The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
readingwithhippos's review
3.0
To enjoy this book, you need to understand one thing: it's not really a book. It's an action movie. Once you accept that, you can ignore the occasionally awkward writing and stereotyped characters and revel in the fistfights and high-stakes computer hacking.
I wasn't exactly expecting highbrow literature when I picked this book up, but it's been a while since I read action-packed popular fiction of this variety, and I was unprepared for the blunt force of Chapman's prose. If literary fiction authors carve their stories with a razor blade, etching out fine details in artful scrolls, Chapman crafts his with a machete.
His bio on the book jacket proclaims in the first sentence that Chapman is a screenwriter. This explains why he is so oddly clumsy at working in physical descriptions of his characters (at one point, a female character blinks âher brown, thirty-two-year-old eyesâ). He also keeps his characters firmly within established cinematic roles: the young, brilliant male lead is so arrogant that everyone agrees he's a complete ass, yet somehow the sole attractive female character can't resist his nonexistent charms.
Chapman's day job does provide him with a few advantages, however. He is a master of pacing, slingshotting from one scene to the next, never giving us a chance to get bored. He's clearly done enough research into economics and technology to give scenes authenticity. And the premise is edgy enough: someone, perhaps a foreign power, is anonymously attacking US infrastructureâtreasury bonds, real estate, nuclear power plants. A young bonds trader named Garrett is recruited by the military for a new program called Ascendant. He's chosen because he has a vast memory and an uncanny ability to recognize patterns. Garrett's task is to find the culprits, learn their patterns, and help the US avoid further disruptions. At least, that's what he believes at firstâthe deeper he gets into the program, the more suspicious he becomes of the situation and his handlers. He needs to figure out who he can trust and save the world at the same time.
Bottom line: If you enjoy movies like The Bourne Identity or The Net, you'll like this movie-in-book-form too. (Have you seen The Net? It's a classic, featuring baby Sandra Bullock and a bunch of forgettable men.)
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
I wasn't exactly expecting highbrow literature when I picked this book up, but it's been a while since I read action-packed popular fiction of this variety, and I was unprepared for the blunt force of Chapman's prose. If literary fiction authors carve their stories with a razor blade, etching out fine details in artful scrolls, Chapman crafts his with a machete.
His bio on the book jacket proclaims in the first sentence that Chapman is a screenwriter. This explains why he is so oddly clumsy at working in physical descriptions of his characters (at one point, a female character blinks âher brown, thirty-two-year-old eyesâ). He also keeps his characters firmly within established cinematic roles: the young, brilliant male lead is so arrogant that everyone agrees he's a complete ass, yet somehow the sole attractive female character can't resist his nonexistent charms.
Chapman's day job does provide him with a few advantages, however. He is a master of pacing, slingshotting from one scene to the next, never giving us a chance to get bored. He's clearly done enough research into economics and technology to give scenes authenticity. And the premise is edgy enough: someone, perhaps a foreign power, is anonymously attacking US infrastructureâtreasury bonds, real estate, nuclear power plants. A young bonds trader named Garrett is recruited by the military for a new program called Ascendant. He's chosen because he has a vast memory and an uncanny ability to recognize patterns. Garrett's task is to find the culprits, learn their patterns, and help the US avoid further disruptions. At least, that's what he believes at firstâthe deeper he gets into the program, the more suspicious he becomes of the situation and his handlers. He needs to figure out who he can trust and save the world at the same time.
Bottom line: If you enjoy movies like The Bourne Identity or The Net, you'll like this movie-in-book-form too. (Have you seen The Net? It's a classic, featuring baby Sandra Bullock and a bunch of forgettable men.)
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
ctiner7's review
4.0
I won this book on Goodreads First Reads
Very good writing. It was a great thriller and I can't wait to read the next Garrett Reilly book!
Very good writing. It was a great thriller and I can't wait to read the next Garrett Reilly book!
fredicia's review against another edition
5.0
I got this book from the Goodreads giveaway. Thanks Simon and Schuster Canada. It's not the usual type of book I go for, but I thought "Hey, now that I'm a responsible adult, I should read read non-fantasy adult fiction." And I'm glad I did. Because this book was Awesome (and the capital A is necessary.)
I have sticky notes all over the place so I apologize in advance if the flow is awkward.
This book is like... Sherlock dropped in Ender's Game, narrated by John Grisham. Mix in a Trojan Horse war game and then you're good. We have Garrett, who is, put mildly, an arrogant asshole. He doesn't think everyone is stupid, just that he's smarter than everyone else. But he's super observant and is an absolute genius at recognizing patterns, therefore being able to back up his claims of superiority. He's recruited into the government program Ascendent just before a stealth war with China is about to start.
