Review
(Each character) adds drama and humor to the events leading to .comU's launch as personal issues intervene in daily work. -- Mel Robertson, Crawfordsville (Ind.) Journal Review, May 21, 2005
(The Developers) balance work with love lives, marriages, Richard Simmons fixations, stalker ex-husbands and secret lives in dangerous miniskirt cults. -- Jim Mayse, Owensboro (Ky.) Messenger-Inquirer, June 11, 2005
... a little bit of everything - in the mode of "Seinfeld," with a helping of "Dilbert" on the side. -- Rebecca Coudret, Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press, January 21, 2006
... a must for anyone who really dug "1984" or "Brave New World" but also likes to surf the net. -- Katie Richardson, Champaign (Ill.) Buzz Magazine, Dec. 1 2005
The Developers is a startlingly original and somewhat curious debut novel. The earnestness of the writer, the diversity of the characters, the originality of the presentation and the clarity and understatement of the prose combine to make it one of the most surprising releases of 2005. Woods' first book gives reason to expect some kind of masterpiece somewhere down the road. --LEO, Louisville, Ky.
It doesn't take a super sci-fi buff to see the potential implications of an Internet superpower and the American government operating out of people's homes hand in hand. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine having a serious love jones while trying to begin a new chapter in the world of technology. With the recent Internet chatter that has been surfacing about larger, more powerful Internet companies the book's message appears to be eerily relevant. This is a must for anyone who really dug 1984 or Brave New World but also likes to surf the Net from time to time, preferably with the idea in the back of your head that Big Brother could be watching. --Buzz Magazine, Champaign, Ill.
The book touches on some interesting issues, particularly when the developers are contacted by the U.S. government about developing a national "Super Information Portal" that would force internet users not only to connect to the internet via government networks, but to willingly have their internet usage tracked by the government. In short, the developers have to wrestle with the possibility that the technology that they invented will be used by the government to keep tabs on virtually every person living in the United States. Though this is a work of a fiction, it brings up the question: how accessible is private information, and is government control over something as open as the Internet plausible? With the recent changes on websites such as Facebook, one can literally obtain a mass of information on a person in seconds. --The Retriever Weekly, Baltimore
Woods lucidly and quite pleasantly describes issues surrounding the establishment of a new company in the Internet age. -- John Walsh, BookPleasures.com, January 13, 2006
Woods’ first book gives reason to expect some kind of masterpiece somewhere down the road. -- Paul Kopasz, Louisville Eccentric Observer
(The Developers) balance work with love lives, marriages, Richard Simmons fixations, stalker ex-husbands and secret lives in dangerous miniskirt cults. -- Jim Mayse, Owensboro (Ky.) Messenger-Inquirer, June 11, 2005
... a little bit of everything - in the mode of "Seinfeld," with a helping of "Dilbert" on the side. -- Rebecca Coudret, Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press, January 21, 2006
... a must for anyone who really dug "1984" or "Brave New World" but also likes to surf the net. -- Katie Richardson, Champaign (Ill.) Buzz Magazine, Dec. 1 2005
The Developers is a startlingly original and somewhat curious debut novel. The earnestness of the writer, the diversity of the characters, the originality of the presentation and the clarity and understatement of the prose combine to make it one of the most surprising releases of 2005. Woods' first book gives reason to expect some kind of masterpiece somewhere down the road. --LEO, Louisville, Ky.
It doesn't take a super sci-fi buff to see the potential implications of an Internet superpower and the American government operating out of people's homes hand in hand. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine having a serious love jones while trying to begin a new chapter in the world of technology. With the recent Internet chatter that has been surfacing about larger, more powerful Internet companies the book's message appears to be eerily relevant. This is a must for anyone who really dug 1984 or Brave New World but also likes to surf the Net from time to time, preferably with the idea in the back of your head that Big Brother could be watching. --Buzz Magazine, Champaign, Ill.
The book touches on some interesting issues, particularly when the developers are contacted by the U.S. government about developing a national "Super Information Portal" that would force internet users not only to connect to the internet via government networks, but to willingly have their internet usage tracked by the government. In short, the developers have to wrestle with the possibility that the technology that they invented will be used by the government to keep tabs on virtually every person living in the United States. Though this is a work of a fiction, it brings up the question: how accessible is private information, and is government control over something as open as the Internet plausible? With the recent changes on websites such as Facebook, one can literally obtain a mass of information on a person in seconds. --The Retriever Weekly, Baltimore
Woods lucidly and quite pleasantly describes issues surrounding the establishment of a new company in the Internet age. -- John Walsh, BookPleasures.com, January 13, 2006
Woods’ first book gives reason to expect some kind of masterpiece somewhere down the road. -- Paul Kopasz, Louisville Eccentric Observer
Product Description
The Developers mixes the insane and obscene with technology, romance and pop culture. But while the book's web development group tries to make its mark on the virtual world, it encounters pre-eminent issues that will soon be shaping the Internet of the future: Are individuals losing their remaining privacy due to the World Wide Web? Will online social interaction eventually replace in-person gatherings as a necessary means? The Developers tells the story of Matt Severnson, who has assembled a team of hard-working, quasi-geek individuals to build a revolutionary website for a northern Michigan city. The system becomes a big hit despite the group members' idiosyncratic traits. Fast food addiction, incessant sexual tension and heated bingo competition constantly distract the team. While the opportunity arises to build the first nationwide, government-sponsored high-speed Internet portal, the issue comes second to Matt's relationship with Katy, the team's co-leader. They cannot hate each other enough to halt their steamy romance, but they can't love each other enough to share anything but a fish dinner.
