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Cicada Conspiracy
Every year, a mysterious puzzle, called Cicada 3301, emerges from the depths of the Dark Web. No one knows who is behind it and why so much painstaking effort is dedicated to its design.
After a young Internet entrepreneur is found dead in his San Francisco apartment, Stanford Computer Science Professor embarks on following a trail of clues left by a mysterious Dark Web puzzle. On his quest for the answers, he must confront the most powerful clandestine organizations and cold blooded killers who will stop at nothing to hide their dark secrets.
The action unfolds against the backdrop of unsolved murders of young girls whose chlorine soaked bodies are found at various locations around the San Francisco Bay.
This book will take you from the West Coast of the United States to other corners of the world in pursuit of the answers. You can follow the story to the coordinates in Stockholm, Berlin, and California through the links provided in the "Places" chapter at the end of the book. The coordinates of the locations in Manhattan and Sonoma County could not be disclosed.
About the puzzles
The puzzles used in this book are based on the actual Cicada 3301 riddles from different years. One notable exception is the "Stockholm Puzzle", which has a different, equally mysterious source. The puzzles in the book are easy to follow and do not require any technical background, just a sharp and curious mind.
After a young Internet entrepreneur is found dead in his San Francisco apartment, Stanford Computer Science Professor embarks on following a trail of clues left by a mysterious Dark Web puzzle. On his quest for the answers, he must confront the most powerful clandestine organizations and cold blooded killers who will stop at nothing to hide their dark secrets.
The action unfolds against the backdrop of unsolved murders of young girls whose chlorine soaked bodies are found at various locations around the San Francisco Bay.
This book will take you from the West Coast of the United States to other corners of the world in pursuit of the answers. You can follow the story to the coordinates in Stockholm, Berlin, and California through the links provided in the "Places" chapter at the end of the book. The coordinates of the locations in Manhattan and Sonoma County could not be disclosed.
About the puzzles
The puzzles used in this book are based on the actual Cicada 3301 riddles from different years. One notable exception is the "Stockholm Puzzle", which has a different, equally mysterious source. The puzzles in the book are easy to follow and do not require any technical background, just a sharp and curious mind.
314 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 12, 2016
259 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 28, 2017
Very interesting story and relatively quick read. There are two intertwined story lines, and the Cicada does not 'appear' until a few chapters into the book. Everything comes together in the end nicely. I've noticed a couple of grammatical errors, but it was mostly minor stuff and didn't detract from reading the story. I will send comments to the author, hopefully he can correct them and make the book even better.
April 13, 2017
Serial killer mystery intertwined with a dark web puzzle. Reads like total fiction, but many things seem to be fact based. Stockholm puzzle was the coolest IMO. The story threads come together nicely in the end with a twist I did not see coming.
June 29, 2017
A good and fun read.
I enjoyed this book. It tied several interesting subjects together and made for a fast and informative story
I learned some new things. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
I enjoyed this book. It tied several interesting subjects together and made for a fast and informative story
I learned some new things. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
April 18, 2017
Excellent thriller for the Internet Age. Interesting, fast paced and very realistic read.
January 1, 2018
Interesting concept based on real-world dark web mystery. Suspenseful till the end.
April 28, 2017
Does this book reveal classified information? The book appears fictional, but some references to exact locations, such as the one in New York could present a national security threat, if indeed accurate. I liked the book, but hope someone looks into this.
February 9, 2018
The characters were impersonal, unlikeable, and one-dimensional. The text was riddled with typos and grammatical errors that were distracting. The plot had some points of interest, but made the challenge appear too simplistic to be believable. Would not recommend this one.
September 23, 2019
This is an interesting story, but I feel like there were too many good ideas that weren't fully developed. The serial killer storyline was fascinating, but too brief and too quickly solved. The Cicada Conspiracy puzzle allegedly hadn't been solved before, but the three main characters managed to easily solve it. Then we have the Bohemian Grove subplot, which didn't seem to have any point to being in this story. Overall it felt disjointed and rushed.
December 27, 2017
While it was an interesting concept there were some things that bothered me. The first being not a fault of the story itself. My kindle edition was riddled with grammatical errors. Sometimes to the point of being hard to read.
Another thing that confused me is the main character is supposed to be a hot shot computer professor, even co developing a Siri look alike program, yet he’s never heard of Cicada 3301. He even goes as far as drawing a diagram of the deep web at one point.
Speaking of the title topic it’s not introduced until nearly a quarter of the way through the book. And then is seldom mentioned directly through the first half.
Overall it was a disappointing and frustrating book with characters that I just didn’t really care much about. On the plus side, if you can get past all the errors, it is a quick read as others have suggested.
Another thing that confused me is the main character is supposed to be a hot shot computer professor, even co developing a Siri look alike program, yet he’s never heard of Cicada 3301. He even goes as far as drawing a diagram of the deep web at one point.
Speaking of the title topic it’s not introduced until nearly a quarter of the way through the book. And then is seldom mentioned directly through the first half.