Emphasis on stealth. It's not a war fought with bombs and missiles and soldiers killing. It's one with hacking and tanking the economy and dirty fighting. And it's very, very effective. Military generals have no idea what to do because there haven't been any overt attacks.
I had a few problems with the novel. There was just too much telling in the beginning. Everything was explained in such precise detail that it got to the point of sounding tedious. Like the CUSIP numbers. Chapman tells you what Garrett's special skill is, where as it would have been more engaging to give a demonstration or two. Or give the demonstration and then explain. It's supposed to be an action book right?
Another problem is the relationship between Alexis and Garrett. I felt like it took away from the book. Yes, Garrett can be downright childish and he loves women and Alexis is very pretty, but it moved too quickly to add to anything. I feel like it was a romantic subplot inserted in there for the sake of having a romantic subplot in the novel. And I know that Alexis was supposed to seduce Garrett and that she was necessary, but it felt very unnatural.
On a better note, I thought the plot and characters were wonderful. It's plot driven like any other action book but the characters all have separate and realistic personalities. Garrett is entertaining and amusing and unpredictable while Alexis is the epitome of a military woman trying to do the right thing for her country. Bingo is like everyone's little brother and Lefebvre is the loyal friend that goes "Guys, we need to go home, we have school tomorrow. Oh god, is that drugs, Garrett?" They clash, they fight, but the reader can tell that there is a bond there. That's hard to convey through writing, and it's pretty impressive that first- time novelist Chapman did it well.
I also loved that America wasn't portrayed as all righteous, and China wasn't all evil. There's good and bad on both sides.
Let's see... What else? Oh yes! The war game. Utterly brilliant. One of the best modern uses of the Trojan Horse tactic I've seen in a novel.
Despite what I mentioned as the problems, it's five stars because it was, overall, a very good book. It was well-rounded, very smartly written, good characters and plot, and it was absorbing and engaging. It made me laugh and giggle and yell "WHAT? OMG OMG OMG" and skip a meal. And it was absolutely worth it.
I have sticky notes all over the place so I apologize in advance if the flow is awkward.
This book is like... Sherlock dropped in Ender's Game, narrated by John Grisham. Mix in a Trojan Horse war game and then you're good. We have Garrett, who is, put mildly, an arrogant asshole. He doesn't think everyone is stupid, just that he's smarter than everyone else. But he's super observant and is an absolute genius at recognizing patterns, therefore being able to back up his claims of superiority. He's recruited into the government program Ascendent just before a stealth war with China is about to start.
Emphasis on stealth. It's not a war fought with bombs and missiles and soldiers killing. It's one with hacking and tanking the economy and dirty fighting. And it's very, very effective. Military generals have no idea what to do because there haven't been any overt attacks.
I had a few problems with the novel. There was just too much telling in the beginning. Everything was explained in such precise detail that it got to the point of sounding tedious. Like the CUSIP numbers. Chapman tells you what Garrett's special skill is, where as it would have been more engaging to give a demonstration or two. Or give the demonstration and then explain. It's supposed to be an action book right?
Another problem is the relationship between Alexis and Garrett. I felt like it took away from the book. Yes, Garrett can be downright childish and he loves women and Alexis is very pretty, but it moved too quickly to add to anything. I feel like it was a romantic subplot inserted in there for the sake of having a romantic subplot in the novel. And I know that Alexis was supposed to seduce Garrett and that she was necessary, but it felt very unnatural.
On a better note, I thought the plot and characters were wonderful. It's plot driven like any other action book but the characters all have separate and realistic personalities. Garrett is entertaining and amusing and unpredictable while Alexis is the epitome of a military woman trying to do the right thing for her country. Bingo is like everyone's little brother and Lefebvre is the loyal friend that goes "Guys, we need to go home, we have school tomorrow. Oh god, is that drugs, Garrett?" They clash, they fight, but the reader can tell that there is a bond there. That's hard to convey through writing, and it's pretty impressive that first- time novelist Chapman did it well.
I also loved that America wasn't portrayed as all righteous, and China wasn't all evil. There's good and bad on both sides.
Let's see... What else? Oh yes! The war game. Utterly brilliant. One of the best modern uses of the Trojan Horse tactic I've seen in a novel.
