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Dark Web Rising
One second before the attacker broke through his defenses, Stewart punched in his tracer. On its tail rode the Nano Nuke. Hasta la Vista, Baby.
He was in! Then the name of the site he had hacked appeared on his screen. Just three simple words - Central Security Agency. Exhilaration turned to fear, tingling with the acrid scent of panic. What have I done?
Suddenly a fugitive, alone and on the run, Stewart must find a way to escape his pursuers and reclaim his life. Will his friends help him? Who is the mysterious Daddy Warbucks and will he tip the scales?
As the pressure intensifies, Stewart comes face-to-face with the biggest decision of his young life. Armed with naught but his technological expertise and the willingness to stand up for his beliefs, Stewart attempts the impossible. He will flee Earth in the first interplanetary colonization ship...if only he can figure out how.
He was in! Then the name of the site he had hacked appeared on his screen. Just three simple words - Central Security Agency. Exhilaration turned to fear, tingling with the acrid scent of panic. What have I done?
Suddenly a fugitive, alone and on the run, Stewart must find a way to escape his pursuers and reclaim his life. Will his friends help him? Who is the mysterious Daddy Warbucks and will he tip the scales?
As the pressure intensifies, Stewart comes face-to-face with the biggest decision of his young life. Armed with naught but his technological expertise and the willingness to stand up for his beliefs, Stewart attempts the impossible. He will flee Earth in the first interplanetary colonization ship...if only he can figure out how.
261 pages, Paperback
First published March 2, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 17, 2016
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, about young adults set in a world of internet espionage, hacking and quasi-legal government institutions. The young computer wizard that out hacks a ‘governmental’ hacker and then gets chased across the United States, only to be hidden by big business good guys, sounds a little trite. In fact, the story works well, and is very entertaining. I’m sure the author wrote this with younger readers in mind, but this sixty-year-old thoroughly enjoyed it. This would work well as a family entertainment film script.
The story is well written, though because I had slightly negative expectations it did take me a few chapters to get into it. Once I was on-board, I was hooked, and only too keen to find out how the story would be resolved. The plot is stretched beyond the credible in parts, rather overblowing both the ability of the young to be truly independent, and of the ability of even a young computer savant to be quite so talented. But then this is entertainment, in the best traditions of YA writing. This plot, about the youth that outwits the power of out of control secret forces within the state, is well written, and because of that, almost believable. There were rather too many typos in the Kindle version I read, but I’m sure they will be corrected at some stage. The subject matter is a little nerdy, but the adventure certainly isn’t. Being interested in coding and computer technologies certainly isn’t a requirement, especially as the plot is set a little in the future, looking at technological capabilities that are not yet quite here.
The story is well written, though because I had slightly negative expectations it did take me a few chapters to get into it. Once I was on-board, I was hooked, and only too keen to find out how the story would be resolved. The plot is stretched beyond the credible in parts, rather overblowing both the ability of the young to be truly independent, and of the ability of even a young computer savant to be quite so talented. But then this is entertainment, in the best traditions of YA writing. This plot, about the youth that outwits the power of out of control secret forces within the state, is well written, and because of that, almost believable. There were rather too many typos in the Kindle version I read, but I’m sure they will be corrected at some stage. The subject matter is a little nerdy, but the adventure certainly isn’t. Being interested in coding and computer technologies certainly isn’t a requirement, especially as the plot is set a little in the future, looking at technological capabilities that are not yet quite here.
August 14, 2017
Slow reading with too much high-concept and wooden characterisation.
August 13, 2019
A John Marshall has written something called "The Elastic Society" which supposedly will fix all ills with society, and a bunch of young people have designed a chat room in the dark web (why there I know not) called "The Egg", which nobody can get into. The security has been designed by Stewart Breston, and he has made it hack-proof, or so he believes. Nobody is going to know what this chat room is about, and for some reason, it does not occur to him that it should be a case of who cares what it is about. Then it is hacked, but Stewart defends with counter hacks. He has apparently designed a myriad of programs that will attack a hacker, and bomb it. He just succeeds, and finds he has bombed the Government site "Netwatch", which is a top government security agency that has been looking for secret terrorist sites. Oops! Stewart goes on the run.
