What do you think?
Rate this book
Zer0es #1
Zeroes
Five hackers—an Anonymous-style rabble-rouser, an Arab Spring hacktivist, a black-hat hacker, an old-school cipherpunk, and an online troll—are detained by the U.S. government, forced to work as white-hat hackers for Uncle Sam in order to avoid federal prison. At a secret complex known only as "the Lodge," where they will spend the next year working as an elite cyber-espionage team, these misfits dub themselves "the Zeroes."
But once the Zeroes begin to work, they uncover secrets that would make even the most dedicated conspiracy theorist's head spin. And soon they're not just trying to serve their time, they're also trying to perform the ultimate hack: burrowing deep into the U.S. government from the inside, and hoping they'll get out alive. Packed with electric wit and breakneck plot twists, Zer0es is an unforgettable thrill ride through the seedy underbelly of "progress."
But once the Zeroes begin to work, they uncover secrets that would make even the most dedicated conspiracy theorist's head spin. And soon they're not just trying to serve their time, they're also trying to perform the ultimate hack: burrowing deep into the U.S. government from the inside, and hoping they'll get out alive. Packed with electric wit and breakneck plot twists, Zer0es is an unforgettable thrill ride through the seedy underbelly of "progress."
432 pages, Hardcover
First published August 18, 2015
530 people are currently reading
7,788 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Wendig
183books6,681followersChuck Wendig is a novelist, a screenwriter, and a freelance penmonkey.
He has contributed over two million words to the roleplaying game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP).
He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is a fellow of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter's Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, will show at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producer Ted Hope.
Chuck's novel Double Dead will be out in November, 2011.
He's written too much. He should probably stop. Give him a wide berth, as he might be drunk and untrustworthy. He currently lives in the wilds of Pennsyltucky with a wonderful wife and two very stupid dogs. He is represented by Stacia Decker of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
You can find him at his website, terribleminds.com.
He has contributed over two million words to the roleplaying game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP).
He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is a fellow of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter's Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, will show at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producer Ted Hope.
Chuck's novel Double Dead will be out in November, 2011.
He's written too much. He should probably stop. Give him a wide berth, as he might be drunk and untrustworthy. He currently lives in the wilds of Pennsyltucky with a wonderful wife and two very stupid dogs. He is represented by Stacia Decker of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
You can find him at his website, terribleminds.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 776 reviews
July 10, 2019
Review originally posted on
In Chuck Wendig’s techno-thriller novel Zer0es, five hackers � some highly skilled, some not so skilled � are not-so-innocently going about their daily business when they are unpleasantly interrupted by a tall African-American man who introduces himself as Hollis Copper or (in one case) “Mr. Government.� This motley crew of five consists of Chance, an aspiring Anonymous-style hacker who’s more con man than computer whiz; DeAndre, a talented hacker who specialized in stealing credit card data; Aleena, an Arab Spring hacktivist; Reagan, an unhappy and vindictive Internet troll; and 63-year-old Wade, a grizzled conspiracy nut and cipherpunk who collects classified information and deeply distrusts the government.
Hollis whisks his five hackers away, less than voluntarily, to an unknown location, where he makes a pitch to each of them: work for the government for one year on a top secret project, or take their chances with all the criminal charges and blackmail the government can bring down on their heads. The hackers all agree, with varying degrees of reluctance, ranging from DeAndre’s “F� you� to Reagan’s surprising response:
Zer0es is a gripping suspense novel that kept me up far too late into the night, unable to put the novel away until I finished it. Unfortunately, a little too much of its plot is derivative, from the unwilling group of misfits being molded into a team, to the artificial intelligence that spreads through all Internet-linked systems � a staple SF plotline that harks back to John Varley’s 1984 Hugo and Nebula award winning novella “Press Enter■� and even earlier SF works. There is perhaps an over-reliance on profane humor and snarkiness in the story, although Wendig’s many fans will undoubtedly be pleased. And not all of the subplots were explained sufficiently to be satisfying; some of them were literary dead-ends that came back to needle me when I recovered from the initial rush and started to analyze the plot.
Despite these drawbacks, this is undeniably an exciting and compelling thriller. Chuck Wendig skillfully assembles a large cast of main characters and manages to make all of them varied and interesting, an impressive accomplishment where there are so many point of view changes. Characters aren’t always what they first appear to be, but their development remains believable and grounded in realism. Zer0es includes fascinating and detailed descriptions about different types and styles of hacking, the rules of the hacking world, and the personalities of different hackers, shedding light on a part of society that will be unfamiliar to many readers.
There are also some unexpected and creative twists and turns to the story, including a ghoulish, robot-like character called the Compiler who periodically haunts the pages of the novel, becoming more and more of a presence in the plot until his true role becomes appallingly clear, and the overarching mystery of Typhon. On the second page of Zer0es, an interrogator asks Chance a question:
What Zer0es lacks in depth and originality, it makes up for in excitement and humor, enough to earn a place on the shelf for readers who enjoy techno-thrillers with an element of horror.
Content advisory: Lots of F-bombs and crude talk, violence, horror.
In Chuck Wendig’s techno-thriller novel Zer0es, five hackers � some highly skilled, some not so skilled � are not-so-innocently going about their daily business when they are unpleasantly interrupted by a tall African-American man who introduces himself as Hollis Copper or (in one case) “Mr. Government.� This motley crew of five consists of Chance, an aspiring Anonymous-style hacker who’s more con man than computer whiz; DeAndre, a talented hacker who specialized in stealing credit card data; Aleena, an Arab Spring hacktivist; Reagan, an unhappy and vindictive Internet troll; and 63-year-old Wade, a grizzled conspiracy nut and cipherpunk who collects classified information and deeply distrusts the government.
Hollis whisks his five hackers away, less than voluntarily, to an unknown location, where he makes a pitch to each of them: work for the government for one year on a top secret project, or take their chances with all the criminal charges and blackmail the government can bring down on their heads. The hackers all agree, with varying degrees of reluctance, ranging from DeAndre’s “F� you� to Reagan’s surprising response:
I quit my job a few weeks ago. I hate my apartment. I hate my town. I have a cat somewhere, and I hate that cat. He’s weird. He reminds me of Gollum. Piss on my old life. I’m in.The five are sent to a remote location called the Lodge, where they join other groups of hackers in working on off-the-books cyber-espionage projects. With so many hackers cooped together in one location, rules are bound to get broken. And the consequences of their actions are impossible to foresee, and far more dangerous and terrifying than any of them imagined.
Zer0es is a gripping suspense novel that kept me up far too late into the night, unable to put the novel away until I finished it. Unfortunately, a little too much of its plot is derivative, from the unwilling group of misfits being molded into a team, to the artificial intelligence that spreads through all Internet-linked systems � a staple SF plotline that harks back to John Varley’s 1984 Hugo and Nebula award winning novella “Press Enter■� and even earlier SF works. There is perhaps an over-reliance on profane humor and snarkiness in the story, although Wendig’s many fans will undoubtedly be pleased. And not all of the subplots were explained sufficiently to be satisfying; some of them were literary dead-ends that came back to needle me when I recovered from the initial rush and started to analyze the plot.
Despite these drawbacks, this is undeniably an exciting and compelling thriller. Chuck Wendig skillfully assembles a large cast of main characters and manages to make all of them varied and interesting, an impressive accomplishment where there are so many point of view changes. Characters aren’t always what they first appear to be, but their development remains believable and grounded in realism. Zer0es includes fascinating and detailed descriptions about different types and styles of hacking, the rules of the hacking world, and the personalities of different hackers, shedding light on a part of society that will be unfamiliar to many readers.
There are also some unexpected and creative twists and turns to the story, including a ghoulish, robot-like character called the Compiler who periodically haunts the pages of the novel, becoming more and more of a presence in the plot until his true role becomes appallingly clear, and the overarching mystery of Typhon. On the second page of Zer0es, an interrogator asks Chance a question:
“How did you stop Typhon?�This question haunts the pages of this novel, disturbing until the end� and perhaps beyond.
Now Chance laughs. A ragged, raspy sound. “Who says we stopped it?�
What Zer0es lacks in depth and originality, it makes up for in excitement and humor, enough to earn a place on the shelf for readers who enjoy techno-thrillers with an element of horror.
Content advisory: Lots of F-bombs and crude talk, violence, horror.
April 26, 2016
3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum
Readers are taken on a wild ride through the dark side of the internet in what might be Chuck Wendig’s most ambitious novel to date. Exploring the world of hackers, cybercrime and artificial intelligence, Zer0es is a sci-fi thriller featuring the largest cast he’s ever written, as well as a scope that spans the entire nation. As a fan of the author, I knew I had to check this one out as soon as I learned about it, and by the by, I also found reading it to be an enlightening experience given how different it is from his past work I’ve enjoyed. It was easy to spot areas where Wendig played to his strengths and conversely those areas where he may have been out of his comfort zone. Any way you look at it though, this was an interesting one.
Zer0es basically makes for fabulous popcorn entertainment, like a summer Hollywood blockbuster in book form. In fact, as strange as it sounds, all I could think about was the movie Now You See Me as I was making my way through the first handful of chapters � not that the film bears any similarity to the book’s story at all, other than the fact both feature a group of extremely talented individuals (in NYSM, street magicians; in Zer0es, hackers…though to a computer programming and coding noob like me, hacking might as well be magic) who are brought together by a mysterious benefactor. No, what struck me was the similar tone of both movie and novel, exuding a vibe meant to provide both fun and entertainment to the consumer experience. You know those kind of stories.
Still, what I really want to talk about in this review are the characters. This group of five hackers calling themselves “the Zeroes� � Chance, Reagan, Aleena, DeAndre and Wade � held the key to my experience of this book, and were often at the center of what I loved and what I didn’t love about it. In a general sense, the type of Hollywood blockbuster energy that came off the story wasn’t so very different from what I got off of the characters either � to a one, they were intelligent, charismatic and witty, delivering line after line of cleverly constructed dialogue like they were all reading off a written script. Wendig is a master of dialogue writing after all, and he has a very distinct and droll sense of humor that’s unmistakable when you see it; it is this talent of his that made me fall in love with his protagonists Miriam Black or Mookie Pearl in their respective urban fantasy series.
