Assured Destruction by Michael F. Stewart
Published: 22nd March 2013 by Non Sequltur Press
Genre: Young Adult / Mystery
Series: Assured Destruction #1
Page Count: 185
Format: eBook
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Synopsis: You can learn a lot about someone looking through their hard drive...
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 its 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.
"Stewart seamlessly incorporates the fast-paced world of social media into a unique writing style that perfectly captures the world of a modern teen. Janus’ complicated web of computer networks is intricate enough to leave readers thoroughly engrossed by her hacking acumen while remaining accessible to even the least tech-savvy readers. Many teenage girl readers will find unconventional, strong Janus to be an intriguing role model, but as a clever, talented and often slightly dark hacker, she transcends gender stereotypes and will find fans among teen boy readers as well.
*When purchasing through this link, I will receive a small amount, once I have enough saved up I will put it towards a giveaway.
Review:
4 / 5 stars
I've been lucky enough to receive all three books of the Assured Destruction series in exchange for an honest review as part of the book tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours, this will in no way effect my opinion of the book.
The opening to this book really hooked me, the introduction to Janus, her computer identities and her mum was great and as I was reading it on my kindle it also provided links to all the correct sites and twitter accounts which I found to be a great added bonus.
The computers represent different sides of Janus in a way, though its not as extreme as her having multiple personalities, just that she enjoys to fabricate personalities/friends to tell her opinions from different point of views whilst having a conversation with herself/them via twitter.
The whole thing is brilliant, I enjoyed it so much.
Of course she also has to attend school which is never easy for anyone, especially when there seems to be drama following two of your classmates who's hard drive are now part of your computer network... that were supposed to be destroyed. Ooops.
Janus finds herself being targeted by a fellow hacker who takes down her network with a virus and reveals the secrets hidden in her recycled hard drives.
But who? and why?
Things get troublesome very quickly especially when she notices there could be more than one suspect in this mystery.
Once my own university work wasn't keeping me up late not reading, I was hooked to this book and couldn't put it down, I really enjoyed Janus' voice throughout - her personality was clear and never slipped up.
The development between herself and a few key characters were enjoyable too which leave you wandering how things will progress in the next book but also what other trouble will she land herself in, given how this book ends too.
What's even better is that I didn't find the book predictable, it told the story great and gave away just enough detail to keep you guessing all the possibilities without ever being right.
Please keep in mind that the book is only 185 pages and I like to keep my reviews spoiler free, there is a lot I want to talk about because the author only uses those 185 pages to benefit the story, everything is tidied up well and you're not left with any huge cliff hangers.
Script Kiddie by Michael F. Stewart
Published: 31st August 2013 by Non Sequitur Press
Genre: Young Adult / Mystery
Series: Assured Destruction #2
Page Count: 212
Format: eBook
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Synopsis: Jan Rose no longer steals data from the old computers she recycles. She doesn't need to. As the newest member of the police department’s High Tech Crime Unit, the laptop of a murderer has landed on her desk. Her job: to profile and expose a killer.
But that’s not all.
A creep lurks in the shadows, stalking a friend, and Jan must stop him before the hunt turns deadly. The clock counts down for Jan to save her friend, her job, her boyfriend--maybe even her life.
*When purchasing through this link, I will receive a small amount, once I have enough saved up I will put it towards a giveaway.
Review:
4 / 5 stars
*spoilers likely for first books*
As mentioned I received all three books of the Assured Destruction series in exchange for an honest review as part of the book tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours, this will in no way effect my opinion of the book.
Ever worry about taking a break from a series and worrying about not remembering what happened?
Fear not, Script Kiddie picks up shortly after where Assured Destruction finished and if that is not good enough well as this story progresses it drops a few reminders about key events from the previous. This is so helpful especially after long hours painting.
Janus' introduction to becoming a police sidekick doesn't quiet go as smoothly as planned, one of the officers has already taken to her badly and well the other, whilst she supports her, Janus just finds herself doing everything but what they wanted, even with all her good intentions.
Upon returning to school she's faced with a surprise science test, which can only go so well when you've been in hospital for a few weeks, and Hannah wanting her help with a very secretive and delicate subject matter than only Janus could handle.
Only can Janus handle tracking down a paedophile, removing the evidence he has of Hannah and shutting him down for good on her own?
Not to mention realising just how much money troubles her mums having back home, surely this is too much for one kid to handle, especially when she starts to have doubts about her own hacking skills, is she at best a Script Kiddie?
Initially everything seems downhill for Janus and I think that is why I keep coming back to this book and enjoying it so much, she is real life person and can only handle so much at once much like everyone else. She isn't a Superhero or Princess, she doesn't posses magical abilities - just knows her way around coding more than others around her.
Yet she doesn't give up, she keeps going until she manages to solve as much as she's able. Even if she leaves a bit of destruction in her path.
Like joining an online hacker forum that may be more dangerous than she realises. Even if she is only there to ask for advice.
Anyhow Janus does end up finding herself in more trouble than last time, if that is even possible, but the development of her character continues and I loved every page of it.
I only hope we get more of a development on Jonny (her boyfriend) and Peter (her mums boyfriend) because I now find that after two books they're not touched upon as much as I'd like them to be considering how much is unknown about one of them.
I look forward to the third, such a great and easy to read series.
Author Bio
Michael F. Stewart
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. His most recent project, The Terminals, has been optioned for television by Sudden Storm Entertainment.
Michael lives in Ottawa, Canada with his wife and four daughters. He tries very hard to keep life an adventure both on and off the page. Please come find me on Goodreads.
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