Up to here this is extremely well-written, it is exciting, and is thoroughly entrancing. Apart, that is, from the start of each chapter, which involves quotes from "The Elastic Society". If you are going to say there is something that is the solution to all of society's ills, you either have to back it up (extremely difficult) OR simply assert it is there but don't quote. Like episodes 4 – 6 of "Star Wars ": don't try to explain "The Force" – just use it as a premise. Then the story lurches into "Genesis". I don't wish to spoil so I cannot give examples, but I felt the plot suddenly started to develop holes; things that, for me at least, did not add up started to appear. Perhaps one example: they hack into a system to create false identities for people to attend a select function. So what happens when the real people turn up, or, instead of x being there, they end up with x+y, and it will show? This problem is simply ignored, and even x+y+z turn up, and the numbers are critical. Sorry, but for me, this is an issue that should be resolved by the author. There are ways around it, but mention that they are being done. The plot looked to me as if the author wanted to get to the end, but did not really think it through how to get there.
The writing is good, and at times, excellent, leaving aside some minor editing issues. However, I found the characters weak: as an example, they started to be put into situations where they went with the flow of the story rather than behave like people. It is the first of a series, and it has a proper ending while hinting at more, which is good, but for me the ending was not really credible, so for me, after such an excellent start, it disappointed.
Up to here this is extremely well-written, it is exciting, and is thoroughly entrancing. Apart, that is, from the start of each chapter, which involves quotes from "The Elastic Society". If you are going to say there is something that is the solution to all of society's ills, you either have to back it up (extremely difficult) OR simply assert it is there but don't quote. Like episodes 4 – 6 of "Star Wars ": don't try to explain "The Force" – just use it as a premise. Then the story lurches into "Genesis". I don't wish to spoil so I cannot give examples, but I felt the plot suddenly started to develop holes; things that, for me at least, did not add up started to appear. Perhaps one example: they hack into a system to create false identities for people to attend a select function. So what happens when the real people turn up, or, instead of x being there, they end up with x+y, and it will show? This problem is simply ignored, and even x+y+z turn up, and the numbers are critical. Sorry, but for me, this is an issue that should be resolved by the author. There are ways around it, but mention that they are being done. The plot looked to me as if the author wanted to get to the end, but did not really think it through how to get there.
The writing is good, and at times, excellent, leaving aside some minor editing issues. However, I found the characters weak: as an example, they started to be put into situations where they went with the flow of the story rather than behave like people. It is the first of a series, and it has a proper ending while hinting at more, which is good, but for me the ending was not really credible, so for me, after such an excellent start, it disappointed.
August 9, 2019
First things first, there are typos and editing errors. As an indie author myself, I don’t ding points for that. If you’d rather miss a good story than suffer ravages of a mis-placed comma, then keep moving. This isn’t the book for you.
It was an interesting story with a lot of potential. It started a little slow as I wasn’t sure how the different story lines would eventually come together. By a third of the way in, I had enough of a grasp on the layout to begin to invest in the characters.
Character development is marginal. That is another reason I was so slow to engage with them. They were all a bit cliched’ There is no real background or backstory to them. It’s as thought they popped into existence just for the purpose of playing these roles.
The premise revolves around complex programming as it relates to network security. The author does a good job of presenting that aspect in visual terms that don’t require the reader to be a programmer to understand. It also adds tension to what would otherwise be a guy punching a computer keyboard.
In a typical escape tale, the hackers are just a step ahead of their pursuers. The problem is, we’re not completely sure who the good guys or bad guys are. And that leads to a somewhat disappointing ending. I felt it was a bit contrived. Still, I enjoyed the story enough to want to see what happens next. The last aspect was the political angle. The Hackers are acolytes of John Marshal, a political activist who had been active almost 20 years before, espousing a new social philosophy. The beginning of each chapter has a quote from him. I didn’t get the feeling the author was really advocating this political idea; it was more a vehicle to drive the story forward. I found the quotes distracting and the philosophy implausible. I would have enjoyed the story more with less emphasis on the politics.