In a book like Zer0es though, I think the biggest challenge was to make each of the five hacker main characters stand out, and the results came out mixed. Wendig crafts very compelling characters, and I can’t deny that all of them are memorable and unique in their own way. At the same time though, Zer0es is probably also the most “mainstream� book I feel the author has ever written, complete with an improbable yet wildly enjoyable premise that’s heavy on the edge-of-your-seat action and suspense. In keeping with this, the characters also have a very “Hollywood-movie-like� feel to them, despite efforts to give them convincing backgrounds and personalities. In many ways, they remain as archetypal as the hacker roles they are pigeonholed into � the bombastic no-filter-between-her-brain-and-her mouth Reagan is of course the professional online troll, for example, and the libertarian hippie gun-loving conspiracy theorist Wade is naturally the aging cipherpunk who still prefers to do things the “old-school way�.
Still, while the characters may be thinly-written, they were still a lot of fun to read about. The five of them have mass audience appeal, perhaps precisely because they play to reader expectations. Of course, the downside of clichés is that it also makes it harder to care about the characters. I readily admit to having trouble engaging with any of them at the start, which was absolutely not helped by the fact all of them came off as arrogant, snarky snobs who were too smart for their own good (but like I was saying, when you’re playing to the hacker stereotype, all that is most likely by design). Of all of them, Reagan was especially off-putting (again, by design) and I never grew to like her, though by the end of the book I did develop a soft spot for Wade, partly because he showed the most leadership but also mainly because he’s someone very different from a lot of Chuck Wendig’s other characters. This is the first time I’ve seen him juggle this many characters in a novel, and even though the balance wasn’t perfect, there was an undeniable thrill to reading all the different POVs.
Then there was the story. For a novel of this length, I blew through it relatively quickly. Like Wendig’s other books, the prose was smooth, easy to read, and the narrative was extremely addictive. As someone who knows completely zip about hackers and hacking, I was thoroughly captivated by the premise, though someone with greater knowledge in networks and cyber-security might find it overly simplistic. Regardless of who you are though, some suspension of disbelief is most definitely required especially once we move into the second half of the novel and the plot starts getting involved in some really insane and out-there theories. But hey, isn’t that what I signed up for? Hollywood blockbuster, remember.
All in all, while Zer0es probably isn’t my favorite book by Chuck Wendig (that distinction still belongs to The Cormorant, third book of his Miriam Black series) I still feel that it’s a bold move in the right direction. It’s always exciting to see one of my favorite authors do something different, and this was an unexpected delight indeed. Well played, Mr. Wendig. I hope to see more of the Zeroes in the future.
Readers are taken on a wild ride through the dark side of the internet in what might be Chuck Wendig’s most ambitious novel to date. Exploring the world of hackers, cybercrime and artificial intelligence, Zer0es is a sci-fi thriller featuring the largest cast he’s ever written, as well as a scope that spans the entire nation. As a fan of the author, I knew I had to check this one out as soon as I learned about it, and by the by, I also found reading it to be an enlightening experience given how different it is from his past work I’ve enjoyed. It was easy to spot areas where Wendig played to his strengths and conversely those areas where he may have been out of his comfort zone. Any way you look at it though, this was an interesting one.
Zer0es basically makes for fabulous popcorn entertainment, like a summer Hollywood blockbuster in book form. In fact, as strange as it sounds, all I could think about was the movie Now You See Me as I was making my way through the first handful of chapters � not that the film bears any similarity to the book’s story at all, other than the fact both feature a group of extremely talented individuals (in NYSM, street magicians; in Zer0es, hackers…though to a computer programming and coding noob like me, hacking might as well be magic) who are brought together by a mysterious benefactor. No, what struck me was the similar tone of both movie and novel, exuding a vibe meant to provide both fun and entertainment to the consumer experience. You know those kind of stories.
Still, what I really want to talk about in this review are the characters. This group of five hackers calling themselves “the Zeroes� � Chance, Reagan, Aleena, DeAndre and Wade � held the key to my experience of this book, and were often at the center of what I loved and what I didn’t love about it. In a general sense, the type of Hollywood blockbuster energy that came off the story wasn’t so very different from what I got off of the characters either � to a one, they were intelligent, charismatic and witty, delivering line after line of cleverly constructed dialogue like they were all reading off a written script. Wendig is a master of dialogue writing after all, and he has a very distinct and droll sense of humor that’s unmistakable when you see it; it is this talent of his that made me fall in love with his protagonists Miriam Black or Mookie Pearl in their respective urban fantasy series.
In a book like Zer0es though, I think the biggest challenge was to make each of the five hacker main characters stand out, and the results came out mixed. Wendig crafts very compelling characters, and I can’t deny that all of them are memorable and unique in their own way. At the same time though, Zer0es is probably also the most “mainstream� book I feel the author has ever written, complete with an improbable yet wildly enjoyable premise that’s heavy on the edge-of-your-seat action and suspense. In keeping with this, the characters also have a very “Hollywood-movie-like� feel to them, despite efforts to give them convincing backgrounds and personalities. In many ways, they remain as archetypal as the hacker roles they are pigeonholed into � the bombastic no-filter-between-her-brain-and-her mouth Reagan is of course the professional online troll, for example, and the libertarian hippie gun-loving conspiracy theorist Wade is naturally the aging cipherpunk who still prefers to do things the “old-school way�.
Still, while the characters may be thinly-written, they were still a lot of fun to read about. The five of them have mass audience appeal, perhaps precisely because they play to reader expectations. Of course, the downside of clichés is that it also makes it harder to care about the characters. I readily admit to having trouble engaging with any of them at the start, which was absolutely not helped by the fact all of them came off as arrogant, snarky snobs who were too smart for their own good (but like I was saying, when you’re playing to the hacker stereotype, all that is most likely by design). Of all of them, Reagan was especially off-putting (again, by design) and I never grew to like her, though by the end of the book I did develop a soft spot for Wade, partly because he showed the most leadership but also mainly because he’s someone very different from a lot of Chuck Wendig’s other characters. This is the first time I’ve seen him juggle this many characters in a novel, and even though the balance wasn’t perfect, there was an undeniable thrill to reading all the different POVs.
Then there was the story. For a novel of this length, I blew through it relatively quickly. Like Wendig’s other books, the prose was smooth, easy to read, and the narrative was extremely addictive. As someone who knows completely zip about hackers and hacking, I was thoroughly captivated by the premise, though someone with greater knowledge in networks and cyber-security might find it overly simplistic. Regardless of who you are though, some suspension of disbelief is most definitely required especially once we move into the second half of the novel and the plot starts getting involved in some really insane and out-there theories. But hey, isn’t that what I signed up for? Hollywood blockbuster, remember.
All in all, while Zer0es probably isn’t my favorite book by Chuck Wendig (that distinction still belongs to The Cormorant, third book of his Miriam Black series) I still feel that it’s a bold move in the right direction. It’s always exciting to see one of my favorite authors do something different, and this was an unexpected delight indeed. Well played, Mr. Wendig. I hope to see more of the Zeroes in the future.
July 15, 2016
"The Kardashians are hot."
"They're not. Okay, Kim's kinda hot.
But that one sister looks like a shaved Wookiee.
She's basically a giant thumb with a wig."
Five hackers—an Anonymous-style rabble-rouser, an Arab Spring hacktivist, a black-hat hacker, an old-school cipherpunk, and an online troll—are detained by the U.S Government and given two options: spend time in jail, or work for them over the next year. The group are thrown together and it's a clash of personalities, but as they work to complete tasks, they soon begin to uncover dirt on a secret and unsanctioned Government project. But when all hell breaks loose, the Zeroes must work together to right the wrongs made and save the country from a deadly threat.
RATING: 4/5
Zer0es by Chuck Wendig is incredibly gripping! The 'Zeroes' consists of Chance, a wannabe Anonymous-style hacker who's better at hacking people than the digital; DeAndre, specializing in skimming credit cards; Aleena, an Arab Spring hacktivist; Reagan, a vindictive and sarcastic Internet troll; and Wade, a 63-year-old conspiracist and cipherpunk with a deep distrust for the government.
At the start of the book, the characters are set up in a way to highlight such differing personalities. We get to see each character in their own element and lives prior to being taken in by the government. Sometimes when you read a book with different point of views and multiple main characters, their voices tend to blend and the character can become lost, but this wasn't the case with this book.
This book is a great mix and this has a lot to do with the characters providing their own mark such as Reagan with her vulgar and nasty attitude against Aleena's more subdued nature. With most of them, their personalities are also reflected within their hacking specialization which was a nice little touch.
The overall concept of the book was very intriguing. If you're a fan of anything sci-fi or cyber, this is certainly a book you'll enjoy. At first the book comes across as somewhat realistic with the hackers going about their normal lives and then hacking away together. But as the book progresses, you begin to learn more about what exactly is going on, and then the sci-fi elements come into play. It went off far beyond where I believed it was heading with holes in the back of skulls and a zombie-esque vibe, but it didn't deter me from reading, it only made me more compelled.
Usually when reading altering POV's, it can become a little jarring and affect you fully immersing into the book, but this time it seemed like it was more compelling. Perhaps this could be because the book was very action-packed as it is a 'thriller' and the continual adventure unfolding helped to keep a nice flow. The only dislike about the differing sections was the prologue and epilogue as it just fell a little flat, especially the epilogue—standalone books with a cliffhanger, no thanks.
But throughout the entirety of the book, everything was very visual and it would potentially make a great film. Even if you're not sure you will like it, read it just for Reagan, everything she says despite it being so inappropriate is so utterly wonderful. Be warned though, this book is a little crude with violence and some explicit talk. But nonetheless, this book was very enjoyable and other books by Mr Wendig will be definitely added to an overgrowing TBR!
