Books Reviews

Brainjack – Book Review

By Angela Youngman Feb 7, 2011, 16:40 GMT

The next war starts in cyberspace. This is a thrilling action novel set in the not-too-distant future in which a brilliant young computer hacker fights to prevent the human race from being erased. It would take a very special person to crack the computer systems of the White House. An expert. A genius. A devil. All of the above, some would say. Someone like Sam Wilson, brilliant teenage computer hacker. ...more

Sam Wilson is a teenage computer hacker.  His aim is to hack the White House but in doing so, he lets loose a dangerous virus which infects millions of people. It is cybercrime with a difference - computers steal people's brains and turn them into attackers.

Logging onto a computer can mean the difference between life or death. Ultimately it leaves the world on the verge of war.  For Sam and his friends the only answer is to escape and seek sanctuary in a highly defended place while they seek to release an antidote to the virus.  A mad chase across America results. 

For Sam, it becomes a question of how far he is prepared to go in destroying the virus - how much is he willing to give up?  Quite a long read, and you do need some knowledge of computers in order to make sense of it.  Well paced, very detailed and it will certainly appeal to cyberkids of today. 

This is a book which demands concentration to read, it is not one you can pick and put down at intervals.