Y2K; It's Already Too Late (Double Cassette Ed.)

Rating:
Summary: HA!
Review: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA !

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Blend of Fact and Fiction
Review: I have worked in the technology business since 1975. My firm has spent the past five years getting our clients ready for the Year 2000. As such, I know a lot about Y2K and was pleased to find much of what I know contained in this novel.

Contrary to the objections raised by other reviewers, Mr. Kelly is right. Maybe it's his own background at IBM, maybe it's the research he did. Either way, his insight into the problem and how it could affect everybody is quite accurate. The negative reviews of this novel that I've read all have one thing in common: ignorance of the subject. They do not like the story because it seems far-fetched to them. Let me assure you that it is not far-fetched. With National Guard Y2K training scheduled for May, you will see this issue attain the level of ubiquity that the OJ Simpson trial and the Clinton Impeachment both achieved -- exactly as Kelly describes in this book.

While I can't comment on China's intentions, I can report that Time Magazine just ran a story about China's growing military shortly after a story about the world's lack of preparation for Y2K. The China article pointed out that the country has been slowly building a military presence to rival that of the United States. Their intended eclipse date? Fourth quarter 1999. That's a heck of a coincidence, if not confirmation of the scenario in this novel.

Aside from that use of Y2K, Kelly explores banking difficulties, riots, food shortages, and shows how one prepared family gets through just fine. I have stacks of evidence to support every one of these scenarios. This is not far-fetched fiction, people. This is well-researched fiction that only seems far-fetched to people who don't understand the depth of the Y2K problem.

Read this book and recommend it to others. I agree with a previous reviewer who said that "Y2K: It's Already Too Late" is destined to be a classic. It certainly deserves to be.

Rating:
Summary: Defines a piece of history
Review: I'm not at all surprised to see this book retaining its sales strength now that the big Y2K moment is history. It was published way back in 1998 before most of the world even knew what "Y2K" stood for. The author of this work of FICTION (many critics forget that it is, after all, a story) did a thorough job capturing the fears that eventually covered every form of media. No, Y2K did not turn out to be like this novel. But the year 1984 did not turn out to be like that novel either and we still respect it as a work of fiction containing important issues to consider. Both books are valuable in that they capture a piece of history, the collective fears of society, and they impart lessons that I consider valuable as government gets more powerful through technology that takes over more of our lives every year. This is the original Y2K novel and while all the nonfiction "prepare for doom" books are now firestarting material, this book should remain popular for years to come. Just imagine when your kids and grandkids ask one day what it was like when 1999 became 2000. What better way to show them the fears that some people had than to hand them a thrilling novel? It'll keep them reading (because it is a good story) and it will give them a history lesson.

Rating:
Summary: More accurate than I'd like
Review: I've researched the Y2K problem for my local service organization and was impressed to find many of the risks accurately dramatized in this novel. Much of it will not come true, but that's not the point. As the author notes in his introduction, the book is supposed to reach noncomputer people with a story that shows how bad Y2K might be. He wasn't shooting for 100% accuracy, but he may be closer than many people think. For example, an electrical engineer wrote a scathing review of this book that included, among other criticisms, the claim that Mr. Kelly's depiction of a crashing helicopter is technically wrong. As a helicopter pilot myself, I need to set the record straight: Mr. Kelly is RIGHT. Autorotation works in helicopters only if there is sufficient altitude AND sufficient rotor speed. The scenario in the novel shows a helicopter hovering fairly close to the ground. Thus, there is not sufficient altitude nor sufficient rotor speed. The helicopter would crash as depicted in the novel. In addition to a great deal of technically accurate information, this novel provides a thrilling read. The pages kept turning and I found myself genuinely concerned with the plight of each character. I have passed my copy along to family members and will give several more as gifts. Kudos to Mr. Kelly!

Rating:
Summary: Great for the China story
Review: Of course, Y2K didn't happen as badly as shown in this novel. I still thought this was a good story, lots of action, and such. Something that still might come true is the US/China conflict shown near the Spratly Islands. China may not have used Y2K to move on the US, but weird things are happening nonetheless. I think Kelly's story may turn out prophetic in a non-Y2K way. Keep watching China.

Rating:
Summary: Like Reading Gilligan's Book of Radiation Technology
Review: Right from the onset, I couldn't set this book down. What I liked most was how the part I found the most boring in the middle (the police, without giving away too much) turned out to provide the most thrilling moments at the end. I actually finished this book while on a flight to New York, and during part of that flight my legs were shaking. Yes, at the climax of the cop scene, I was shaking. This is an amzing attempt at a first novel with a great ending. Even though the plot may not allow for a great sequel, the ending was still classic...

Rating:
Summary: An exciting education
Review: This novel surprised me. I have become quite bored with the Y2K topic, what with it being in the news everyday and dominated by panicked people who are fleeing cities. But this book came highly recommended so I purchased it and figured I'd read a few pages a day for several weeks. Hardly. Instead, it grabbed me in the first few pages and I finished it in a weekend. I was pleased to see just the right balance of Y2K facts and artistic liberty. Mr. Kelly managed to show the effect of panicked doomsayers on the population as people make a mad rush to prepare themselves by removing money from the bank in 1999 and causing a near collapse and a stock market plunge. The military scenes are all consistent with what the Pentagon has reported lately. The riots in LA were difficult to read because they are right on target. They do not spare the reader any gory details. Here, too, when I read the story and check its descriptions with archived reporting from the LA Times, I see that Mr. Kelly has done his homework. I agree with a previous reader who predicts that this book could end up on a shelf with the likes of "1984." It is uncannily close to current headlines and is probably a look at what we should expect over the next year and a half.