February 5, 2016
Phenomenal!
To be fair, I'd buy cereal for the box if Chuck Wendig wrote the Nutritional Information.
To me, when he puts the words on the paper, he can do no wrong and I believe the far-fetched, yet oddly believable narrative spun in Zer0es is a spot-on example of this.
Just...wow!
To be fair, I'd buy cereal for the box if Chuck Wendig wrote the Nutritional Information.
To me, when he puts the words on the paper, he can do no wrong and I believe the far-fetched, yet oddly believable narrative spun in Zer0es is a spot-on example of this.
Just...wow!
November 7, 2018
Well, this has elements of different novels that I like more than this one, but I'm always up for a nanotech or hacker romp. Why not both! I liked the audiobook narrator well enough, and he was great at 1.5x speed.
June 3, 2017
It's difficult to put into words how bloody brilliant this book was! I loved the Miriam Black series and thought it was impossible to beat its greatness but I'm pretty sure Zeroes did that and more! It was just so stunningly intricate and my mind is still reeling from everything that happened!
While it was mildly confusing at first having to deal with the many different characters and POVs, I quickly became absorbed by the story and fell in love with each character and their quirks. And let me tell you, this is definitely a wildly quirky bunch of hackers! I love that they're each so different but in the end they come together to beat back their common enemy, Typhon.
I loved the whole idea of Typhon and the artificial intelligence/sci-fi aspect of this book, it was wildly entertaining but also slightly terrifying at the same time. Terrifying mostly because we've all imagined robots taking over the world and this was an all too plausible imagining of that!
I could go on and on about how freaking fantastic this book was but I'm going to stop it here and just urge you all to pick it up for yourselves! Seriously guys, it's like Illuminae by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff for adults AND on killer steroids!
Also, I'm kicking myself for not having ordered the second book in time for it to arrive before I finished this one because I'm dying to see what this bunch of hackers will get up to next!
While it was mildly confusing at first having to deal with the many different characters and POVs, I quickly became absorbed by the story and fell in love with each character and their quirks. And let me tell you, this is definitely a wildly quirky bunch of hackers! I love that they're each so different but in the end they come together to beat back their common enemy, Typhon.
I loved the whole idea of Typhon and the artificial intelligence/sci-fi aspect of this book, it was wildly entertaining but also slightly terrifying at the same time. Terrifying mostly because we've all imagined robots taking over the world and this was an all too plausible imagining of that!
I could go on and on about how freaking fantastic this book was but I'm going to stop it here and just urge you all to pick it up for yourselves! Seriously guys, it's like Illuminae by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff for adults AND on killer steroids!
Also, I'm kicking myself for not having ordered the second book in time for it to arrive before I finished this one because I'm dying to see what this bunch of hackers will get up to next!
August 18, 2015
Full Review at Tenacious Reader:
I expect I may have some unpopular opinions on this .
Actual rating for me is a 2.5.
I have a strong regard for Wendig and his other books, so I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, there’s no way around it: I was disappointed. I wanted to love or at least really like this book and felt like I hit obstacle after obstacle. Some of my complaints are more minor, but they cumulate to an overall less than positive reaction to the book. I hate writing negative reviews and it turns out I like it even less for an author I have enjoyed in the past. So, if you have not read Wendig before, please don’t let this negative review discourage you from his other books. And I will admit, I may be a minority opinion on this, so I encourage you to read other reviews and see what other readers have to say about it.
Getting many perspectives in a book can provide benefit for the reader as we get a wider view of what is going on. But I also think it is something that can go wrong quickly if not done well. I want my characters to be individuals, to have personalities and substance. What I feel happened in this book is Wendig tried to cover too many characters, bouncing between them and leaving the reader without that connection we need to relate to them. He featured a wonderfully diverse cast, but without real depth to any of them it started to almost feel like a checklist of stereotypes. And in all fairness, I don’t want to say I think Wendig is trying to perpetuate stereotypes, much of the humor in the book I think was actually trying to dispel stereotypes. But, I still felt like these characters were defined by the traits that could make them stereotypes because there just was not enough else to them.
So, past the characters, lets talk a bit about plot.
A mysterious project? Lots of hacker types? Yeah, I’m in. Let’s do this. And in the beginning, I was quite intrigued. I do think the concept of this book is good, and I think there’s a good story in there. But unfortunately it quit working for me about half way through the book. I have admitted before, I often don’t do well with “weird�. Some books wave their weirdness flag from the beginning and I know what I’m getting into and adjust my expectations, or at least prepare myself. Others gradually ease you into it letting some of us that have a lower tolerance gradually get there bit by bit, adjusting to it as the story progresses as we don’t have to take it all in at once. This one? It comes on full force in the second half and just kind of slaps you in the face. I just wasn’t prepared. Perhaps looking back I should have been, but some of the scenes and turns in this book just left me thinking “WTF? Really?� And not in a good way. Once again, I think my lack of connection to the characters made this harder for me.
I do expect I’ll likely be a minority opinion on this, and I encourage people to consider other reviews before writing this one of completely, but I had to share my honest reaction and this is what it came to. For me, I will likely stick to Wendig’s books that have a smaller cast, where I get a stronger connection to just one or two characters.
I expect I may have some unpopular opinions on this .
Actual rating for me is a 2.5.
I have a strong regard for Wendig and his other books, so I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, there’s no way around it: I was disappointed. I wanted to love or at least really like this book and felt like I hit obstacle after obstacle. Some of my complaints are more minor, but they cumulate to an overall less than positive reaction to the book. I hate writing negative reviews and it turns out I like it even less for an author I have enjoyed in the past. So, if you have not read Wendig before, please don’t let this negative review discourage you from his other books. And I will admit, I may be a minority opinion on this, so I encourage you to read other reviews and see what other readers have to say about it.
Getting many perspectives in a book can provide benefit for the reader as we get a wider view of what is going on. But I also think it is something that can go wrong quickly if not done well. I want my characters to be individuals, to have personalities and substance. What I feel happened in this book is Wendig tried to cover too many characters, bouncing between them and leaving the reader without that connection we need to relate to them. He featured a wonderfully diverse cast, but without real depth to any of them it started to almost feel like a checklist of stereotypes. And in all fairness, I don’t want to say I think Wendig is trying to perpetuate stereotypes, much of the humor in the book I think was actually trying to dispel stereotypes. But, I still felt like these characters were defined by the traits that could make them stereotypes because there just was not enough else to them.
So, past the characters, lets talk a bit about plot.
A mysterious project? Lots of hacker types? Yeah, I’m in. Let’s do this. And in the beginning, I was quite intrigued. I do think the concept of this book is good, and I think there’s a good story in there. But unfortunately it quit working for me about half way through the book. I have admitted before, I often don’t do well with “weird�. Some books wave their weirdness flag from the beginning and I know what I’m getting into and adjust my expectations, or at least prepare myself. Others gradually ease you into it letting some of us that have a lower tolerance gradually get there bit by bit, adjusting to it as the story progresses as we don’t have to take it all in at once. This one? It comes on full force in the second half and just kind of slaps you in the face. I just wasn’t prepared. Perhaps looking back I should have been, but some of the scenes and turns in this book just left me thinking “WTF? Really?� And not in a good way. Once again, I think my lack of connection to the characters made this harder for me.
I do expect I’ll likely be a minority opinion on this, and I encourage people to consider other reviews before writing this one of completely, but I had to share my honest reaction and this is what it came to. For me, I will likely stick to Wendig’s books that have a smaller cast, where I get a stronger connection to just one or two characters.
January 17, 2020
"Naw. I'm no Boy Scout. Boy Scout does the right thing because it's the right thing. I dug a hole with an ugly shovel and now I'm trying to fill it in with good dirt."
Jesus Crispy Pork Cracklings Christ, this was wicked entertaining!
Zer0es is Chuck Wendig's cyberpunk exploration into artificial intelligence and hackers. It follows a diverse crew of hackers, trolls, cypherpunks and credit card scammers who have been sentenced to jail time for the crimes they have committed online. This ragtag group are brought together when they are hired by a shady US government agency for a secret project. The ultimatum? Either do hard time for their offences or spend a year living in an isolated location called "The Lodge" and working on various missions, both as individuals and as a pod (team) of hackers.
I'll give you one guess as to which deal they end up taking.
The Zer0es - Aleena, Wade, Reagan, DeAndre and Chance - find themselves hacking into high-level security systems from all over. Websites that seemingly have no relation to one another. That is, until the team discovers just what type of sinister project it is that they are truly working on.
“Maybe that’s the problem with generations. You start to forget what it was like when you were like them, so they become your enemy and you become theirs and nobody understands each other. Then you die and they become you and finally, finally they understand, but by then it’s too late.�
I went through a hacker phase back in the day. Not that I actually, you know, hacked anything. I just found the hacker culture fascinating, being the millennial that I am! One of my all-time favorite movies is Hackers and Zer0es certainly leans heavily on those vibes, yet seemingly draws some inspiration from The Terminator as well.
The multi-POV's and short, punchy chapters amp up the tension as the story speeds ahead. In typical Wendig fashion, Zer0es is witty and sweary and brutal as fuck. There are more than a few horror elements, high-powered cinematic sequences and assholes that you can't help but root for.
Zer0es is an action-packed techno adventure that's one hell of a good time!
HACK THE PLANET!!
Jesus Crispy Pork Cracklings Christ, this was wicked entertaining!
Zer0es is Chuck Wendig's cyberpunk exploration into artificial intelligence and hackers. It follows a diverse crew of hackers, trolls, cypherpunks and credit card scammers who have been sentenced to jail time for the crimes they have committed online. This ragtag group are brought together when they are hired by a shady US government agency for a secret project. The ultimatum? Either do hard time for their offences or spend a year living in an isolated location called "The Lodge" and working on various missions, both as individuals and as a pod (team) of hackers.
I'll give you one guess as to which deal they end up taking.
