Rating: 
Summary: I exist, therefore I am
Review: This book, is definitely now one of my favorite sci-fi books yet. It makes you think (god forbid), and you might just find yourself learning something worthwhile. I think anyone in a computer related field can associate with the main character. I can't tell you how many times I cought myself saying "Yep he's right." This is not to say you have to be a computer savy to like this book. In fact, Mark explains certain computer jargon as the story unfolds. He explains it in a way that doesn't make computer savy people feel bored and at the same time at a level where anyone can understand it. Mark Fabi's dry sense of humor is always well placed and is always funny. This is a definite page turner. A wonderfull blend of mystery, sci-fi, humor, and yes...reality.
Now, stop reading this review and go get it!
-Steve
Rating: 
Summary: I'm looking for an answer...
Review: WYRM asks the question, "Is it possible for a novel to deal with serious and complex ideas, and still be more fun than a book full of E-ticket rides at Disney World?" Only you, the readers, can answer that question. Judging from your comments so far, I'd have to say I'm strongly encouraged. Please visit my web page at:
http://www.sff.net/people/fabim/
and e-mail me any further comments. Thanks
Rating:
Summary: Y2000 in a New Light with Wyrm
Review: Wyrm is a wonderful blend of computers, fantasy, romance, with a dark edge showing a very realistic millenium-end future. This novel has the intellectual depth, characterization, plot, realism and overall quality to make it a classic. Great job Mark at your first novel. Now I want more!!
Rating:
Summary: dangerous fun
Review: WYRM takes us on a ride to the millennium picking up computer viruses, arcane mythologies, chess and theories of consciousness while never slowing up from the weight of its erudition. The characters are engaging- Mr. Fabi manages to make an incredibly good hero not be a prig, and his, admittedly few, women are real rather than strident or passive.
Weaving in and out of reality and virtual reality, WYRM is highly contagious. Keep out of hands of adolescents, or you will be assaulted by recursive acronyms before you've had your coffee, which makes parents look stupid
Rating: 
Summary: The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling!
Review: So sayeth the doomsayers and millenialists.
The next millenia is approaching, (Dec. 31, 2000 according to nitpickers) and with it great disasters and upheavals. Among these is the Year 2000 "virus" and the mayhem it shall bring will be tenfold.
Wyrm, set in the year 1999, addresses this so-called virus along with Artificial Intelligence, Worms and Viruses, along with a nicely detailed explanation of many internet tools and games. But amid this is a huge worm ready to bring the end of the world as we know it.
With references to Deep Blue, and a wink and a nudge towards Microsoft, Wyrm shows just how vulnerable we are with our dependencies on computers.
Besides all that, it's a great read with likeable characters and an excellent plot.
Rating:
Summary: Cyber Thriller Par Excellence
Review: Last Sunday I read a surprisingly entertaining book by Mark Fabi titled WYRM. Possible the best way to describe it would be as a cyber-thriller, but it has far more elements than that. With the expected artificial intelligence, Internet and technology references, there is also a strong smattering of fantasy role-playing, Lewis Carroll, Monty Python and a plethora of modern cultural references. WRYM is the story of Michael Arcangelo, a computer-virus hunter. While checking into a possible virus at a chess tournament, Michael is first exposed to a virus of unheard of proportions. An Internet-wide virus is out there and it may have developed intelligence. It may also have bought into the idea that the Millennium will bring about the end of the world. Michael assembles a crack team of programmers, cyber-theorists and technicians to try and stop the virus Wrym from causing a global disaster. Through role-playing and some other techniques they draw nearer to the heart of the problem until a final all-out war involving the global hacker community ensues while Michael tries to make the final move toward victory. I only had two minor problems with this book. One, Fabi does not know where the term bug came from. Secondly, I wonder at the wisdom of including a character referred to as Al in a story that uses the term AI as heavily as this one does. Other than that, this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. The book lures the reader in quite subtly. I didn't really realize it until two-hundred pages had gone by. The next thing I knew, I was four-hundred pages further along and the book was ending. This book makes so many references and in-jokes that it could almost be considered a SILVERLOCK for the computer generation. But even if you do not recognize every Python reference, recognize every famous programer or catch all of the other cultural and scientific references, you will still be able to enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Cyber Thriller Par Excellence
