Released March 22nd of this year, author Michael F Stewart has brought to us a YA mystery titled Assured Destruction, which is the first book in a new series. I was lucky enough to be able to receive a copy of the book for an honest review.
Sixteen-year-old Jan Rose knows that nothing is ever
truly deleted. At least, not from the hard drives she scours to create the
online identities she calls the Shadownet.
Hobby? Art form? Sad, pathetic plea to garner friendship, even virtually? Sure, Jan is guilty on all counts. Maybe she’s even addicted to it. It’s an exploration. Everyone has something to hide. The Shadownet’s hard drives are Jan’s secrets. They're stolen from her family’s computer recycling business Assured Destruction. If the police found out, Jan’s family would lose their livelihood.
When the real people behind Shadownet’s hard drives endure vicious cyber attacks, Jan realizes she is responsible. She doesn’t know who is targeting these people or why but as her life collapses Jan must use all her tech savvy to bring the perpetrators to justice before she becomes the next victim.
Hobby? Art form? Sad, pathetic plea to garner friendship, even virtually? Sure, Jan is guilty on all counts. Maybe she’s even addicted to it. It’s an exploration. Everyone has something to hide. The Shadownet’s hard drives are Jan’s secrets. They're stolen from her family’s computer recycling business Assured Destruction. If the police found out, Jan’s family would lose their livelihood.
When the real people behind Shadownet’s hard drives endure vicious cyber attacks, Jan realizes she is responsible. She doesn’t know who is targeting these people or why but as her life collapses Jan must use all her tech savvy to bring the perpetrators to justice before she becomes the next victim.
REVIEW
First I want to thank the author Michael F Stewart
for providing me a copy of his work for an honest and impartial review, second
I want to say WOW! I just finished the
last page of Assured Destruction and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series! I’m not a big computer guru, but the author
had me captivated from the get-go.
Assured Destruction…the name of a computer
recycling company…also the meaning of completely erasing ones hard drive. Did you know there are special machines that
just tear apart ones hard drive like a paper shredder? Honestly, I never really thought of it before
and now I would love to see one in action.
Well, the main character of this story, Janus, is a teen computer genius
hacker extraordinaire. She can do things
that make her teachers envious. This
story tells you what could happen if you don’t do something that you should
have done in a way that keeps you glued to the pages.
I’m a computer user. Don’t ask me how to program one, don’t ask me
about binary codes, I’m the hands on type.
Give me something, don’t give me a manual and let’s see what I can do
with it. You do not need a computer
science degree to follow along with this story because the author guides you
along so well that you actually start to know what he’s talking about.
This was a refreshing YA read. You don’t feel dumbed down to, you aren’t
caught up in romantic teenage angst and you don’t want to strangle the
characters for their behaviors. Like I
said, refreshing! You root for Janus,
while also wanting to ask her what the heck she was thinking in the first place,
but knowing that she’s past that point, you are straight back at rooting for
her and you feel like you are right there with her the entire time instead of
feeling like an outsider looking in or a third wheel. Oh, and when you think you know who’s doing
everything to her, there is a twist and you are on to your next suspect.
What didn’t I like? Hmmmm….I’m thinking….you know what? I can’t think of a single thing that I didn’t
like. All the characters were well done,
descriptions were in place perfectly, and the storyline wasn’t faulty at
all. Oh, I know…I don’t’ like that I
have to wait until July for book 2! I’ve
put it on my “to be read” list and will jump on it as soon as it’s available.
Who do I recommend this to? Everyone from the age of 14 on up. Why not younger? There is a reference to a naked female pic of
a high school teen being posted which than refers to child pornography but goes
no further into description than that.
Unfortunately, it’s something that’s been happening more and more with
teens in the age of cell phones, texting, etc.
I also recommend this to anyone that likes a good mystery. Assured Destruction will not let you down!
Amazon - Kindle
Amazon - Print
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble - Nook and Print
About the author:
After crewing ships in the Antarctic and the Baltic
Sea and some fun in venture capital, Michael anchored himself (happily) to a
marriage and a boatload of kids. Now he injects his adventurous spirit into his
writing with brief respites for research into the jungles of Sumatra and
Guatemala, the ruins of Egypt and Tik’al, paddling the Zambezi and diving
whatever cave or ocean reef will have him. He is a member of the International
Thriller Writers and SF Canada, and the author of the Assured Destruction
series, 24 Bones, The Sand Dragon, Hurakan, Ruination and several award winning
graphic novels for young adults.
Wow right back, Marni! Thank you for the wonderful and considered review!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! :)
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