The Zer0es - Aleena, Wade, Reagan, DeAndre and Chance - find themselves hacking into high-level security systems from all over. Websites that seemingly have no relation to one another. That is, until the team discovers just what type of sinister project it is that they are truly working on.
“Maybe that’s the problem with generations. You start to forget what it was like when you were like them, so they become your enemy and you become theirs and nobody understands each other. Then you die and they become you and finally, finally they understand, but by then it’s too late.�
I went through a hacker phase back in the day. Not that I actually, you know, hacked anything. I just found the hacker culture fascinating, being the millennial that I am! One of my all-time favorite movies is Hackers and Zer0es certainly leans heavily on those vibes, yet seemingly draws some inspiration from The Terminator as well.
The multi-POV's and short, punchy chapters amp up the tension as the story speeds ahead. In typical Wendig fashion, Zer0es is witty and sweary and brutal as fuck. There are more than a few horror elements, high-powered cinematic sequences and assholes that you can't help but root for.
Zer0es is an action-packed techno adventure that's one hell of a good time!
HACK THE PLANET!!
May 17, 2019
This was a pretty good techno-mystery, quite thrilling & interesting at first. Unfortunately, it really fell apart at the end. Especially at the beginning, the tech stuff was good. There are a lot ways to hack & that was addressed along with interesting personalities. The way these people were forced together & how they managed to bond & work was great.
The need for suspension of disbelief became greater as the novel progressed, though. At the end, it just turned into a hot mess - lots of action, complete idiocy. It was well narrated & interesting enough that I made it through. It gets 2 stars mostly because I liked the characterization.
Some of the specific issues I had are
Those are just a few of the worst problems. There were plenty more, unfortunately.
The need for suspension of disbelief became greater as the novel progressed, though. At the end, it just turned into a hot mess - lots of action, complete idiocy. It was well narrated & interesting enough that I made it through. It gets 2 stars mostly because I liked the characterization.
Some of the specific issues I had are
Those are just a few of the worst problems. There were plenty more, unfortunately.
November 26, 2018
Executive Summary: A strong start with an alright finish. I liked the book as is, but probably would have enjoyed it more as a Cyber thriller rather than a sci-fi book. 3.5 stars
Full Review
I picked this book up on a daily deal at some point and I had been planning to read it towards the Sword & Laser's Laser group challenge because I was behind on my pledge. Then they went and made it the November pick.
I've long held a fascination on the early days of computers, networks and the phone phreaks and hackers who found ways to manipulate them. I've read numerous nonfiction books on the subject, but very few fiction books. Most fictions books with hackers tend to become cyberpunk (which I also enjoy) but I'd like to see someone do a good take on modern day hacking akin to the first season of Mr. Robot.
Hacking has taken on a much more negative connotation these days, despite the idea of "White Hat", "Gray Hat" or Hackavists, most people tend to automatically associate the term hacker with criminal. That isn't to say hackers aren't breaking laws, or that there are criminals who use computer savvy to commit crimes. The early hackers were more explorers and prankster than they were hardened criminal however.
One of the things I loved about this book is that Wendig covers pretty much all the common-day hackers. He's got an old guy from the earlier days of hacking, a hackivist, a carder, an internet troll, and a "script kiddie" among others.
They are all well flushed out too. It seems like Wendig knows his stuff when setting up the tech side. But this book isn't a cyber thriller. It's science fiction. That may not be apparent until pretty far into the book but it is.
While I enjoyed the second half of the book, I didn't like it as much as the first half. I think I might have liked it better if he had kept things a little more grounded in the science side of things.
That said, I may still pick up the second book in the series at some point because I'd like to see where he takes things next.
Full Review
I picked this book up on a daily deal at some point and I had been planning to read it towards the Sword & Laser's Laser group challenge because I was behind on my pledge. Then they went and made it the November pick.
I've long held a fascination on the early days of computers, networks and the phone phreaks and hackers who found ways to manipulate them. I've read numerous nonfiction books on the subject, but very few fiction books. Most fictions books with hackers tend to become cyberpunk (which I also enjoy) but I'd like to see someone do a good take on modern day hacking akin to the first season of Mr. Robot.
Hacking has taken on a much more negative connotation these days, despite the idea of "White Hat", "Gray Hat" or Hackavists, most people tend to automatically associate the term hacker with criminal. That isn't to say hackers aren't breaking laws, or that there are criminals who use computer savvy to commit crimes. The early hackers were more explorers and prankster than they were hardened criminal however.
One of the things I loved about this book is that Wendig covers pretty much all the common-day hackers. He's got an old guy from the earlier days of hacking, a hackivist, a carder, an internet troll, and a "script kiddie" among others.
They are all well flushed out too. It seems like Wendig knows his stuff when setting up the tech side. But this book isn't a cyber thriller. It's science fiction. That may not be apparent until pretty far into the book but it is.
While I enjoyed the second half of the book, I didn't like it as much as the first half. I think I might have liked it better if he had kept things a little more grounded in the science side of things.
That said, I may still pick up the second book in the series at some point because I'd like to see where he takes things next.
August 25, 2015
For the TL;DR crowd I’ll skip straight to the end: Go read this fucking book now!
For the rest of you, strap yourselves in and let’s ride.
See, as soon as I found out Chuck Wendig had written a book about hackers, I was like YES, I’M ALL IN!
I used to love reading books about hackers. When I was in high school, I eagerly gobbled up Neal Stephenson’s early books like Snow Crash and The Diamond Age. My favorite was actually Zodiac, more of an eco-thriller than a cyberpunk book, but I loved the high-speed thrills and the psychological challenges the heroes of his books had to overcome. I also enjoyed William Gibson’s take on cyberpunk, which was slightly more cerebral, but definitely still high octane. Neuromancer, Idoru, Pattern Recognition, reading these made me feel like in the future, smart people wouldn’t be considered nerds, but rebels, outlaws and even celebrities.
To read my full review, check out my post this Wednesday at .
For the rest of you, strap yourselves in and let’s ride.
See, as soon as I found out Chuck Wendig had written a book about hackers, I was like YES, I’M ALL IN!
I used to love reading books about hackers. When I was in high school, I eagerly gobbled up Neal Stephenson’s early books like Snow Crash and The Diamond Age. My favorite was actually Zodiac, more of an eco-thriller than a cyberpunk book, but I loved the high-speed thrills and the psychological challenges the heroes of his books had to overcome. I also enjoyed William Gibson’s take on cyberpunk, which was slightly more cerebral, but definitely still high octane. Neuromancer, Idoru, Pattern Recognition, reading these made me feel like in the future, smart people wouldn’t be considered nerds, but rebels, outlaws and even celebrities.
To read my full review, check out my post this Wednesday at .
October 29, 2015
Five hackers—an Anonymous-style rabble-rouser, an Arab Spring hacktivist, a black-hat hacker, an old-school cipherpunk, and an online troll—are detained by the U.S. government, forced to work as white-hat hackers for Uncle Sam in order to avoid federal prison. At a secret complex known only as "the Lodge," where they will spend the next year working as an elite cyber-espionage team, these misfits dub themselves "the Zeroes."
But once the Zeroes begin to work, they uncover secrets that would make even the most dedicated conspiracy theorist's head spin. And soon they're not just trying to serve their time, they're also trying to perform the ultimate hack: burrowing deep into the U.S. government from the inside, and hoping they'll get out alive. Packed with electric wit and breakneck plot twists, Zer0es is an unforgettable thrill ride through the seedy underbelly of "progress."
When I first saw the blurb for this I was incredibly excited. Wendig... hackers... and the dark alleys of the internet... sounds like a match made in heaven doesn't it? Well I am glad to report that my excitement was not misplaced, and whilst there are some flaws with this book, overall I found it to be very entertaining and thought provoking.
Zer0es tells the story of five hackers who work for the U.S. government (in order to avoid prison) at a secret complex called the Lodge. As they work they uncover a mystery known as Typhoon, a computer virus and artificial intelligence not confined to a computer. Using all of the skills they must uncover the mystery of Typhoon and stop it before it takes over the world. Sounds like a Hollywood movie right? Well Zer0es does read like a blockbuster, with plenty of excitement and thrills and a rocket powered pace that hurtles you through unrelenting page after page. The plot itself was very believable and enjoyable, and incredibly accessible for someone (like me) with very little knowledge about hacking or computer science. I also really enjoyed how the story changed from a tech thriller to a science fiction novel seamlessly and back again throughout the book. What let Zer0es down (to an extent) was its characterisation. Each hacker is never really deeply explored or defined as an individual, and they all tended to behave as you expected them to as the plot unfolded (just like in a movie). I adored Reagan (probably because she was so unlikeable as an online troll.. her character was fascinating) and Wade, but found myself struggling to relate to or sympathise with some of the others. The dialogue and interplay between them was (as expected with a Wendig novel) snappy and fun but I still struggled at times to empathise with their plight. Perhaps it was because I felt that they struggled to break free from that 'intelligent and snarky hacker' archetype. I still can't really put my finger on it. Did this detract from my overall enjoyment of the book though? No, not really. Zer0es is a fun and adventurous read that reminded me in some ways of the books by Matthew Reilly. It is a book that is great to rip through and enjoy in a sitting or two, but it won't rock the foundations of your core in any major way.
Wendig has moved out his comfort zone with this book, and that should be applauded. This is probably also his most accessible book to date for readers who are not familiar with his other work (you really should read his other work too... it's great), and highlights his desire to break free of that 'genre author' mould.
Is Zer0es a story full of depth and philosophical discussion? No. But it sure ticked all of the entertainment boxes for me. Be prepared for 'out there' theories and tangents, and plenty of cyber warfare, weirdness and action. Oh and hold onto your socks... cuz it's a fast ride!
3.5 out of 5 stars.
A review copy was provided.