It was an interesting story with a lot of potential. It started a little slow as I wasn’t sure how the different story lines would eventually come together. By a third of the way in, I had enough of a grasp on the layout to begin to invest in the characters.
Character development is marginal. That is another reason I was so slow to engage with them. They were all a bit cliched’ There is no real background or backstory to them. It’s as thought they popped into existence just for the purpose of playing these roles.
The premise revolves around complex programming as it relates to network security. The author does a good job of presenting that aspect in visual terms that don’t require the reader to be a programmer to understand. It also adds tension to what would otherwise be a guy punching a computer keyboard.
In a typical escape tale, the hackers are just a step ahead of their pursuers. The problem is, we’re not completely sure who the good guys or bad guys are. And that leads to a somewhat disappointing ending. I felt it was a bit contrived. Still, I enjoyed the story enough to want to see what happens next. The last aspect was the political angle. The Hackers are acolytes of John Marshal, a political activist who had been active almost 20 years before, espousing a new social philosophy. The beginning of each chapter has a quote from him. I didn’t get the feeling the author was really advocating this political idea; it was more a vehicle to drive the story forward. I found the quotes distracting and the philosophy implausible. I would have enjoyed the story more with less emphasis on the politics.
September 6, 2019
Part one of a series, this near-future novel is about Stewart, an expert computer hacker. Among the computers he hacks into is that of the ultra-secret Central Security Agency (not a good idea).
The CSA goes after him, but he manages to stay just out of reach. It all has to do with the Egg, a supposedly unhackable online chat room that Stewart has created.
Along with a couple of friends, and Reyanna, a fellow computer geek, Stewart gets help, and a safe house, from a shadowy rich person called "Daddy Warbucks". Attention shifts to a colony starship being built in lunar orbit. Stewart attempts to hack into the double-ultra-secret CID system, to get them on the passenger list. The book ends with the ship on a one-way trip to the stars. Are Stewart and friends on board? Is the CSA waiting for them?
This novel is really good. It is nice and high tech, but it is also easy to understand. I look forward to the rest of the series.
The CSA goes after him, but he manages to stay just out of reach. It all has to do with the Egg, a supposedly unhackable online chat room that Stewart has created.
Along with a couple of friends, and Reyanna, a fellow computer geek, Stewart gets help, and a safe house, from a shadowy rich person called "Daddy Warbucks". Attention shifts to a colony starship being built in lunar orbit. Stewart attempts to hack into the double-ultra-secret CID system, to get them on the passenger list. The book ends with the ship on a one-way trip to the stars. Are Stewart and friends on board? Is the CSA waiting for them?
This novel is really good. It is nice and high tech, but it is also easy to understand. I look forward to the rest of the series.
June 2, 2023
I was curious to see where this book would land - it's sci-fi, and while it doesn't seem to skew as dystopian as some of the classic cyberpunk stories, I wanted to see where it would take me. This definitely feels like it's geared towards a young adult audience, with the way the character and plot are presented. I did like that each chapter opens with a quote from "The Elastic Society" a fictional book that's important to the world-building within this book. The plot was definitely interesting and moved along at a decent pace, but there were a few moments that required more suspension of disbelief than I'd normally like, but overall it's pretty solid. The characters are interesting, and while I struggled to really relate to them, I might be older than the intended audience. Final verdict - an interesting cyber/sci-fi story that young adults are likely to enjoy.
July 25, 2022
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
I did find the story very difficult to engage with at the start.
The characters lack depth, and it certainly confused me.
About half way through I started to get a handle on the characters and the story which kept me engaged.
One note though don't waste your time with the quotes at the start of each chapter.
They add absolutely nothing to the story.
I did find the story very difficult to engage with at the start.
