"Computer geek turned cyber warrior"
Derek Vandeveer is the vice president of research and
development at Mondiale in Merwinster News Jersey making a
fabulous salary, living in a mini mansion most people
would envy and married to an astrophysicist who is his
intellectual equal. Van is a very contented person, but
that all changes on Sept 11, 2001 when he realizes his
priorities need to change. The Federal government
recruits him to work as an expert in cyber security
enabling him to take an active role in the war on
terrorism. He creates Grendel, a hack-proof system that is a big
success for the agency he is working for but what really
interests him is the KH-13 satellite. If working
properly, it can pick up images of weapons going off
anywhere in the world. However, it is not working the way
it is supposed to and Van thinks he has a way of firing it
up even though he doesn't know the cause of the failure.
Unfortunately he can't get anybody to listen to him but
his time with the Feds has turned the computer nerd into a
warrior, one willing to confront a traitor ready to sell
out his country. Readers who have some background in the sciences and
information technology will appreciate THE ZENITH ANGLE
better than those people in the audience who have limited
understanding of either subject as this tale is highly
complex and technical. The protagonist evolves and
changes through the course of the exciting story line as
he (and the readers) likes the person he becomes. Bruce
Sterling has written a compelling work that shows the
effects of 9/11 on one computer geek turned cyber warrior. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 24, 2004
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