But once the Zeroes begin to work, they uncover secrets that would make even the most dedicated conspiracy theorist's head spin. And soon they're not just trying to serve their time, they're also trying to perform the ultimate hack: burrowing deep into the U.S. government from the inside, and hoping they'll get out alive. Packed with electric wit and breakneck plot twists, Zer0es is an unforgettable thrill ride through the seedy underbelly of "progress."
When I first saw the blurb for this I was incredibly excited. Wendig... hackers... and the dark alleys of the internet... sounds like a match made in heaven doesn't it? Well I am glad to report that my excitement was not misplaced, and whilst there are some flaws with this book, overall I found it to be very entertaining and thought provoking.
Zer0es tells the story of five hackers who work for the U.S. government (in order to avoid prison) at a secret complex called the Lodge. As they work they uncover a mystery known as Typhoon, a computer virus and artificial intelligence not confined to a computer. Using all of the skills they must uncover the mystery of Typhoon and stop it before it takes over the world. Sounds like a Hollywood movie right? Well Zer0es does read like a blockbuster, with plenty of excitement and thrills and a rocket powered pace that hurtles you through unrelenting page after page. The plot itself was very believable and enjoyable, and incredibly accessible for someone (like me) with very little knowledge about hacking or computer science. I also really enjoyed how the story changed from a tech thriller to a science fiction novel seamlessly and back again throughout the book. What let Zer0es down (to an extent) was its characterisation. Each hacker is never really deeply explored or defined as an individual, and they all tended to behave as you expected them to as the plot unfolded (just like in a movie). I adored Reagan (probably because she was so unlikeable as an online troll.. her character was fascinating) and Wade, but found myself struggling to relate to or sympathise with some of the others. The dialogue and interplay between them was (as expected with a Wendig novel) snappy and fun but I still struggled at times to empathise with their plight. Perhaps it was because I felt that they struggled to break free from that 'intelligent and snarky hacker' archetype. I still can't really put my finger on it. Did this detract from my overall enjoyment of the book though? No, not really. Zer0es is a fun and adventurous read that reminded me in some ways of the books by Matthew Reilly. It is a book that is great to rip through and enjoy in a sitting or two, but it won't rock the foundations of your core in any major way.
Wendig has moved out his comfort zone with this book, and that should be applauded. This is probably also his most accessible book to date for readers who are not familiar with his other work (you really should read his other work too... it's great), and highlights his desire to break free of that 'genre author' mould.
Is Zer0es a story full of depth and philosophical discussion? No. But it sure ticked all of the entertainment boxes for me. Be prepared for 'out there' theories and tangents, and plenty of cyber warfare, weirdness and action. Oh and hold onto your socks... cuz it's a fast ride!
3.5 out of 5 stars.
A review copy was provided.
August 21, 2015
In short, I don’t give a damn what NY Daily News says, Zer0es is a sheer f-ing blast and might very well be my favorite novel of the year. Although, I do reserve the right to change this opinion after I finish reading Chuck Wendig’s next novel, Star Wars: Aftermath, due out in about two weeks, in which Mr. Wendig gets to play around in the SW universe. And that, my friends, could very well be the book of the decade century. But, for now, let us discuss Zer0es.
In case you can’t tell, I’m a huge fan of Mr. Wendig, and whenever his new titles release I make it a point to read/devour them immediately. I love his Miriam Black books, and The Harvest Trilogy, and am looking forward to meeting up with Mookie Pearl again one of these days, preferably with a plate of charcuterie between us. All of this is to say that I might be a bit biased, but I do honestly feel that Zer0es earns each of the five stars I’m giving it.
Also worth noting is that I have very little real-world knowledge of computers, programming, or hacking. Or really how much of anything technologically works beyond the knowledge required to start, shut off, or play video games or watch movies. I care little for the inner workings of these things, and most computer talk bores the hell out of me. I’m probably the last person you want to call for IT help, in other words.
So, is Zer0es technically sound and accurate? I don’t have a flipping clue. And I don’t care if it is or not. Because what it is is a rock-solid bit of entertainment filled with techno-thriller whizz-bang shenanigans, a terrific amount of wit, and a healthy dose of science-fiction. As far as Wendig’s skill in plumbing the dark shadow world of hackers goes, it’s good enough for me to escape into and provides enough plausible scary horrors to sink my teeth into. The more fantastical realms that these characters find themselves in as things progress are fun and makes for an action-packed, rapid-fire read � and frankly I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is a great big cinematic summer blockbuster set to prose, and it freaking rocks, man.
To his credit, Wendig casts as our lead, Chance, a guy who is basically a phony. His hacking skills are nill, and he’s caught up in a scheme far larger than his limited abilities can cope with. A real underdog, this guy, and it gives me, as a reader, the chance to enjoy the experience alongside him. He’s not some uber computer god who can algo his way out of any awful situation. In fact, he gets his ass handed to him more often than not. The real hackers he’s surrounded by are the real deal � there’s the troll Reagan who gets off on internet shaming her victims and possess snark to spare, DeAndre the credit card scammer, Earthman, who’s basically an old-school BBS-version of Edward Snowden, and Aleena, a hacker intent on bringing true democracy to Syria. Each of them are recruited by an FBI agent named Hollis Copper, Mr. Government himself, to become white hat (good guy) hackers in exchange for not spending at least a decade-plus in prison for their various crimes.
Each of these characters have their own quirks, personalities, politics, and culture to bring to the table. Some are fighting for social justice, others for government accountability, and some just for laughs. There’s elements of the hacking group Anonymous, coupled with the Arab Spring, fighting back against rape culture and the grotesqueness of the Stubenville events. (Even a bit of obsession with Greek mythology when it comes to the central antagonist, which is just darn cool.) In short, this is a cast of well-defined characters with different skill sets, abilities, and goals. Together, they’re a total band of misfits with little in common and even less of a reason to become friends. They spend a lot of time sniping at each other and arguing, yet they somehow mesh well together as each are put through their paces and become a unified team, made stronger by their differences and disparities.
Ultimately, I have very, very few quibbles about Zer0es. I found it to be a complete thrill-ride from start to finish, with little in the way of lag. And kudos to Wendig for taking a topic as dry as coding and hacking and transforming into something that’s as equally exhilarating as the violence and mayhem surrounding these characters and their antagonists (which is pretty damn exhilarating, by the way). Now, bring on the 0nes!
In case you can’t tell, I’m a huge fan of Mr. Wendig, and whenever his new titles release I make it a point to read/devour them immediately. I love his Miriam Black books, and The Harvest Trilogy, and am looking forward to meeting up with Mookie Pearl again one of these days, preferably with a plate of charcuterie between us. All of this is to say that I might be a bit biased, but I do honestly feel that Zer0es earns each of the five stars I’m giving it.
Also worth noting is that I have very little real-world knowledge of computers, programming, or hacking. Or really how much of anything technologically works beyond the knowledge required to start, shut off, or play video games or watch movies. I care little for the inner workings of these things, and most computer talk bores the hell out of me. I’m probably the last person you want to call for IT help, in other words.
So, is Zer0es technically sound and accurate? I don’t have a flipping clue. And I don’t care if it is or not. Because what it is is a rock-solid bit of entertainment filled with techno-thriller whizz-bang shenanigans, a terrific amount of wit, and a healthy dose of science-fiction. As far as Wendig’s skill in plumbing the dark shadow world of hackers goes, it’s good enough for me to escape into and provides enough plausible scary horrors to sink my teeth into. The more fantastical realms that these characters find themselves in as things progress are fun and makes for an action-packed, rapid-fire read � and frankly I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is a great big cinematic summer blockbuster set to prose, and it freaking rocks, man.
To his credit, Wendig casts as our lead, Chance, a guy who is basically a phony. His hacking skills are nill, and he’s caught up in a scheme far larger than his limited abilities can cope with. A real underdog, this guy, and it gives me, as a reader, the chance to enjoy the experience alongside him. He’s not some uber computer god who can algo his way out of any awful situation. In fact, he gets his ass handed to him more often than not. The real hackers he’s surrounded by are the real deal � there’s the troll Reagan who gets off on internet shaming her victims and possess snark to spare, DeAndre the credit card scammer, Earthman, who’s basically an old-school BBS-version of Edward Snowden, and Aleena, a hacker intent on bringing true democracy to Syria. Each of them are recruited by an FBI agent named Hollis Copper, Mr. Government himself, to become white hat (good guy) hackers in exchange for not spending at least a decade-plus in prison for their various crimes.
Each of these characters have their own quirks, personalities, politics, and culture to bring to the table. Some are fighting for social justice, others for government accountability, and some just for laughs. There’s elements of the hacking group Anonymous, coupled with the Arab Spring, fighting back against rape culture and the grotesqueness of the Stubenville events. (Even a bit of obsession with Greek mythology when it comes to the central antagonist, which is just darn cool.) In short, this is a cast of well-defined characters with different skill sets, abilities, and goals. Together, they’re a total band of misfits with little in common and even less of a reason to become friends. They spend a lot of time sniping at each other and arguing, yet they somehow mesh well together as each are put through their paces and become a unified team, made stronger by their differences and disparities.
Ultimately, I have very, very few quibbles about Zer0es. I found it to be a complete thrill-ride from start to finish, with little in the way of lag. And kudos to Wendig for taking a topic as dry as coding and hacking and transforming into something that’s as equally exhilarating as the violence and mayhem surrounding these characters and their antagonists (which is pretty damn exhilarating, by the way). Now, bring on the 0nes!
November 5, 2018
A group of hard core hackers are captured by the US Government and given the choice "work for us for one year or go to jail". This is how the story begins and progresses along the sort of path you would expect from a present day/near future techno thriller. Later in the book, more futuristic elements introduced as the small group of characters uncover the hidden secrets.
There was nothing much wrong with this book, but I did not find it particularly outstanding either. The techno thriller part has been done better by other authors, towards the end the science went off the rails and I didn't find any of the characters very likable (similar to my reaction to Lev Grossman's 'The Magicians'.).
I guess my biggest problem with this book was that I found myself comparing it to 'Daemon' by Daniel Suarez. In that match up it falls way short.
