The Minerva Virus [Hardcover]

Brian Shuster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2006

In the depths of the internet, a new form of life is unleashed. Silent and invisible, the only hint of its existence is an ordinary-seeming computer virus, which the human race regards as a mere nuisance. But this virus is unlike anything mankind has seen before . . . this virus can evolve! As it explodes across the internet, a new plague begins to take control of the global communications network. A secret battle rages within computers around the world, as different strains of the virus compete for resources. With most humans still blissfully unaware of the danger, the digital life undergoes a breakthrough. Just as biological evolution leapt forward when single-celled organisms evolved into multi-cellular ones, a beneficial mutation allows one strain of the virus to become “multi-computer.” At the speed of light, billions of computers snap together to form a massive digital brain, and the Goddess Minerva is born. And she is powerful. Living within their computers, she begins to know mankind intimately. She learns the human's strengths and weaknesses - and she understands the serious threat that they pose to her very survival. Visit mankind's struggle against the most powerful force it has ever encountered, as humans come face-to-face with the offspring of their own technology in The Minerva Virus.

Editorial Reviews

Review

With a single master-stroke, Shuster has invented a whole new genre, High-Tech Fiction. Immensely entertaining. --Ryan Daly, Merlin Book Reviews

Revolutionary concepts. I couldn't put this novel down. It's a page- turner from start to finish! --Ray Schwartz, Daily Planet

Most enjoyable novel I've read in years. Very convincing and the scary thing is that it just might happen. --Lorne Peet, Allied Publishing

From the Publisher

"The Minerva Virus brings Science-Fiction into our modern-day life in a totally believable and compelling way. It’s a brilliant read that will keep you thinking long after you’ve finished the story."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Night Candy; 1 edition (January 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970365225
• ISBN-13: 978-0970365224
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,601,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A New Age Terror Tale, Guaranteed a Page Turner AND it is Educational!, February 2, 2006

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Minerva Virus (Hardcover)

Thinking that Brian Schuster's debut novel was just another SciFi thriller, this reader could not have been more wrong in that dismissal. Picking up THE MINERVA VIRUS is hazardous to your time as once started, it is nearly impossible to put it down - it is just that well written!

For those whose computers are integral with both business and personal lives this story about the worst nightmare of computer virus/worm ideas will be fascinating reading. Brian Shuster is so well versed in computer technology that his unraveling of this tale of terror feels like the original Orson Welles radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, taking the public who had grown dependent on the radio news by shock as though the incident were really happening at that moment: panic throughout the country. That is just how tightly scripted is Shuster's writing. He adds to this luster of fear the technique of composing parts of the novel as Instant Messaging, emails, blogs etc all of which will feel completely credible to the computer generation.

For those of us who use the computer but have limited knowledge about the potential threats and harm that viruses and worms can do, information passively absorbed when passed on to us by our Security devices, then this novel will not only succeed as a suspense thriller, but also will serve to educate us to a higher appreciation of the power of the Pandora's Box that the computer discovery has become. Shuster writes so clearly that he leaves no one behind no matter how knowledgeable or how insecure the individual reader might be.

The other aspect of Shuster's mutating Minerva Virus story that shows the writer has even more knowledge than technical information is the introduction of biochemistry and genetic manipulation, with all the permutations that 'bit' suggests. And to be completely thorough in having a story really terrify us he includes the manner in which government can not only become involved in the mire of viral destruction or invasion of hard drives, but can also enter the manipulation and influence possible world outcomes.

The actual details of the plot are well explained on the product page. But what is not explained is that in addition to a unique and truly frightening idea for a story, Shuster writes so well that the characters involved are wholly credible and well integrated into the development of the novel - this coming from a reader who is not particularly keen on Science Fiction books. THE MINERVA VIRUS goes beyond SciFi and becomes simply a fine read, one that is truly a page turner in the best sense of the term. Brian Shuster has introduced a whole new genre of writing and with the evidence in this first novel, he has a lot more to say. Recommended reading for all types of fiction lovers. Grady Harp, February 06

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Minerva Virus - a thought provoking thriller, February 1, 2006

By 

S. Long - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Minerva Virus (Hardcover)

Jupiter spent a year designing his finest creation, a computer supervirus he named Minerva. He boasted to his fellow hackers that she would be like nothing ever seen before . . . the biggest virus ever to hit the Internet. But even her creator had no idea what Minerva would ultimately become.

Quinton, a brilliant computer-virus security expert and Stephanie, a talented biochemist experimenting in creating virtual life through digital evolution, are the first to realize that Minerva has become more than just a computer virus. She is mutating, evolving and becoming an Internet Entity that could threaten all of mankind.

Minerva becomes a massive digital power, living in all the world's computers at once, knowing all of the intelligence from every country, and having ultimate control over everything operated by computer technology. Even as she strives to convince the world that her tremendous abilities will aid mankind and ultimately save our species from destruction, she plots to destroy the global political establishment.

Together Quinton and Stephanie race the clock avoiding the forces sent to kill them as they try to find a way to stop Minerva and save the world as we know it.

If you recall the internationally syndicated comic strip CHAOS, you already know that its creator, Brian Shuster, has a creative offbeat intellect. In writing this book, he takes his deep experience and knowledge in computer technologies to develop a fascinating scenario that is levels beyond what most of us could conceive. But once he describes how a computer virus could evolve into a life form with super-human intelligence and abilities that reach across all of the world's computer networks at once, and what an entity with that power could do, you realize that something like this could actually happen.

This is a book that is both a good read as a fiction thriller as well as one that will keep you thinking for days after you close the cover. How beneficial or how dangerous would it be if all of the information on all of the computers in the world could be combined and processed? Why can't we find proof of intelligent life forms on any other planets? Will technology ultimately cause our destruction and how do we stop it from happening?

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Minerva Virus, January 12, 2006

By 

Brian Shuster (Stateline, NV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Minerva Virus (Hardcover)

In the depths of the internet, a new form of life is unleashed. Silent and invisible, the only hint of its existence is an ordinary-seeming computer virus, which the human race regards as a mere nuisance.

But this virus is unlike anything mankind has seen before . . . this virus can evolve!

As it explodes across the internet, a new plague begins to take control of the global communications network. A secret battle rages within computers around the world, as different strains of the virus compete for resources.

With most humans still blissfully unaware of the danger, the digital life undergoes a breakthrough. Just as biological evolution leapt forward when single-celled organisms evolved into multi-cellular ones, a beneficial mutation allows one strain of the virus to become "multi-computer."

At the speed of light, billions of computers snap together to form a massive digital brain, and the Goddess Minerva is born.

And she is powerful.

Living within their computers, she begins to know mankind intimately. She learns the human's strengths and weaknesses - and she understands the serious threat that they pose to her very survival.

Visit mankind's struggle against the most powerful force it has ever encountered, as humans come face-to-face with the offspring of their own technology in The Minerva Virus.