review: This book was amazing. It took me just 3 days to read it and it felt like I was in the book. Deaver has made one of the best books that is related for the 2000 and on. It really shows you how dangerous the web can be. Also, it was very suspenseful, and you never knew when they would catch him.

Rating:
Summary: Top Notch Writing
Review: This is the first Deaver novel I've read, but it certainly won't be the last. It is fast paced, but not cluttered with unnecessary characters. The story is complex, entertaining, and convoluted so it keeps you guessing. If I had one disparaging thing to say, it would be that his "asides" to explain to the reader all the various computer terms got a little tedious. I often skipped whole paragraphs of explanation. Those types of things could be part of an appendix rather than as part of the story. Readers who need the explanations could find them, and those of us who do not could rush along with the story.

Rating:
Summary: Highly entertaining.
Review: This was the first novel from Jeffery Deaver that I read, and I must say, i'm glad I did.

The book, while heavy on technological terms and geeky quirks, is fast paced and, in my case, left me wanting more at every turn of the page.

If you're one that doesn't like a lot of technological terminology, I would probably say pass on this book. If however you can tolerate it, i'd definitely recommend picking it up.

Rating:
Summary: Go back to writing Lincoln Rhyme novels, Mr Deaver.....
Review: It's definitely what you do best.

As with "The Devil's Teardrop", there are incredible gaps in the plot - and unlike "Teardrop", in some cases Deaver doesn't explain what happened during these gaps or refer back to them in any way.

But what he does cover in "The Blue Nowhere" is a rollicking good read nevertheless, not to mention frightening - and this book is definitely worth recommending.

Deaver does need to go back over his notes in "how to write a mystery novel", though - his Lincoln Rhyme novels are proof that he knows how to do it, but so far his non-Rhyme stories look like they were written by a completely different, completely amateurish person masquerading as Jeffery Deaver. Social engineering, perhaps?

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I'm not a big fan of this writer but this book is a page turner. One surprise after the other, and I think you'll find the ending quite interesting as well. Can't say much about this book without giving away the plot so read it for yourself. A must!

Rating:
Summary: Boring? Really?
Review: I am a normal person in a normal world. I grew up before computers were in every home and class room. I found the book very tense. I could feel my heart rate increase numerous times. Had a hard time putting it down. Freaked me out, that I didn't get on the internet for over a month. Logically I know the odds of something like that really happening is very low...but still...I guess people say there are tech/terms problems in the book. I suppose that would bother me also if I really understood what gigabytes really were. All I know is how to make software work to its fullest.