There was nothing much wrong with this book, but I did not find it particularly outstanding either. The techno thriller part has been done better by other authors, towards the end the science went off the rails and I didn't find any of the characters very likable (similar to my reaction to Lev Grossman's 'The Magicians'.).
I guess my biggest problem with this book was that I found myself comparing it to 'Daemon' by Daniel Suarez. In that match up it falls way short.
September 7, 2015
I was excited to see another book by Chuck Wendig, who is a creative guy, with imagination galore. And a technothriller. This book focuses on five hackers recruited by the U.S. government, who must dedicate a year of their lives to a top-secret program to avoid conviction and jail time for their escapades. Of course, as hackers, they are unable to follow the rules, and are soon asking questions and trying to find answers and an escape. Their opposition is fierce and something new. However, it was hard for me to accept the cooperation forged between a hodge podge of loner hackers, even battling common foes. 2.5-2.75 stars.
January 6, 2023
I checked this out based on a glowing Tom Shippey (WSJ) review, and just came across a note to myself: "Very bad". I'm starting to think that if Shippey likes a book, I probably won't.
I don't actually remember much about this one, but keep reading other 1 and 2-star reviews here for others who didn't like the book.
I don't actually remember much about this one, but keep reading other 1 and 2-star reviews here for others who didn't like the book.
October 27, 2017
This book was a lot of fun and perfect for my mood. Fast paced, interesting story, and fun characters. Read almost like a movie with short scenes and chapters.
Will continue the series if/when more books come out
Will continue the series if/when more books come out
December 1, 2015
I found this next to impossible to put down which was a problem given its length. I adored the set up and the cast of misfit-hackers, who had the great advantage of feeling like genuine misfits, i.e. unlike the usual photogenic, close-up ready Hollywood Misfits played by people like Brad Pitt. My favorite character, to my enormous surprise, was Reagan, the internet troll, and probably one of the nastiest bitches to ever serve as heroine of a bestseller; the effect was downright liberating. She has a reckless, anarchic energy to her, and even more than the rest of them, she truly does not give a fuck--except of course in those few amazing moments when she does.
I will add that I liked the first half of this quite a bit better than the second half: the opening scenes of the group coming together, the hacking tests, the Poconos-resort-meets-prison camp, were all addictively good. I was less enamored of the BIG MYSTERY PLOT once it really got going. Though I usually love sci-fi, this ended up being so over-the-top that the original hacker plotline got overwhelmed by mushrooming improbabilities that felt increasingly preposterous.
That being said, the sci-fi extravagancies did not make this any less readable. I am overjoyed that this is slated to be the first book in a new series since I could not get enough of the characters. I highly recommend this to hacker/thriller fans.
I will add that I liked the first half of this quite a bit better than the second half: the opening scenes of the group coming together, the hacking tests, the Poconos-resort-meets-prison camp, were all addictively good. I was less enamored of the BIG MYSTERY PLOT once it really got going. Though I usually love sci-fi, this ended up being so over-the-top that the original hacker plotline got overwhelmed by mushrooming improbabilities that felt increasingly preposterous.
That being said, the sci-fi extravagancies did not make this any less readable. I am overjoyed that this is slated to be the first book in a new series since I could not get enough of the characters. I highly recommend this to hacker/thriller fans.
October 3, 2016
A disparate group of hackers are coerced into working for the NSA after they are each caught using their hacking "skillz" for illegal purposes. Each person brings a little something different to the team, who name themselves "Zer0es", and they are put to work probing the cyber-security and infiltrating various companies and institutions around the world. They are skilled and they are determined to serve their time at the NSA and then get back to their real lives. However, something else is controlling them, pushing toward some other unknown entity out in the ether. The collective curiosity of the Zer0es leads them to this entity but once they "find" it, they soon wish they hadn't.
This was pretty good and I could easily see this as a series, even a TV series. I won't be surprised if that happens.
This was pretty good and I could easily see this as a series, even a TV series. I won't be surprised if that happens.
Read
October 17, 2019It is a great book every software developer, architect, designer or even QA engineer should read. It focuses on principles and guidance so it may feel like it misses some level of details.
October 8, 2020
I went into Zeroes just thinking it was a story about hackers and a secret government plot. I got so much more as yes, it was about hackers, but also, it was a suspenseful, technothriller.
5 hackers with completely different skill sets and from different backgrounds are captured by the U S government and they had a choice to make. Either go to prison for years or join them for a year at The Lodge (a more comfortable sort of prison) and become White Hats.
Of course our 5 elect to go to The Lodge. Just when I thought the story was slowing down and losing its oomph, Wendig threw out some amazing twists and changed up the entire story and it got really crazy!
I just found out there’s a 2nd book called Invasive, which I’d seen but didn’t realize was the sequel to Zeroes. I had to have it so I could see where this storyline takes us. I have a feeling there are more surprises in store from Wendig. I can’t wait!
5 hackers with completely different skill sets and from different backgrounds are captured by the U S government and they had a choice to make. Either go to prison for years or join them for a year at The Lodge (a more comfortable sort of prison) and become White Hats.
Of course our 5 elect to go to The Lodge. Just when I thought the story was slowing down and losing its oomph, Wendig threw out some amazing twists and changed up the entire story and it got really crazy!
I just found out there’s a 2nd book called Invasive, which I’d seen but didn’t realize was the sequel to Zeroes. I had to have it so I could see where this storyline takes us. I have a feeling there are more surprises in store from Wendig. I can’t wait!
December 24, 2015
I’m really starting to lose faith in ŷ reviewers. It’s not that I don’t trust you guys. It’s just that� ok, I don’t trust you guys. 3.75 stars? Now I’m positive we all read different books with the same title and author.
Where do I even start with this book? The paper thin characters, the usual AI apocalypse tropes, the direct ripping off of the Matrix (and not in a good way), the gun fights and chases that seem to be directly based on REAMDE (as was the lodge, sort of), or the hackers that seem to be mashups of people from any of a dozen sci-fi books?
I keep thinking I have to be wrong about Zer0es. “About Chuck Wendig� on ŷ says he’s an accomplished writer of novels and screenplays, and is a Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter’s Lab fellow. It also says he’s contributed over two million words to the roleplaying game industry. That’s a lot of words; I presume they were all better than the ones he contributed to this particular work of fiction.
And yes, I completely understand how dismissive and arrogant that sounds. In addition to all the qualifications listed above, Chuck Wendig has at least two books out on how to be a better writer. Presumably there are people out there who think he knows what he’s doing. I haven’t read any other books of his, so I’m basing my stunned amazement solely on this one work, which may not be fair.
But I’m sorry, I have to say it: this is a terrible book. I may not know how to write, but I do know how to read. I’ve been reading fiction for at least three and a half decades. I know when I’m reading something that’s really worth liking, and this book is not one of those.
If Zer0es was any more derivative, it would be a required math textbook. It steals from everything, and it does it obviously and deliberately. You can’t imagine what a disappointment Typhon is, especially after so many other books about AI and the singularity, good ones that don’t jump the rails by suddenly veering off into a less believable version of The Matrix.
I think the point of Zer0es was to get us to think about where we’re headed with technology (as well as to make some conspiracy theory rumblings with all the false flag scenarios), but it didn’t scare me or make me believe that the events portrayed in this book are the inevitable or even likely outcomes of our current trajectory. In that regard, Zer0es fails completely. In fact, all I felt for at least the entire second half of the book was a combination of hope that it would get better, and complete annoyance that I wasn’t finished reading it yet.
Where do I even start with this book? The paper thin characters, the usual AI apocalypse tropes, the direct ripping off of the Matrix (and not in a good way), the gun fights and chases that seem to be directly based on REAMDE (as was the lodge, sort of), or the hackers that seem to be mashups of people from any of a dozen sci-fi books?
I keep thinking I have to be wrong about Zer0es. “About Chuck Wendig� on ŷ says he’s an accomplished writer of novels and screenplays, and is a Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter’s Lab fellow. It also says he’s contributed over two million words to the roleplaying game industry. That’s a lot of words; I presume they were all better than the ones he contributed to this particular work of fiction.
And yes, I completely understand how dismissive and arrogant that sounds. In addition to all the qualifications listed above, Chuck Wendig has at least two books out on how to be a better writer. Presumably there are people out there who think he knows what he’s doing. I haven’t read any other books of his, so I’m basing my stunned amazement solely on this one work, which may not be fair.
But I’m sorry, I have to say it: this is a terrible book. I may not know how to write, but I do know how to read. I’ve been reading fiction for at least three and a half decades. I know when I’m reading something that’s really worth liking, and this book is not one of those.
If Zer0es was any more derivative, it would be a required math textbook. It steals from everything, and it does it obviously and deliberately. You can’t imagine what a disappointment Typhon is, especially after so many other books about AI and the singularity, good ones that don’t jump the rails by suddenly veering off into a less believable version of The Matrix.
I think the point of Zer0es was to get us to think about where we’re headed with technology (as well as to make some conspiracy theory rumblings with all the false flag scenarios), but it didn’t scare me or make me believe that the events portrayed in this book are the inevitable or even likely outcomes of our current trajectory. In that regard, Zer0es fails completely. In fact, all I felt for at least the entire second half of the book was a combination of hope that it would get better, and complete annoyance that I wasn’t finished reading it yet.