The characters lack depth, and it certainly confused me.
About half way through I started to get a handle on the characters and the story which kept me engaged.
One note though don't waste your time with the quotes at the start of each chapter.
They add absolutely nothing to the story.
August 4, 2017
Great story
The jargon is a little tough if you're not a computer hacker or programmer, but the story is interesting. I like that it's a fast-paced story and it's a wonderful journey and very adventurous. The story is believable and well written, though a few errors, it wasn't hard to follow. Good read.
The jargon is a little tough if you're not a computer hacker or programmer, but the story is interesting. I like that it's a fast-paced story and it's a wonderful journey and very adventurous. The story is believable and well written, though a few errors, it wasn't hard to follow. Good read.
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August 11, 2019A new favorite
This book is so refreshing. I love the idea and the way it was developed. As soon as I started I new I was going to love it. I kept reading until I was done, all in one sitting. This is something different and I can’t wait to read it again, there’s a lot of good action in this one. I’ve been telling my friends about it since I finished and can’t shut up about it!
This book is so refreshing. I love the idea and the way it was developed. As soon as I started I new I was going to love it. I kept reading until I was done, all in one sitting. This is something different and I can’t wait to read it again, there’s a lot of good action in this one. I’ve been telling my friends about it since I finished and can’t shut up about it!
December 23, 2016
Fun fact: my brother does coding. When he starts talking about it, I completely glaze over. Not because I'm not interested, but because it's so over my head I have to protect my brain.
That's how the beginning of this story starts for me. I mean, it's just right in it with code talk and pretty much continues throughout.
Honestly, to me, the most interesting part was the little snippets at the beginning of the chapter.
It was very well written even though there were a good number of grammatical errors. It just really wasn't my cup of tea. When there are huge portions you feel like skipping because of stuff you just don't get. It makes it hard to get supper into the story.
There are going to be people that scream at me that I'm insane. And that's fine because that's the beautiful thing about writing.
That's how the beginning of this story starts for me. I mean, it's just right in it with code talk and pretty much continues throughout.
Honestly, to me, the most interesting part was the little snippets at the beginning of the chapter.
It was very well written even though there were a good number of grammatical errors. It just really wasn't my cup of tea. When there are huge portions you feel like skipping because of stuff you just don't get. It makes it hard to get supper into the story.
There are going to be people that scream at me that I'm insane. And that's fine because that's the beautiful thing about writing.
April 4, 2016
"Dark Web Rising' is a real find! An innovative idea and a captivating read, this novel kept me at the edge of my seat.
The setting is at once foreign and familiar, the technology feeling futuristic but not so far in the future as to be inconceivable, while the political landscape is reminiscent of today. The story feels like a high stakes chess game, the characters and factions moving around the board strategically and trying to anticipate the moves of their rivals - and the result is a creatively woven story told through the eyes of the major players in this game.
I really enjoyed the journey that this novel took me on. "Dark Web Rising" is an excellent work, even for those who are not normally science fiction readers.
The setting is at once foreign and familiar, the technology feeling futuristic but not so far in the future as to be inconceivable, while the political landscape is reminiscent of today. The story feels like a high stakes chess game, the characters and factions moving around the board strategically and trying to anticipate the moves of their rivals - and the result is a creatively woven story told through the eyes of the major players in this game.
I really enjoyed the journey that this novel took me on. "Dark Web Rising" is an excellent work, even for those who are not normally science fiction readers.
October 5, 2016
What a fantastic story!
I am amazed at the talent of Mr. Schurter in writing this original, fast-paced and engaging sci-fi novel.
Dark Web Rising balances on the edge of fiction and reality between advanced coding, nano tecnology and space colonization.
Highly suggested!
Read more on The Serial Reader Blog
I am amazed at the talent of Mr. Schurter in writing this original, fast-paced and engaging sci-fi novel.
Dark Web Rising balances on the edge of fiction and reality between advanced coding, nano tecnology and space colonization.
Highly suggested!
Read more on The Serial Reader Blog
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews