Cloud Crash: A Technothriller [Kindle Edition]

Phil Edwards (Author)

Book Description

A MAD BOMBER crosses the country with nothing to lose and orders to kill. He won't stop until the "cloud computing" that powers the internet is destroyed. But he's not acting alone--he's part of a conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of power. 
 
His only obstacle? A team of professionals with serious flaws: a corporate investigator who's too brash to stay out of trouble, a hermit-like blogger with crippling paranoia, and a beautiful public relations expert with her own fair share of secrets. They'll have to work together to discover the true source of the attacks--before it's too late. 
 
Along the way, they'll come in contact with modern technology's greatest risks. The chase takes them from Silicon Valley to New York City, with stops at Napa and Area 51 in between. They'll have to move quickly--there's only one chance to keep the cloud from crashing. 
 
If you love taut, puzzle-based thrillers with big ideas, you'll want to start Cloud Crash immediately.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

An Interview With Phil Edwards About Cloud Crash

Cloud Crash is about a high tech problem. How do you make it accessible?

Cloud computing has become increasingly common since I wrote the book. If you use the internet, you use "the cloud." That said, I didn't want to write a technical manual, so I tried to craft a story with lots of puzzles, explosions, and strong characters that make the big ideas palatable. There's a lot to think about, but it's mashed up with a lot of adventure.

This book features a look at Silicon Valley. How did you research it?

My first goal was that the book be accessible to readers who didn't know what cloud computing was. My second goal was that the characters epitomize that Valley mentality. I  spent a few years working as a consultant about Facebook, so I've read all the hype, met a lot of different people, and learned the basic tech. From there, I read technical works to make sure the book was accurate. The scenario I've charted--the collapse of the internet--is definitely a worst case scenario with explosives added in. But it's plausible enough to spark debate.

What other characters are your favorites in the book?

This book is densely plotted and fast paced, so the characters gave me a great outlet to have some fun. I love Kevin, the Zuckerbergesque (that's a word now, I've decided) CEO of Bioze. He's spacier than Zuckerberg, but has the same risky idealism. And I like the renegade blogger Ben. I'm happy to say I don't resemble him much at all, though his incredibly bad basement apartment is, sadly, modeled on one I used to live in.

About the Author

Phil Edwards has worked as a journalist, blogger, and grocery cart pusher. He can be found at PhilEdwardsInc.com, or on Twitter @PhilEdwardsInc.

Product Details

• File Size: 719 KB
• Print Length: 386 pages
• Publisher: Harrison-Mills Media (January 5, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004IZM9MK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,408 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This cloud is not in the sky March 7, 2011

By Gyula Meszaros

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm not a tech guy, but I have some idea what "the cloud" is. My e-mails and documents are in the cloud. My Facebook status messages and photos are in the cloud. My twitter blurbs are in the cloud. So if the cloud would collapse, a part of my life would disappear. This is happening in Cloud Crash. Websites are down, services are unreachable, the Internet is collapsing, because data centers are detonated.

The CEO of Bioze calls Cal Stevens, consultant to find out who is behind this conspiracy. Because for Bioze it is not only information which is at stake, but the life of hospital patients are in danger, whose treatment is handled and followed by cloud computing applications. If the Bioze data center crushes, people dies.

So Cal does his best to get to the man who is not afraid to kill anyone between him and his target. Fortunately Brianna Cowell is helping him, who turns out to be an agent.

I liked that the story is fast paced. I liked the characters too, because they were not perfect, but human. I liked the idea of erasing "the cloud". I liked the book.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as exciting as I'd hoped February 21, 2012

By Kris James

Format:Kindle Edition

~~From Red Adept Reviews~~

I received Cloud Crash: A Technothriller, by Phil Edwards, as a review copy submitted to "Red Adept Reviews" by the author.

Overall: 3 Stars

Plot/Storyline: 4 Stars

This book took me weeks to read, when I usually grind through a novel in hours. But it wasn't due to a bad plot; I very much enjoyed its final few twists.

The subplot involving Area 51 wasn't what I expected and could have been cut entirely, and the bomber's subplot could have been a quarter as detailed and still remained relevant. The blogger's subplot was my favorite; it wasn't overdone, and the character was easy to relate to.

At one point, a newly-broken code is described as consistent, but it wasn't; the author used two kinds of ciphers. Another time, guards had been forewarned of the bomber's attacks, but weren't given weapons or any other means to defend their building--a plot device that saved the final confrontation for our heroes.

The various settings were entertaining; I particularly enjoyed the final section of the book; all the plotlines dovetailed nicely and the tension was intense.

I particularly enjoyed one scene between Ben and Khalid which brought up both sides of what is currently the argument surrounding the SOPA bill. There's nothing like relevant fiction to give us another look at ourselves.

Character Development: 3 3/4 Stars

Cal Stevens starts off with a quality pedigree: journalist, investigator, party boy, sexy guy. But when the story begins, his intelligence doesn't hold up to the hype. He asks questions about internet topics so basic that I wondered where he'd been in the last decade. He felt Gary Stuish from the start, though his snappy wit was always entertaining.

Schloss, the bomber, starts his day with a perfect plan, we're told. But as time goes by, he's revealed to have made mistake after mistake during his planning phase, as well as goofing up during the plan's execution. He ends up seeming to suffer from delusions of competence, and, as with Cal, I wondered how he got hired.

Brianna, PR agent/actual agent, was awesome. Her PR side was strongly shown, and her kick-ass side did just that. Mysterious, possibly untrustworthy, having her own agenda and not apologizing for it, she owned this book. She definitely owned Cal.

Ben the blogger was an interesting addition to the book, in a good way. The pacing of his sections were different, but no less intriguing or tense. His fears and paranoia were a nice foil to the confidence of the other characters.

There were several minor characters as well, and while they were all developed to some degree, I didn't feel they all needed inclusion and/or POV scenes.

Writing Style: 2 Stars

The author has a habit of putting a character's dialogue in its own paragraph, without a dialogue tag. Occasionally, this made it confusing as to who was speaking.

Technical details felt overexplained, particularly through Brianna's, Kevin's, and Arthur's dialogue. The "use in sentence--question--explain further" dialogue sequence happened regularly in the first half of the book, slowing down the pace and making Cal--who did most of the questioning--look so technically inept that it strained my belief to accept that Kevin would have hired him in the first place. It was hard to stay interested when I kept feeling like I knew more than the characters (including things like the purpose of speed-limit cameras).

Numerous instances of vague writing made it harder to stay focused on the action; some scenes wrapped up with a vague pronouncement that killed the building tension.

Editing: 2 1/2 Stars

Run-on sentences were rampant. Comma usage was minimal and inconsistent. I also found a large number of simple grammatical errors and a handful of capitalization errors.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast and fun January 22, 2011

By Marcus

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Cloud Crash is a pretty fast paced book, even though it's long. It definitely made me think about all the movies, emails, and photos I see in the "data cloud." I appreciated the look at Silicon Valley and the characters' interest in lots of different things. A plausible and fun read.

More About the Author

Phil Edwards has worked as a journalist, blogger, and grocery cart pusher. He can be found at PhilEdwardsInc.com, or on Twitter @PhilEdwardsInc.