Despite what I mentioned as the problems, it's five stars because it was, overall, a very good book. It was well-rounded, very smartly written, good characters and plot, and it was absorbing and engaging. It made me laugh and giggle and yell "WHAT? OMG OMG OMG" and skip a meal. And it was absolutely worth it.
usbsticky's review
1.0
I didn't like this book; per GR's rating system, it's 1 star.
Good premise but maybe I was expecting too much. I found the writing amateurish and unsophisticated. I'm sorry but I can't explain it any other way. Just very awkward and poor writing. The way the people acted in the book, their dialog, I felt it was very unrealistic and may I even dare to say, cringeworthy. My opinion appears to be in the minority but that's my opinion. According to the blurb in the back he appears to be an established and experienced writer so I may very well be wrong. I did not enjoy this book. I received this book free as a review copy.
Good premise but maybe I was expecting too much. I found the writing amateurish and unsophisticated. I'm sorry but I can't explain it any other way. Just very awkward and poor writing. The way the people acted in the book, their dialog, I felt it was very unrealistic and may I even dare to say, cringeworthy. My opinion appears to be in the minority but that's my opinion. According to the blurb in the back he appears to be an established and experienced writer so I may very well be wrong. I did not enjoy this book. I received this book free as a review copy.
dougharris's review
3.0
Nice thriller... certainly due for a big screen adaptation. I'll read a sequel if it is written but I'm a bit on the fence about the lasting power of this one.
emsterino19's review
5.0
This is not your typical guns blazing, bombs exploding, edge of your seat, heart-pounding war thriller. It is more brilliant than that. It was a page-turner from beginning to end that I thought about when I woke up in the morning, picking up at every opportunity, desperate to get to the end. Garrett Reilly is called up to fight a new kind of war. A war that doesn't involve guns or physically trained soldiers. A war that will test the greatest of minds.
I look forward to reading more from Drew Chapman.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
shelflife's review
3.0
A pretty fun, easy fast paced techno-finance-political thriller, with a young, snarky, complicated hero, Garrett Reilly.
I needed a quick, mind numbing read and this was almost the perfect read that. I say almost because it wasn't exactly mind numbing. This was a pretty sharp book using a numbers genius who carries a whole lot of negative baggage. He's handsome, smart, young and has buckets full of attitude and anger when one day he's recruited by the government to help them in an experimental program called the ascendant.
How do you fight wars without shedding any blood? a war of outwitting your enemy at every turning loose tech savvy media and finance geeks loose on the unsuspecting world of political games. A pretty exciting roller coater ride for what it is. Not a lot of depth, but good fun.
I needed a quick, mind numbing read and this was almost the perfect read that. I say almost because it wasn't exactly mind numbing. This was a pretty sharp book using a numbers genius who carries a whole lot of negative baggage. He's handsome, smart, young and has buckets full of attitude and anger when one day he's recruited by the government to help them in an experimental program called the ascendant.
How do you fight wars without shedding any blood? a war of outwitting your enemy at every turning loose tech savvy media and finance geeks loose on the unsuspecting world of political games. A pretty exciting roller coater ride for what it is. Not a lot of depth, but good fun.
stricker's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
U.S./Chinese cyberwar
jfranco77's review
3.0
Garrett Reilly is a one in a billion genius when it comes to spotting patterns amid mountains of chaotic data. Working as a bond trader, he spots a pattern of bond sell-offs and figures out that the Chinese are behind it. So he draws the attention of the military and intelligence communities who want to use his abilities for themselves.
Of course, Garrett has an extreme dislike of the military, after his brother was killed in Afghanistan. The DIA wants him to identify other "secret" activities being orchestrated by the Chinese, and figure out why they're happening. They give him command of a unique team of experts and a mission of thinking outside the box. When things escalate to the brink of a shooting war, only Garrett and his team can save the day.
The characters are slightly nuanced but mostly predictable. I did enjoy the different take on what "war" could look like. But of course that means that the "action" in the book is mostly capture, escape, rinse, repeat. A fun read with enough twists to keep it interesting.
Of course, Garrett has an extreme dislike of the military, after his brother was killed in Afghanistan. The DIA wants him to identify other "secret" activities being orchestrated by the Chinese, and figure out why they're happening. They give him command of a unique team of experts and a mission of thinking outside the box. When things escalate to the brink of a shooting war, only Garrett and his team can save the day.
The characters are slightly nuanced but mostly predictable. I did enjoy the different take on what "war" could look like. But of course that means that the "action" in the book is mostly capture, escape, rinse, repeat. A fun read with enough twists to keep it interesting.