| | |  | Computer Security | Home » » Looking Glass | | | | | | | Description: | | Looking Glass is set in the not too distant future, in a gritty, unrefined, shattered North America. Hackers and IT security technicians fight a different kind of war in cyberspace. A serial killer has found a way to use the network to reach inside his victim's brains, and use these brains as his weapon. "Shroud" is a security network team leader for a large retail company. In the realm of cyberspace, inside a sensory deprivation tank and "jacked in" to the network, she is fast, nimble, and ruthless. She is just beginning her shift when the killer strikes for the first time. She survives, but her entire team is dead or missing. She is exiled from her corporate resources, and her search for the killer is fraught with peril and overwhelming odds. | | | Product Details: | | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 32 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 32 customer reviews )
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20 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 Must read cyberpunkJul 02, 2007
By Thomas Dye
James, R. Strickland and Scott Humphries have just been added to my `must read list'. Apparently this book is from a startup publisher called "Flying Pen Press". I rather like their tagline of "Giving flight to great books." I went through their web site and found that their intent is to only publish the best of the best, so if it says 'flying pen press' it has been vetted by multiple editors and found not just print worthy, but damn good. (and it WAS!)
I read it in three days flat! Great book that I could not put down. This is an excellent first publication from this press. I will certainly buy the next few books that they publish, in the hope that they are even remotely as good as this one. I found this book to be fast paced action throughout in the cyberpunk genre' and loved it. An absolutely wonderful future look at where our technology is going and what eventually will happen when the line between technology and our brains blurs.
It took me a bit to realize that the lead character was a wheelchair bound paraplegic! The author gives us snippets and bits of background to help develop his world as he tells the story, rather than the huge information dump up front of which I am familiar. (And which I detest!) I gather this is also James Strickland's first novel; and that too is hard to believe. This would be a great novel from someone who is well established in the field. I sincerely hope that these two people have more stuff in the pipe for me soon.
This is a very well-told story with plenty of action and good character interactions as well. The back and forth play between the online virtual world and the real world I found to be quite entertaining, and while I did have an inkling of what the finale was going to be by about halfway through the book, I was not at all disappointed in how it turned out and how the author brought it to a climax.
This book is easily worth reading more than once, (and I like to read a lot!) My only pause in thought through out the book was the 6 by 9 format. How are you going to get shelf space with something that is slightly larger than the normal 'pocket book' of the mass media addition?
Great read though; I am absolutely sure you're going to find this book fun.
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Excellent BookJul 04, 2007
By T. Miller
"stitchesonquilts"
I have been disappointed by a number of new authors who have clearly used some sort of formula to write their book. This book is not like that - it has its own style. It's absorbing reading: it draws you in effortlessly. Details appear where needed, and not as a "scene setting" first chapter. I have reread it twice now, and it gains more depth with each reading. It's going to be really hard to wait for James' next book! I highly recommend this book.
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Great book & won't upset the techies.Mar 24, 2008
By S. Granger
"Writer, cartoonist, & daddy."
________________________________________
This book is full steam ahead cyber punk goodness. I think there is a misstep at 3/4 of the way in. At that point some of the reveals felt more like tricks to me and I started to get disappointed. Before I could flip the off switch, "Looking Glass" revved back up. I really enjoyed the ending. A tough-as-nails female protagonist, secret conspiracies that make sense, and a future world that I can almost touch. Wonderful debut by James Strickland.
The story is basically about a female network administrator who fights hacking of the worst kind. If you fail, you die. And if you succeed then you wipe someone's mind away. It's a terrible case of job burn-out. Everything is going normally, burning the baddies until one day someone appears that can read their minds. At least it seems that way. Jump left, get burnt. Jump right, already waiting there for you. What do you do? And the worst part is that it's hard to tell what/who is real anymore.
It might seem like a retread of older cyberpunk novels if you're looking just on the surface, but "Looking Glass" is not. This reflection goes much deeper.
Overall one of the most satisfying reads in a long time. I really do recommend this book, even to non-techies.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
A Very Entertaining Introduction To CyberpunkFeb 28, 2009
By Spiral Dancer
So here I was, standing on the precipice of what we call cyberpunk. My history extends mostly into dark/high fantasy and more modern themes of paranormals. I avoided this genre like the plague until my loving geek friends introduced me to ShadowRun during a game session. I was hooked.
I dove head first into the cyberpunk genre with Looking Glass because (mainly) the price and the reviews.
My opinion stands that techno stats and information shouldn't be either shied from or embraced as the "only way to do business" as the detracting one or two star reviewers. In fact, one of them sounds like he has something personal against writers in general, not only Mr Strickland. But despite his insecurities, I find none of his points terribly valid.
Don't like too much techno stuff? Skip a few lines; they are never very long or complicated. I have no idea how my computer works, just that I can tell it to do things and I don't want it any more complicated that running my games. However, I pushed through and found that once I was used to it the pace of story never really faltered.
Another person complained about too much slang. I wanted to snort beer out of my nose. How does this person propose that authors create worlds if they can't muddle through something like "script kiddy"? Or the concept of l33t (leet)?
At any rate I truly enjoyed my romp through this book. Especially on my Kindle2. It sparked my interest in my 'Runner character again, he made me truly interested in how of this would play out.
Bravo, Mr Strickland. I commend you on completing the NaNoWriMo. I have yet to finish in five years :)
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Highly Recommended!Jan 25, 2008
By D. Sylvis
You've already read the details of the plot in other reviews, so mostly what I wanted to say was this: I really, truly enjoyed his book -- the pacing is dead-on, and the details are as believable as I've ever read in sci-fi. If you've been looking for authors who are carrying on the mantle of cyberpunk into the 21st century, start with Strickland.
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