June 18, 2015
i am hopelessly tech challenged. so i normally pass on "cyber espionage" type books. but i was fortunate enough to meet mr wendig at phcc and he was super nice and kind enough to give me an arc of this book. so i figured it would be rude of me not to read it. plus i've always had a hard time putting down one of his books once i start it. zer0es was no different. while there was plenty of tech talk, it wasn't overwhelming or bogged down by insider jargon and it never slowed the intense pace of the narrative. and as usual with mr wendig's stories, as soon as you thought you had a good handle on the story and had the "in control/i know where this is going" feeling it spiraled out of control into batsh*t craziness. i laughed, i cried, it moved me. it's brilliant, everyone should read it. now excuse me while i go live off the grid somewhere. :)
November 17, 2015
What a pleasant surprise! If you liked then be sure to give this a read. I actually got this completely by accident, I actually meant to get . So a strange twist of fate made me read this wonderful book which I would not have gotten otherwise. Very entertaining and looking for more from the author,
I too was a BBS junkie. So it could relate. :)
I too was a BBS junkie. So it could relate. :)
June 11, 2016
Stories are fascinating because they are co-constructed experiences between teller and audience. Unless you are eating your own tale, your story takes shape not just from your words but also from its form in the minds of your audience. Each audience member contributes their own flavours to the stories. Sometimes, their visions correspond eerily similar to yours. Other times those visions diverge. I’m always fascinated when I read a story and find myself enjoying it despite its plot diverging from what I expected. (And I’m not talking about twists or surprises here, but rather how my mental map of what I interpret the story as being differs from what the story actually is on paper.)
Zeroes is the latest example of this phenomenon. Chuck Wendig is an author whose writing I greatly respect even though his stories aren’t always to my tastes. I hadn’t heard about this, so I was surprised to see a more “conventional� story from him—my library hasn’t labelled this as science fiction, although after reading I’m pretty sure I’d die on the hill that maintains it is. Anyway, there is a lot of creepy, twisty stuff happening in this book. Some of it is predictable, and some of it is not. The story doesn’t always go where I was hoping, but the places it goes are really interesting. This isn’t a “slam dunk� but it is a thriller that could have some broad appeal.
First, we have an ensemble cast. This is a risky proposition. Too many characters can make the story hard to follow. Wendig follows a very traditional “round up� method of introducing the cast, but he does it very well. In addition to allowing us to see each of these hackers in their “natural habitat�, this method lets Wendig scatter clues as to the overall plot. He sets up Hollis Copper as a formidable opponent, then subverts that by revealing that Hollis is jaded, out of favour with the agency, and largely a middleman for the more sinister Golathan. After we have met our hacking crew and they get sent to the Lodge, the real story begins.
Second, this is a story that feels familiar but isn’t. This sense of déjà vu might be why I kept expecting things to happen that didn’t. There is some serious Deus Ex stuff happening here (Leslie reminds me of Madame Zhao and Typhon the Hyron Project). On a low level, Wendig is challenging a lot of our assumptions about embodiment and the ways in which we will be interacting with technology in the near future. Similarly, he highlights some of the most topical issues around state surveillance strategies and the use of data mining to create ever-more-advanced predictive algorithms.
Third, this is a damn good thriller. I say that as someone who, generally, doesn’t appreciate thrillers and tends not to give them very good reviews when I do try them. Zeroes feels eerily close to a novelization of a movie. I could almost see this translating to screen very directly: the chapters feel like scenes, and that short time-jump towards the end is a nice kind of “wrap-up� scene that shows the characters� continuing story. The diversity in the ages, genders, and races of the main characters would make for a nice, rich casting call. I would go to see this in the theatres.
That being said, for all that Zeroes does well within those parameters of techno-thriller, it doesn’t feel all that transgressive. If the nature of Typhon is supposed to shock me, then see above�Deus Ex: Human Revolution got to this first. Wendig’s portrayal of hacking is quite good—it and Mr. Robot do hacking right, in that they realize that the hacking part is not the actual story, and that showing hacks should be done sparingly because they really aren’t as magical as Hollywood seems to think. He tries to sample from a breadth of hacker sub-types (hence the ensemble), and he respectfully references hacking’s history and the hackers of yore; I can’t fault him for his research. Nevertheless, his engagement with hacker culture is shallow at best. The very premise of the government coercing hackers to white hat for them might be entertaining, but it’s not all that novel, nor does it even scratch the surface of what hackers (of any hat colour) are doing these days.
Don’t get me wrong: Zeroes kept me going through a Sunday afternoon, and it was good times. I meant what I said above about it feeling cinematic. The plot and story chug along, and the characters are turn-key in that respect; everything just falls into place like intricately laid out dominoes. This is a pleasant enough sensation—the kind of reliable drug hit all of us readers like. But it doesn’t tickle the ganglia that respond to fresh, new ideas (it might if this is your first time stumbling on some of these ideas, I guess). Zeroes is one of the better thrillers I’ve read, and if you are in the mood for this, you’ll enjoy it. But it didn’t rock my world.
P.S. This is the second book named Zeroes from 2015 that I’ve read (I technically read the other one at the very end of last year). If you want to find out which one I liked better, you’ll need to check out that review for yourself.
Am I doing this clickbait stuff right, guys?
Zeroes is the latest example of this phenomenon. Chuck Wendig is an author whose writing I greatly respect even though his stories aren’t always to my tastes. I hadn’t heard about this, so I was surprised to see a more “conventional� story from him—my library hasn’t labelled this as science fiction, although after reading I’m pretty sure I’d die on the hill that maintains it is. Anyway, there is a lot of creepy, twisty stuff happening in this book. Some of it is predictable, and some of it is not. The story doesn’t always go where I was hoping, but the places it goes are really interesting. This isn’t a “slam dunk� but it is a thriller that could have some broad appeal.
First, we have an ensemble cast. This is a risky proposition. Too many characters can make the story hard to follow. Wendig follows a very traditional “round up� method of introducing the cast, but he does it very well. In addition to allowing us to see each of these hackers in their “natural habitat�, this method lets Wendig scatter clues as to the overall plot. He sets up Hollis Copper as a formidable opponent, then subverts that by revealing that Hollis is jaded, out of favour with the agency, and largely a middleman for the more sinister Golathan. After we have met our hacking crew and they get sent to the Lodge, the real story begins.
Second, this is a story that feels familiar but isn’t. This sense of déjà vu might be why I kept expecting things to happen that didn’t. There is some serious Deus Ex stuff happening here (Leslie reminds me of Madame Zhao and Typhon the Hyron Project). On a low level, Wendig is challenging a lot of our assumptions about embodiment and the ways in which we will be interacting with technology in the near future. Similarly, he highlights some of the most topical issues around state surveillance strategies and the use of data mining to create ever-more-advanced predictive algorithms.
Third, this is a damn good thriller. I say that as someone who, generally, doesn’t appreciate thrillers and tends not to give them very good reviews when I do try them. Zeroes feels eerily close to a novelization of a movie. I could almost see this translating to screen very directly: the chapters feel like scenes, and that short time-jump towards the end is a nice kind of “wrap-up� scene that shows the characters� continuing story. The diversity in the ages, genders, and races of the main characters would make for a nice, rich casting call. I would go to see this in the theatres.
That being said, for all that Zeroes does well within those parameters of techno-thriller, it doesn’t feel all that transgressive. If the nature of Typhon is supposed to shock me, then see above�Deus Ex: Human Revolution got to this first. Wendig’s portrayal of hacking is quite good—it and Mr. Robot do hacking right, in that they realize that the hacking part is not the actual story, and that showing hacks should be done sparingly because they really aren’t as magical as Hollywood seems to think. He tries to sample from a breadth of hacker sub-types (hence the ensemble), and he respectfully references hacking’s history and the hackers of yore; I can’t fault him for his research. Nevertheless, his engagement with hacker culture is shallow at best. The very premise of the government coercing hackers to white hat for them might be entertaining, but it’s not all that novel, nor does it even scratch the surface of what hackers (of any hat colour) are doing these days.
Don’t get me wrong: Zeroes kept me going through a Sunday afternoon, and it was good times. I meant what I said above about it feeling cinematic. The plot and story chug along, and the characters are turn-key in that respect; everything just falls into place like intricately laid out dominoes. This is a pleasant enough sensation—the kind of reliable drug hit all of us readers like. But it doesn’t tickle the ganglia that respond to fresh, new ideas (it might if this is your first time stumbling on some of these ideas, I guess). Zeroes is one of the better thrillers I’ve read, and if you are in the mood for this, you’ll enjoy it. But it didn’t rock my world.
P.S. This is the second book named Zeroes from 2015 that I’ve read (I technically read the other one at the very end of last year). If you want to find out which one I liked better, you’ll need to check out that review for yourself.
Am I doing this clickbait stuff right, guys?
September 18, 2018
A group of hackers are gathered by the government, installed in a compound to do what they do best. But in the process, the doing becomes a case of getting it undone. Wendig fleshes out the characters, providing a SciFi Techno-thriller with a slow burn to a frantic ending.
December 11, 2022
One of the best books I've ever read!
August 18, 2015
Chuck Wendig’s new novel, Zer0es, is more cyber and more thrilling than most cyber thrillers I’ve read. From the very first page, it’s evident that Wendig is either secretly a world-class hacker in his own right, or he’s done so much research that he has become not only comfortable, but fluent in the technical and paranoia-fueled online world that hackers inhabit. Either way, he’s definitely on the NSA’s watchlist � but this book should be on their reading list as well, as Zer0es is an entertaining and timely addition to the subgenre.
The novel focuses on five hackers recruited by the U.S. government, given the opportunity to avoid conviction, jail time, and exposure by committing their services to a top-secret program. Being hackers, they don’t just blindly follow orders, and soon they’re asking questions and digging much deeper than anyone ever expected them to, and coming up with shocking and frightening answers.
With the fantastic TV series Leverage named as one of the novel’s touchstones, it’s not too surprising that each of the hacker main characters has a specific role to play: social engineer, cyber criminal, hacktivist, internet troll, cipherpunk. Their situations and backgrounds may remind some readers of recent news headlines; Chance Dalton’s situation clearly recalls the Steubenville High School rape case, while Aleena Kattan’s political agenda is inspired by Anonymous� involvement in the Arab Spring. But just as Leverage's Parker is more than a thief, Wendig fleshes out his characters beyond their stereotypes, often subverting your expectations of who they really are, what motivates them, and what they’ll do next. By the end of the novel, you become invested in and care for even the most unlikable characters, which is both satisfying and unfortunate in a book with a startlingly high body count.
