Customer Reviews

Shutdown

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It is not always possible to read Authors that are already known quantities. There were no reviews on Amazon so I took a chance as the book was endorsed by more than one well-known Author. Never again will I rely on another Author.

I will not say this is the worst book I have read because something else will surely come along. But my observations are as follows.

The Author is an engineer at AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), I felt is was reasonable to presume he could write a decent work on computer chips as that was his "day job", and one that he surely should keep.

I have never before commented on the quality of proofreading. This book is so filled with bad spelling and groups of words masquerading as sentences that it was distracting to read. In one section three consecutive pages contain the most basic spelling errors.

Entire scenes from the book have been in either another book or movie. Remember when a Japanese bad guy uses a naked woman as a table for Sushi? Well I do, it was in a Sean Connery movie, adapted I believe form a Crichton novel. The writer's imagination was limited to substituting one girl for two.

The book is an endless product endorsement as the world's chip manufacturers are victimized, AMD is of course immune. AMD is also the processor of choice with detailed explanations on why the main character in the book chose it over....you guessed it a Pentium III. The name of the notebook is mentioned dozens of times.

The author's knowledge of a SEAL Team he portrays in the book is zero. Again they were equipped at The Sharper Image and can not check the time without mentioning the brand and model of their watch, their GPS equipment is also a store brand and it beeps when turned on! Exactly what a SEAL team needs when hiding several feet from an enemy, beeping equipment, and watches that could be seen from a couple hundred yards.

The Author also decided to make a woman a member of the SEAL team, and then has her in a relationship with a team member who she chats with about having children as they approach the beach. I know it sounds like I must be making this up but it's sadly all in the book. The President Of The United States carries a football with him constantly. His deepest thought is whether or not he could run the Country without his football!

The bad guy from the Japanese side is named......."Slick Willy". I wish I were kidding. The SEAL commander is Derek Sting Ray. Every time someone wants his attention they say, "Sting?", and the next sentence is "Ray turned, Ray smiled, Stingray, Stingray. My favorite was when he leaned back in a chair that was bolted to the floor of the submarine!

Please let this book die a quiet death. You have read what's in it before, if you like the Authors who endorse the book don't buy it, it strains credibility to believe they think this book has any merit.

The only information this book offers is a repetition of hardware and software companies, and the CEOS that run them.

Most everything that is wrong with lousy, commercialized, recycled fiction is in this wretched book. And when the writing isn't annoying you, the 300 pages of product endorsements may stop you from reading this. I finished it because I won't comment on a book unless I do.

My money was wasted, as was my time. I write this in hope that I save both of yours.

This book will be a genuine waste of time for a reader that is well educated, it is insulting to our intellegence that works of this nature are published. Simple gramatical errors are acceptable for a high school book report... not a piece of literature. The concept seemed interesting enough, to pick it up. I feel that it is my civic duty to inform you, the reader, that this is a read you can pass up.

This book well documents the computer wars between the U.S. and Japan. After some disasters as a result of computer equipment
sabotage Erica Conklin discovers that the sabotage was carried out by members of the Japanese government.She is teamed up with Brent MacClaine an F.B.I. agent.Agents of the Japanese(including
a Japanese terrorist group) attempt to kill them.Erica is working for the F.B.I. because of being caught hacking into computer systems.Erica and Brent stave off several assasination attempts by the forces. Erica and Brent participate in a SEAL operation aimed at getting to the bottom of the computer chip sabotage.Action abounds in this book. The ending is also very good.I stll wait for the day when one of R.J. Pineiro's books is made into a movie.A good book. Read it.

Excited about the topic, I bought the H.C. By chapter 2, I was frustrated by the author's juvenile wording and repetitive style, thin characterization, formulaic storyline and lack of knowledge about certain issues (illustrated by over-use of cliche in characterization.) While the author does know his trademarks and technology, usage was overwhelming. The story was mostly "tell" with some "show" -- there was no attempt to build depth. Don't keep "telling" us that Matsubara had so much at stake, and Matsubara achieved such and such. Show it, and make us believe it. And yes, there were many editorial errors - from grammatical & spelling to run-ons in most paragraphs.