Overall it was a disappointing and frustrating book with characters that I just didn’t really care much about. On the plus side, if you can get past all the errors, it is a quick read as others have suggested.
April 19, 2017
Even though the murder mystery may not be my favorite genre, I really liked this book. The events mostly take place on the West Coast of the United States, but the book has a very distinct international flavor. I didn't really know much about the Dark Web, so this was kind of eye opening. The characters are interesting and believable. There are really two subplots in this book - one takes place in the real world and another in the virtual world. The subplots are closely connected and kept my attention till the end.
April 10, 2017
Fascinating read. Would definitely recommend.
May 6, 2018
At times it was 4 stars and at times it was 2 stars, I settled at 3. It read like a cheesy double episode of Law and Order where advertisers like Google, Apple and the likes paid good money for product placement. It wasn't to bad but it wasn't to a point where I was yearning to open my kindle every chance I got - what led to the completion was my need to finish a book I started before moving on. The ending seems rushed, anticlimactic and drab, almost like a movie that had budget creep and just wanted to end it.
It you have Kindle Unlimited, go for it. It was a somewhat cool quick read with some dead spots and meandering from storyline to storyline of the individual characters but I cannot recommend a purchase to own.
It you have Kindle Unlimited, go for it. It was a somewhat cool quick read with some dead spots and meandering from storyline to storyline of the individual characters but I cannot recommend a purchase to own.
January 5, 2019
Very convincing, and terrifying
I need to reread this, because I read too fast to retain, it was so exiting to find out the next step, I'm only doing this for stories I plan to recommend to others, so this is a keeper in my opinion. The only question that bothered me related to Daniel being out on bond. He did a lot of travel, isn't that restricted if you are a murder suspect? Just asking...
I need to reread this, because I read too fast to retain, it was so exiting to find out the next step, I'm only doing this for stories I plan to recommend to others, so this is a keeper in my opinion. The only question that bothered me related to Daniel being out on bond. He did a lot of travel, isn't that restricted if you are a murder suspect? Just asking...
May 4, 2018
I liked the premise of this book but got a bit lost sometimes with so many characters, multiple plot lines and the ending was somehow unsatisfying. The plot line of the "Cicada puzzle" was fascinating and I was amazed with what computer whizzes could figure out with the obscure clues. Obviously they weren't "obscure" to them...
DSJ
DSJ
June 8, 2018
A five star story. Very interesting plot lines and characters. The ending was abrupt, but still wrapped everything up nicely. The only deduction I gave the book was for the numerous typos or poor editing. It always amazing to me. Just running the text through MS Word would have found 95% the errors.
October 30, 2018
Food for Thought
Wow! Although I have heard of the Dark Web as a place where teens could access some really dangerous things and end up in bad trouble, I had no idea that the uses for the Dark Web reached this broad extent. The true cases along, with the storyline running through the book really provide some serious material to ponder as to the uses and reach of the internet.
Wow! Although I have heard of the Dark Web as a place where teens could access some really dangerous things and end up in bad trouble, I had no idea that the uses for the Dark Web reached this broad extent. The true cases along, with the storyline running through the book really provide some serious material to ponder as to the uses and reach of the internet.
April 4, 2018
Fast paced, interesting plot. This book kept my attention till the last page
June 14, 2018
Good techno thriller
Interesting story- covers some dark web and internet subjects- good quick read with a unique story line. Quick read that moves fast,
Interesting story- covers some dark web and internet subjects- good quick read with a unique story line. Quick read that moves fast,
August 24, 2018
Amazing story. Very interesting and realistic
December 18, 2018
Gewoon lekker spannend verhaal waarin een in werkelijkheid bestaand mysterie gebruikt wordt om een spannend verhaal omheen te knopen
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July 1, 2018The Cicada 3301 phenomena plus its ilk intelligences is like a merge cyberpunk cyberprep genre
that exerts to enter and to influence other genres too.
At its most ‘wannabe’-est, tis more as Stephenson’s Enoch Root qua Crytonomicon.
that exerts to enter and to influence other genres too.
At its most ‘wannabe’-est, tis more as Stephenson’s Enoch Root qua Crytonomicon.
March 3, 2017
Very interesting read. Page turner with a perfect ending.
April 23, 2017
Very enjoyable read! It's an entertaining and unique take on the cicada conspiracy, blending internet-tech thriller and mystery. The characters are well developed and the puzzles/scenarios are fun to think about. Would definitely recommend for a casual read.
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January 20, 2019Finished the book, it was a very nicely written story. I really like the foreshadowing that he did on Chuck Johnson. It wasn’t super obvious the first time through, but when I look back at the details, I can see the little hints leading to the final reveal.
Also I like how he used actual puzzles and coordinates, not just blank descriptions.
There are some weird spots that just seemed .....weird. But overall, good book.
Also I like how he used actual puzzles and coordinates, not just blank descriptions.
There are some weird spots that just seemed .....weird. But overall, good book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews