Brain Jack
by Brian Falkner
Random House, 2009
349 pages
From the ominous opening pages, Brain Jack delivers as a rocket paced cyber thriller. The prologue creates a sense of urgency and despair about the Internet's grip on our lives. Anywhere there's a network, cyber thieves can steal information, and not just information but even human thoughts. Technology has evolved and cyber gamers are using headsets instead of keyboards to control their computers. People are becoming addicted to gaming and losing control of reality.
When teen cyber hacker and uber-geek Sam Wilson hijacks into a telecommunications company, he gets busted by national security who locks him up. It doesn't take him long to escape, but then he realizes he has been set up; the government hires him to bring down other hackers like himself.
As Sam works with his super secret team, they realize they are up against a threat not just to national security but to human life and human thought itself. An entity has begun that is too powerful to stop. This cyber-presence is everywhere and all-powerful; it reacts before the human team can. What is it that they are up against?
When a computer can be smarter than Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey and a society can be more frightening than A Clockwork Orange, humanity is in trouble. Brain Jack is well-written, deftly and superbly told unraveling at a break-neck pace and will have readers turning the pages late into the night. This chilling tale will resonate with readers who like technology, computers, and thrillers.
Highly, highly recommended grades 7-up.
FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my library. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.
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