I have never seen so many grammatical and punctuation errors in any book by any author. Additionally, there are a number of subtle and not-so-subtle errors in the story. For instance, in the beginning of chapter 44, the action is taking place on a submarine. In the second paragraph the main character is copying data to a Zip drive. In the very next paragraph, there are "no Zip drives aboard the [submarine]". (I think the author must be getting kickbacks from Iomega judging from the number of times he mentions Zip drives). The very premise of the book is rather contrived. All in all, a very poorly written and edited book.

This is my third Pineiro novel (01-01-00 and Breakthrough were my first two). In this story, the author creates a scenario that guarantees to keep you at the edge of your seat. It's got computer viruses, chips going bad from sabotage, terrific FBI characters, a crack Navy SEAL team, and even a responsible and level-headed president. I've noticed a few comments from readers complaining about typos. I found four in the entire book, and while they should have gotten caught by the editors, they certainly didn't detract me from enjoying such terrific story. I'm sure the author and the publisher will get them fixed on the paperback. By the way, the last Grisham and Clancy that I read had far more errors but I didn't see anyone complaining, so why pick on this author? Pineiro deserves a lot of credit for writing with a powerful and authoritative hand and not pulling any punches, painting the kind of terrific scenarios and characters that will leave readers screaming for more.

I noticed the highly polarized reviews for this work. I read many, many novels but seldom leave feedback because I never pay attention to someone else's opinion, because opinions, after all, are highly subjective. But after reading this book, I simply couldn't resist to put in my two cents and add to those praising this fine story. This is a good book. Period. It's one of those that you simply can't put down once you start. The conflict is gripping, the characters unforgetable, the technology amazingly real and easy to understand, and the action is out of this world. I read someone complaining about typos and grammatical errors. I spotted four in the entire book. People, really, give this guy a break. I've spotted far more errors in some of Clancy's and Ludlum's works. Pineiro definitely knows how to write good fiction.

I started reading it after work on Friday and finished it at around 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning. The action was nonstop, and the relationship between the hero and the heroine left me screaming for a sequel. Mr. Pineiro has put together a very plausible scenario exposing just how vulnerable our world is to technological sabotage. Great action, great characters, and a terric plot. Very well written. A must buy.

For those of you who enjoy a good, basic thriller with plenty of twists, comprehensible computer info, memorable military action, a terrific story, and suberb characters, then this is the book for you. This is my first Pineiro, and it will certainly not be my last. I'll be ordering his previous novels soon.

The story explores the weakness of our modern-day world to technological sabotage. Pineiro, a computer engineer, certainly writes with authority, presenting a scenario that will literally chill you to the bone with realism. A great read that ranks up there with the best of Clancy, Morrell, and Demille.

In Shutdown Pineiro makes you see, smell, hear, and taste the tragic results of technology gone bad. The computer-triggered accidents are hair-raising, and the computer viruses evoque raw fear. Here you have a heroine, Erika Conklin, doing "time" as an FBI computer analyst to pay for her past hacker crimes (there was an article not so long ago in the news about how the FBI recruits hackers to assist them in the fight against cybercrime, so Pineiro is dead on here). Erika comes across information that suggests that recent computer shutdowns (which triggered the terrible accidents) may be due to sabotage. So off she goes, performing the type of high-tech detective work that would make Sherlock Holmes proud. As she begins to get close to the source of the sabotage, the FBI assigns seasoned agent Brent McClaine to assist her, and protect her. The chemistry between these two unlikely partners is terrific. Together they continue to probe deeper, facing many dangers, including some very original but plausible skirmishes. The American president also has an important role here, but unlike other thrillers from this genre, the reader gets emotionally involved with the president and sympathizes with the difficult choices he must make for the benefit of the country. The Navy SEALs, which come in toward the second half of the book, are protrayed with both accuracy and respect, and the reader will likely also get quite attached to these amazing warriors. And, of course, no thriller would be a thriller without bad guys. Shutdown has plenty of them, without morals, without remorse, and willing to go to any extreme to achieve their evil plans. Shutdown will not disappoint you. This is the first book that I have read from Pineiro. He has peaked my interest to look up his other works.