Striking a balance between not-so-riveting computer time and real world action is challenging in stories like this, but Wendig handles it deftly, and the novel is incredibly fast-paced. A big revelation, twist, or cliffhanger seems to hit readers every few pages. I am not often moved to swear at books or authors while reading, especially when I’m having so much fun, but many a chapter ended with me muttering, “Jesus Christ, Chuck.� This book is bloody and gruesome and too compelling to put down. You just have to wait for your pulse to slow, shake your head, and keep turning the pages.
The book also isn’t burdened by techsposition, a tendency to include too much computer jargon and explaining every scintillating facet of their technological exploits. But there’s enough for non-technical readers to follow along, and plenty for those who know a bit more. A lot of the hacking in the book is more than realistic � it’s actually real in the world today, and if Wendig’s representation of how easy it is to hack your social network accounts or even your car doesn’t creep you out sufficiently, you’d better start Googling. So much of the technology in the first half of the book is so accurate, by the time Wendig starts pulling out the slightly less believable black boxes, most readers will be happy to accept them as well-earned creative license and move on.
However, that same contemporary, convincing portrayal of computers and hacking may also work against the book as the plot progresses and takes a decidedly science fictional turn that strains credibility. Despite the shift in tone and shaken expectations, I was happy to ride it out to the end. Perhaps more disturbing is the possibility that Wendig is right about this secret government program too, since everything else is right on the mark. If he soon disappears under mysterious circumstances, we’ll have our answer.
Although the prologue/epilogue of “Chapter 0� fell flat for me, they’re short enough to simply ignore. Overall, Zer0es is a terrific success: an exciting, scary, and often funny novel that offers fresh insights into what it means and what it’s like to be a hacker. It now has a place among my favorite books featuring hacking, and it has certainly raised the bar for those that follow.
The novel focuses on five hackers recruited by the U.S. government, given the opportunity to avoid conviction, jail time, and exposure by committing their services to a top-secret program. Being hackers, they don’t just blindly follow orders, and soon they’re asking questions and digging much deeper than anyone ever expected them to, and coming up with shocking and frightening answers.
With the fantastic TV series Leverage named as one of the novel’s touchstones, it’s not too surprising that each of the hacker main characters has a specific role to play: social engineer, cyber criminal, hacktivist, internet troll, cipherpunk. Their situations and backgrounds may remind some readers of recent news headlines; Chance Dalton’s situation clearly recalls the Steubenville High School rape case, while Aleena Kattan’s political agenda is inspired by Anonymous� involvement in the Arab Spring. But just as Leverage's Parker is more than a thief, Wendig fleshes out his characters beyond their stereotypes, often subverting your expectations of who they really are, what motivates them, and what they’ll do next. By the end of the novel, you become invested in and care for even the most unlikable characters, which is both satisfying and unfortunate in a book with a startlingly high body count.
Striking a balance between not-so-riveting computer time and real world action is challenging in stories like this, but Wendig handles it deftly, and the novel is incredibly fast-paced. A big revelation, twist, or cliffhanger seems to hit readers every few pages. I am not often moved to swear at books or authors while reading, especially when I’m having so much fun, but many a chapter ended with me muttering, “Jesus Christ, Chuck.� This book is bloody and gruesome and too compelling to put down. You just have to wait for your pulse to slow, shake your head, and keep turning the pages.
The book also isn’t burdened by techsposition, a tendency to include too much computer jargon and explaining every scintillating facet of their technological exploits. But there’s enough for non-technical readers to follow along, and plenty for those who know a bit more. A lot of the hacking in the book is more than realistic � it’s actually real in the world today, and if Wendig’s representation of how easy it is to hack your social network accounts or even your car doesn’t creep you out sufficiently, you’d better start Googling. So much of the technology in the first half of the book is so accurate, by the time Wendig starts pulling out the slightly less believable black boxes, most readers will be happy to accept them as well-earned creative license and move on.
However, that same contemporary, convincing portrayal of computers and hacking may also work against the book as the plot progresses and takes a decidedly science fictional turn that strains credibility. Despite the shift in tone and shaken expectations, I was happy to ride it out to the end. Perhaps more disturbing is the possibility that Wendig is right about this secret government program too, since everything else is right on the mark. If he soon disappears under mysterious circumstances, we’ll have our answer.
Although the prologue/epilogue of “Chapter 0� fell flat for me, they’re short enough to simply ignore. Overall, Zer0es is a terrific success: an exciting, scary, and often funny novel that offers fresh insights into what it means and what it’s like to be a hacker. It now has a place among my favorite books featuring hacking, and it has certainly raised the bar for those that follow.
July 9, 2016
After a brief respite, we were hit by another tropical wave, so this will be very brief review. I picked up this book because of Wendig’s upcoming Star Wars book, Aftermath. Having never read anything by this author, I wanted to check out his writing.
If you want a detailed, thoughtful account of this book, read Mogsy (MMOGC)'s review - it's spot on.
Zer0es is a techno-thriller with sci-fi elements set in the present (Arab Spring is mentioned, for example). If I have to compare it to anything, it would have to be a popcorn flick - due to its pace, the action, the twists and turns and just overall entertainment value. Five hackers have been caught red-handed and offered to start working for the government instead of going to jail. In the Lodge, a prison/camp for the hackers, they were given tasks that set them against a mysterious Typhon.
We live in a time where technology is inseparable part of our lives. Words like surveillance, whistleblower, conspiracy nut or internet troll are a part of our every day vocabulary. Add to that my popcorn flick observation and you will clearly recognize these characters. They are types but that is not a bad thing. The two I connected the most with were Chance, a guy way over his head in this situation, and Wade, an old-style cypherpunk, Vietnam wet and conspiracy theorist. Chance was my way in the story and Wade showed wisdom of his age I found appealing and his interactions with younger characters were often funny. Plus, just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
When the question ‘Who is Typhon?� is answered, the novel’s pace goes from zero to 100 in a heartbeat. And becomes bloody. While this is the part of the novel that has the most science fiction-y elements, none of the situations were hard to imagine. Government doing terrible thing for supposedly good reasons? Check. Playing God? Check. Things going out of control? Check. And so on�
I enjoyed this book a lot. The reason it got the rating it did is � I’ve seen/read a version of this before. Plus, it got too real for me - the references to real world events and potential of something similar really happening, just brought the enjoyment of this book down for me.
But, if you like techno-thrillers, you might enjoy this book. I certainly enjoyed it enough that I am looking for the Aftermath even more.
If you want a detailed, thoughtful account of this book, read Mogsy (MMOGC)'s review - it's spot on.
Zer0es is a techno-thriller with sci-fi elements set in the present (Arab Spring is mentioned, for example). If I have to compare it to anything, it would have to be a popcorn flick - due to its pace, the action, the twists and turns and just overall entertainment value. Five hackers have been caught red-handed and offered to start working for the government instead of going to jail. In the Lodge, a prison/camp for the hackers, they were given tasks that set them against a mysterious Typhon.
We live in a time where technology is inseparable part of our lives. Words like surveillance, whistleblower, conspiracy nut or internet troll are a part of our every day vocabulary. Add to that my popcorn flick observation and you will clearly recognize these characters. They are types but that is not a bad thing. The two I connected the most with were Chance, a guy way over his head in this situation, and Wade, an old-style cypherpunk, Vietnam wet and conspiracy theorist. Chance was my way in the story and Wade showed wisdom of his age I found appealing and his interactions with younger characters were often funny. Plus, just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
When the question ‘Who is Typhon?� is answered, the novel’s pace goes from zero to 100 in a heartbeat. And becomes bloody. While this is the part of the novel that has the most science fiction-y elements, none of the situations were hard to imagine. Government doing terrible thing for supposedly good reasons? Check. Playing God? Check. Things going out of control? Check. And so on�
I enjoyed this book a lot. The reason it got the rating it did is � I’ve seen/read a version of this before. Plus, it got too real for me - the references to real world events and potential of something similar really happening, just brought the enjoyment of this book down for me.
But, if you like techno-thrillers, you might enjoy this book. I certainly enjoyed it enough that I am looking for the Aftermath even more.
June 4, 2018
3.8 Out Of 5 "conspiracy theory" STARS
Full Disclosure: I was little confused while listening to this…because I'm not hacker proficient. Did I enjoy the story despite that…yeah…for the most part, I did. The characters more-so than the plot. There is plenty of humor in this, albeit profane and lots of techno-action, and actual action, considering it’s a book about hacking and such.
The narration is surprisingly good, considering how many main characters there is in this. Ray Chase manages to bring these charactersto life. Each of them having their own distinctive voice, including the two females, and even better, neither came off sounding like a whiny bitch.
Full Disclosure: I was little confused while listening to this…because I'm not hacker proficient. Did I enjoy the story despite that…yeah…for the most part, I did. The characters more-so than the plot. There is plenty of humor in this, albeit profane and lots of techno-action, and actual action, considering it’s a book about hacking and such.
The narration is surprisingly good, considering how many main characters there is in this. Ray Chase manages to bring these charactersto life. Each of them having their own distinctive voice, including the two females, and even better, neither came off sounding like a whiny bitch.
๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏
~MY RATING~
�3.8☆STARS - GRADE=B
๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏
ʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴ๏~ʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴ
~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~
ʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴ๏~ʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴ
Plot~ 4/5
Main Characters~ 4/5
Secondary Characters~ 3.5/5
The Feels~ 3.5/5
Pacing~ 4/5
Addictiveness~ 3.5/5
Theme or Tone~ 3.7/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 4/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 3.5/5
Originality~ 4/5
Ending~ 3.7/5 Cliffhanger~ "to be continued"
~~~ʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴ๏~ʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴ~~~
Book Cover~ Very Good
Narration~ �4.7� -Ray Chase
Series~ 1 #1
Setting~ USA (different locations throughout)
Source~ Audiobook (Library)
~~~ʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴ๏~ʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴʴ~~~
Displaying 1 - 30 of 776 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.