Customer Reviews

Termination Node

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Though I use the internet mainly for e-mail and research, I found The Termination Node to be one of the most believable and frightening thrillers I've read in a long time. As a librarian, I read plenty of novels so that I know what to recommend to my patrons. This book is going to be right at the top of my list for people looking for an entertaining fast read that combines high-tech thrills with non-stop action. I especially liked the fact that all of the characters were believable and not overdone cliches. None of them were perfect, and Judy, the heroine, evolves and changes througout the story. The computer material was explained well and seemed very real. It really made me wonder if the story could happen right now. Another thing I liked about this book is that while it is aimed at adults, it is not filled with a lot of graphic sex and violence. It is suitable for older teens, who would probably really enjoy the computer material and the hacker details. This is a book that every library should carry. I know ours will.

This book is the best computer thriller I have ever read. It is not really science fiction though it takes place a few years in the future. All of the computer science is true and is happening today. Anyone who thinks this book is science fiction is missing the whole point of the novel. The stuff that takes place in this novel can take place right now. That is what makes this novel so scary.

I'm a computer science major in college and the characters in this book are very believable. I attend college with people just like the hackers in the story. It is easy to relate to them as they are exactly like my friends. Cal and Judy are both typical hackers, as are Grouch and his friends. Reading the description of how they live made me laugh, because it describes my apartment.

If you are the least bit interested in the dangers of internet banking or high-tech crime, you have to read this book. It is the first book that really describes the computer field and hackers the way they really are. I can't wait for the sequel.

I read this book when it came out in 1999 and thought it was an entertaining but unrealistic view of the future of computers. I found it interesting that many of the reveiwers claimed they knew so much about computers and all of them seemed to think that the authors' predictions were way out of line. Several of the reviewers went out of their way to point out how much smarter they were than the two writers who had composed the book. Well, all of those hot-shot reviewers are gone and so is their laughter. During the past several years, this book has become famous as the most accurate account of computer crime ever to appear in a novel.

Recently, the Federal Government released a report stating that over $2 billion had been stolen over the internet by hackers breaking into personal accounts and stealing money from everyday people. That's when I re-read THE TERMINATION NODE and discovered that Gresh and Weinberg had predicted all of the recent problems involving internet robbery five years ago. Though the book never received much coverage in science sections, it should have been on the front pages of newspapers throughout the country. Most citizens still have no idea how vulnerable their bank accounts are to hackers. Maybe it'll take a $50 billion dollar heist like the one in this book to convince everyone that they need to protect their internet investments better. This is a book every person worried about 21st century crime should read!

This is one of the few computer-related novels that I have read that takes into account that not everyone knows computer terminology. What computer terminology is used should be readily understandable from watching television. But that isn't entirely what makes this a good read. Weinberg and Gresh have written a day-after-tomorrow thriller with excellent pacing, making it hard to put the book down. And the characters, even the minor ones, are well delineated, making them stand out from the page so you get to know them like your neighbor or the friendly grocer down the street. I, for one, will be eagerly awaiting their next novel. And this one is highly recommended!

As a computer professional of 30 years, I can tell you that the threats portrayed in this book are real. Gresh and Weinberg do an excellent job of gripping the reader and keeping the action moving. Once I started, I couldn't put it down.

This book should be required reading for all business leaders. It is a clarion call to alert people to the real threat of the 21st century. Its not Y2K but the increasingly vulnerable state of business and the world economy due to their reliance on the electronic commerce.

In the end, hackers rule!

If you like a good thriller or if you have anything to do with business, you should buy this book and read it today!

This book is a great thriller. My brother and I could not put it down.

I could not put this book down. It was full of suspense and predicted cyber crime before people knew that it was possible. I highly recommend it.

Termination Node sets the record straight.....

Finally after all these years of books and movies about 14 children who crack into the defense establishment, or fight teenage biker hacker games, former CIA spooks or innocent and beautiful young clerics who are stripped of their identity and must run from beach to bar to bedroom in order to escape the bad guys.....is a book that has some real world in it. You can tell this was written by someone from the networking and computer businesses. It's techie stuff is just a little ahead of where we are, but believably so. The characters act the way analysts with real systems experience would act in surprising and unpredictable circumstances. Facts, logic, and experimentation. The hackers are real people with a subculture and behaviors all there own. Their main kick in life is to do something remarkable with code. To write the code to build something, or write code to break something apart for examination. Judy Carmody is of this subculture and sells her expertise into legitimate consulting projects to plug security leaks. Her background is from hard work, and the reputation earned, not stumbled over the way the typical fake prodigy does. These are not nerd-like super heroes, these are real people whose life aspirations are basically the same as most of us. Except they approach reality from the perspective of the bleeding edge of what is the latest happening in code. Termination Node is real. It is not about what could happen. It is about what is happening every day in one form or another. It is what we don't know that we should fear. Sure, what do we have to lose on the Internet? The most that net criminals can hit us up for is the $50 deductible from our credit card....right? Wrong, they could rob the institutions we depend on blind, bring the infrastructure and systems that support them to their knees, and incidentally, make day-to-day activities around the use on money impossible and out of our control.

This is not another net story. It is about real good guys and real bad guys who are out there every day, doing just what Lois is telling us about.

I obtained an advance copy of this book from a local bookfair. I've always enjoyed novels about computer espionage and terrorism, but found them pretty unbelievable. The Termination Node is the first computer thriller I found completely true to life. Reading it, I could tell the authors really know the computer field. At times, I found myself thinking the story was non-fiction, because it was so realistic. It's a fast paced adventure with a great heroine and plenty of action. Though it is set a few years in the future, the book reads like it could happen right now. My only question is when are they going to make it into a movie!!

I'm a techie...this is an enjoyable novel for a techie...check it out...