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Rating: 
Summary: what?
Review: This one pulls you in! The text flows smoothly and develops naturally, so that you are not aware of the author, but only the story--as it should be. For a first novel, David Scott has done exceptionally well. I'd like to see more from him. The story is about the internet, behind the scenes, and the constant struggle for more 'hits' ('eyeballs'). As a webmaster of an entertainment website, I can appreciate that, although my site gets hits in the hundreds a day, while this story is talking millions. The details ring true. Japanese lifestyles today, as depicted in the story, are outside of my experience, but then, I was there fifty years ago when the exchange rate was 360-1. The Japanese characters are believable, and I think they are authentically drawn. Scott is obviously knowledgeable about e-business, as his truncated bio indicates, and it shows in his dialogue and storyline. He depicts the internet as a fast-paced, youthful scene, with big gambles, huge losses and potentially great gains. For a reader in his seventies, it is a humbling look at the future. The sex is uninhibited, as might be expected, the characters seem real, with real flaws and valid motivations, and the backgrounds described are convincing--as if the author were describing scenes with which he was familiar, which he no doubt was. Richard Williams is the offspring of a powerful media mogul, and has a hard time asserting his independence and individuality. In fact, he is a seriously spoiled, thoroughly unlikable, weak, dissolute, self-indulgent, dissipated young man without much to recommend him except his father's fortune. That begins to change when he is virtually disinherited. You'll have to read the story to see how it all turns out. It is a page-turner. I think you'll like it. Joseph H Pierre
Rating: 
Summary: A Book That Captures the Insanity of the New Media Boom
Review: David M. Scott was able to capture the fast-paced giddiness of the New Media/Internet boom. This book is one that I couldn't put down. I have worked with new media and internet related companies for about five years, and I haven't read any literature that so completely captured the mindset and atmosphere of that now historic era as was sucessfully done in this book. I highly recommend this as a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting!
Review: Eyeball Wars is a real page-turner. Author David M. Scott captures the fast-paced, break-neck speed of the internet through fresh prose, intriguing dialogue and a cast of characters with whom I formed an incredible alliance over the course of the book. Filled with high tech, high-flyers, and high excitement, Eyeball Wars moves at an almost frenetic pace -- wholly fitting for an industry resplendent with gone-at-the-blink-of-an-eye start-ups and a constant quest for the "new new thing." In addition to being completely captivating and thoroughly enjoyable, Eyeball Wars is clearly written from someone who knows his stuff. Scott's incisive commentary on the dot-com world, coupled with his fine attention to detail, adds an incredible air of authenticity to the novel. In fact, Eyeball Wars is so engaging that I found myself on several occasions, genuinely concerned about the outcome and the characters. Eyeball Wars, in the end, is as the subtitle implies, intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: 4.5 Stars
Review: Good book, a bit manic, but good.
Author David M. Scott captures the fast-paced, break-neck speed of the internet through fresh prose, intriguing dialogue and a cast of characters with whom I formed an incredible alliance over the course of the book. Filled with high tech, high-flyers, and high excitement, Eyeball Wars moves at an almost frenetic pace -- wholly fitting for an industry resplendent with gone-at-the-blink-of-an-eye start-ups and a constant quest for the "new new thing." In addition to being completely captivating and thoroughly enjoyable, Eyeball Wars is clearly written from someone who knows his stuff. Scott's incisive commentary on the dot-com world, coupled with his fine attention to detail, adds an incredible air of authenticity to the novel. In fact, Eyeball Wars is so engaging that I found myself on several occasions, genuinely concerned about the outcome and the characters. Eyeball Wars, in the end, is as the subtitle implies, intriguing.
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Summary: Wacky dot-com thriller-comedy
Review: It's all here: hysterical dot-com nerds, wacky tabloid journalists, evil venture capitalists, money-grubbing media barons and assorted hangers on including TV-starlets, PR spinmasters and even Bill Gates. Moving effortlessly through international settings such as London, Tokyo and Sydney as well as the center of the world's Internet economy Silicon Valley, Scott's Eyeball Wars is not only a great book on the Internet business, its also a fast-moving thriller-comedy. Richard Williams is an Internet business youngster who's trying to find a business model that works (I've been there! It's fun to root for Richard!). He fights for venture funding, media attention and of course for love. Through Richard's eyes and also through the eyes of the unforgettable Japanese heroine Mariko Suzuki, we encounter plot twists and humor in every chapter. The book works on every level, as great page-turning fiction, as a window into the world of Internet entrepreneurs and as commentary on life in the fast lane. Cool cover too.
Rating: 
Summary: Oddly ironic
Review: Looking back now, "Eyeball Wars" is actually a fascinating portrait of the utter cluelessness and disregard for reality that was exhibited by the dot-commers prior to their bust. True, when Scott was writing this in 1999 and 2000, these words rang true--you really COULD go online with no business model and little content and make tons of money--generally through venture capital. Now we'd laugh at the notion, and that's why at this point no one could really take this book seriously. We've already seen how the dot-com boom didn't pan out and it was oddly enough because of the very business practices outlined in "Eyeball Wars". Yes, it's still horribly written, dripping with mysogyny, and lacking in character development, but from a historical standpoint "Eyeball Wars" is purely (unintentionally) fascinating, and a much more relevant and interesting read than it was two years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Oddly ironic
Review: Looking back now, "Eyeball Wars" is actually a fascinating portrait of the utter cluelessness and disregard for reality that was exhibited by the dot-commers prior to their bust. True, when Scott was writing this in 1999 and 2000, these words rang true--you really COULD go online with no business model and little content and make tons of money--generally through venture capital. Now we'd laugh at the notion, and that's why at this point no one could really take this book seriously. We've already seen how the dot-com boom didn't pan out and it was oddly enough because of the very business practices outlined in "Eyeball Wars". Yes, it's still horribly written, dripping with mysogyny, and lacking in character development, but from a historical standpoint "Eyeball Wars" is purely (unintentionally) fascinating, and a much more relevant and interesting read than it was two years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: Unlike most of the other reviewers here, I didn't find the jargon to be too distracting, even though I'm not in the internet business. What I did find to be distracting was the underdeveloped characters and plot and careless writing. It's true that "Eyeball Wars" is fast-paced, energetic, and exciting: in fact, I read the book very quickly and honestly enjoyed it. But in terms of craft, it was low on the totem pole: the characters were two-dimensional and difficult to like, and the plot was predictable. There was also an unpleasantly distinct air of mysogyny running throughout as well, and that certainly didn't help. I certainly wouldn't say it's any masterpiece of literature because of these glaring issues, but it did have its moments.
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