In the book following The Wilkes Insurrection, Bach shows the reader what goes on behind your back online, what the media does not tell you, and what gets distorted on social media.
Difference
In The Wilkes Insurrection I struggled. The topic was too close for comfort. This one is too. Bach weaved into his story the January 6 Insurrection and other current events.
The difference is that this time, the characters’ interactions, relationships, and human weaknesses are better described. We also see characters from the previous book returning.
The Story
The story starts on January 3, 2023. We are in San Mateo, San Francisco, California, where Phoenix Humboldt goes to Aragon High School. She is the daughter of Johnny Humboldt, a tech CEO now political strategist. He is divorced from Margaret. After the divorce, Margaret lives alone with Phoenix and Nathan.
The day would have been an ordinary day in school. However, when Phoenix is in the courtyard shots are fired from the school roof. Wanting to shield her friends, she jumps in front of them and gets hit.
San Mateo Police assisted by other law enforcement agencies secure the area and inspect the roof. Something is off. Was this shooting done by a student for an as-of-yet unknown reason or by someone else? The problem is that with the many shots fired only one person got hit, Phoenix. Could this have been a murder attempt? But why? Maybe the cause is her father dating US Senator and decorated Air Force Veteran Tamika Smith.
Tamika Smith
Smith has been receiving threatening emails. She either does as she is told or her actions will be made public. The sender refers to her service in the Air Force and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, then Lieutenant Smith rescued a co-pilot from a downed Pave Hawk. She left behind to die, the pilot and the man who raped her, Air Force Captain Derrick Tomlinson. The rape was never reported but she had described it in a letter to her brother.
Watching over Tamika and following her on the web, is an old friend. Bryce Roscovitch, a renowned hacker we met in the Wilkes Insurrection, has the bird’s eye view on the school shooting and indeed, something is off.
A professional would have hit Phoenix with one shot and would not need a military grade weapon. So why the many shots? Bryce digs deeper. By hacking into people’s home security systems, ATMs, and other cameras, he finds an interesting person walking through the suburbs.
That same person then kidnaps Johnny Humboldt pretending to be FBI escorting him to his wounded daughter. This story line leads to Europe where the school shooter and kidnapper is plotting their next step.
Money and power
Also plotting are venture capitalists Lee Bowen and business partner Ely Basof. Rich beyond your wildest dreams, each is eager to gain more, and willing to do whatever it takes. The plan? Disrupt the financial institutions of America, crash the stock markets, then buy to get control. But that is not all. When you know how to set up an organization on the web that allows members to form groups that can be sent out on missions, the chaos is complete.
To make sense of everything that is happening, FBI Deputy Director Jerry “JJ” Jessup teams up with Bryce Roscovitch and one other hacker. That collaboration leads to a plot unfolding fast.
Critique
The storyline is cleverly put together but by explaining all the used techniques and the political lectures, the reader is ahead of the characters. We know where it is going but have to wait for the characters to catch up. Also, I would rather have a heated debate, even a shouting match between characters than a well-spoken narrator.
Take away
The characters in this story have more depth than in Bach’s previous book. The effects of divorce on the children and getting used to your parents dating new people, is well done.
The pace fluctuates. It flows well but some discussions do not feel like dialogues. They are the message Bach wants us to understand. That is his choice.
The ending of the book is in line with the style of Bach’s previous book. Unfortunately, it takes power away from the momentum he had so carefully built up. When you read it, you will see what I mean.
Bach left a few story threads hanging so we may see our characters again in another book. I am curious if Fawkes will be one of them. If you like to read about technology, finances, hackers and their working methods, but most of all, how characters realize what they mean to each other, this is for you.
The Blockchain Syndicate by Robbie Bach comes out October 21, 2015.
Note
I received an Advance Reader’s Copy from Fauzia Burke, President at FSB Associates, in exchange for an honest review. My other book reviews are here.