SFF

Zer0es

by Chuck Wendig
Harper Voyager. (Zer0es, Bk. 1). Aug. 2015. 432p. ISBN 9780062351555. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062351586. SF
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Five hackers are picked up separately by government agent Hollis Copper and offered a one-time-only deal: work for the National Security Agency (NSA) or go to jail. The five have little in common—Aleena is an Arab Spring activist, DeAndre a clever thief, Chance a poser hacker, Wade an old-school conspiracy nut, and Reagan an online troll—but they are forced to work together when they are dropped at a secret location called the Lodge. Their individual missions to hack various companies seem connected, and they start putting together evidence that the government is using them to test a new computer called Typhon. As they near the truth, the hackers become a threat to the people who are trying to manipulate them.
VERDICT This new novel from Wendig, whose Miriam Black books (Blackbird; Mockingbird) are coming to TV soon, is highly cinematic and should appeal to fans of technothrillers. The story line develops in less plausible directions as it leaves the lodge and the truth about Typhon comes out, but by then readers are probably along for the ride.
Reviewed by Megan M. McArdle , Jul 01, 2015
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