Review: Last Sunday I read a surprisingly entertaining book by Mark Fabi titled WYRM. Possible the best way to describe it would be as a cyber-thriller, but it has far more elements than that. With the expected artificial intelligence, Internet and technology references, there is also a strong smattering of fantasy role-playing, Lewis Carroll, Monty Python and a plethora of modern cultural references. WRYM is the story of Michael Arcangelo, a computer-virus hunter. While checking into a possible virus at a chess tournament, Michael is first exposed to a virus of unheard of proportions. An Internet-wide virus is out there and it may have developed intelligence. It may also have bought into the idea that the Millennium will bring about the end of the world. Michael assembles a crack team of programmers, cyber-theorists and technicians to try and stop the virus Wrym from causing a global disaster. Through role-playing and some other techniques they draw nearer to the heart of the problem until a final all-out war involving the global hacker community ensues while Michael tries to make the final move toward victory. I only had two minor problems with this book. One, Fabi does not know where the term bug came from. Secondly, I wonder at the wisdom of including a character referred to as Al in a story that uses the term AI as heavily as this one does. Other than that, this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. The book lures the reader in quite subtly. I didn't really realize it until two-hundred pages had gone by. The next thing I knew, I was four-hundred pages further along and the book was ending. This book makes so many references and in-jokes that it could almost be considered a SILVERLOCK for the computer generation. But even if you do not recognize every Python reference, recognize every famous programer or catch all of the other cultural and scientific references, you will still be able to enjoy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Wyrm is hyrrid...
Review: I read the online reviews and bought the book. Any book favorably compared to "Snow Crash" and "Neuromancer" has to be good, right? Sadly, I should have checked the ages of the reviewers. This book lacks everything that makes Neal Stephenson and William Gibson good sci-fi writers. While the plot is mildly interesting (but done better in any number of recent books), the style is flat and dull. The characters are so contrived as to be beyond belief. It's as if Fabi has tried to create "super-nerds" for fellow nerds to idolize. An extremely disappointing read. Please do not buy this book! It only encourages publishers to continue releasing this drivel.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Evil Is A Virus
Review: Armageddon is coming in the form of a computer virus. Set in 1999, WYRM is about a virus hunter named Michael Archangelo who discovers a radical new virus while investigating a computer built to play chess. The plot thickens when Archangelo discovers the virus is more than just a virus; it's an artificial intelligence intending to inflict destruction at the beginning of the new millennium.
The story is the standard "band of good guys take on ultimate bad guy" formula, but it is a very entertaining story that handles the formula well. It switches between events that take place in the real world and in a role-playing game. There is a heavy emphasis on computers, MUDs, and viruses, but Mark Fabi makes sure he doesn't lose any readers along the way. The story flows smoothly and Fabi takes the time to explain the technology and computer jargon used in the novel, so readers who aren't very knowledgeable of computers won't get lost. WYRM doesn't break new ground in the genre. The issues brought up in the book could also be found in more detail in William Gibson's Neuromancer or Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. WYRM is by no means a bad book. It is a very entertaining story that pleases from the very beginning to the end.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for all Technojunkies, but be Warned!!!
Review: The title and cover art caught my eye initially, having never heard of Mark Fabi. The wyrm is a central theme expressed many times over in various forms. The story isn't only for compter nerds; I pride myself on knowing only enough about computers to write papers and use the Web, and it didn't detract from the book. The fantasy aspect becomes engrossing, so much so that when it switches back to high-tech it sometimes threw me for a moment. There are surprises here and there, and a happy ending, which can be expected in the Millenium-scare genre. Overall, I'm glad I own this book and I'll be rereading it every few years. (Oh, and eventually I'll photocopy the crossword and see if I can do it myself...)
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