Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: CyberTech Thiller

TIGER and the ROBOT by Grahame Shannon – Thriller/Suspense, Mystery, Women’s Adventure

Chandler (Chan) Gray, recent president of a “rags to riches and back to rags again” app development start-up, is the good-looking, good-hearted protagonist. He was left with enough money to buy the 50-year-old vintage yacht, “Blue Rose,” his home of the moment.

Tiger is the childhood nickname of the feisty, but gorgeous billionaire Gina Lee, owner of the 120-foot yacht, Aphrodite (aka Afro).

The Robot is an Android app, the female persona of which is named Saga, created and programmed by the tech savvy Chan. Little does Chan know of the extent of Saga’s AI, its development continuing autonomously way beyond what he programmed, leading to her role as cyber-sleuth private investigator on the trail of Gina (aka Tiger) after she is kidnapped on the morning of the prestigious Swiftsure yacht race.

“Aphrodite” skipper Billy Taylor, used to his boss’s eccentricities, nonetheless wonders where Gina might be when the race countdown begins. However, he knows that it is his job is to make sure Afro wins the Swiftsure. Chan, previously asked by Gina to join the Afro crew, isn’t as sanguine as Billy, but manages to do his share of the crewing, is caught up in the excitement of waves and wind especially as the sleek vessel is poised to win position among the parade of more than 150 competing yachts racing toward the finish line. Putting a dampening on the thrill is that Gina, the yacht’s owner, is still mysteriously missing. Billy advises Chan to let the police handle her disappearance, but Chan, who recently spent a most memorable night with her at the Empress Hotel, can’t do that. Billy agrees, and Chan search begins, with cooperation from the police.

Saga (the Android app developed by Chan) enters the story big-time at this point. Chan is the private investigator on the case to the rest of the world, but Saga—operating as an app in Chan’s Android mobile phone while observing the scene via the tiny cameras built into Chan’s sunglasses—is operating behind the scenes.

Right at home in the world of complex, inventive, and daily changing high-tech communications and electronics, the author Grahame Shannon knows his way around technology. Also, he is a well-known designer of racing yachts as well. In fact, Shannon is a well-known yacht designer. And, for someone born in the Caribbean (Grenada), he’s quite at home in Victoria, Vancouver, and coastal and rural British Columbia, as well as the mariner’s highway along the B.C. and Alaska coast.

The combination of the authors background and expertise makes the Tiger and the Robot an entertaining and plausible read for those who are fans of sailing, cyber thrillers, and for those who simply enjoy a good whodunit mystery. Shannon has created a page-turner of a thriller and carved a small world’s worth of fascinating and unique characters, pulled out of both high places and dark corners.

Special Note: The Swiftsure International Yacht Race Week of 2017 began in Victoria, B.C., over Memorial Day weekend. While the reviewer penned this review of Grahame Shannon’s exciting fictional search for the fictional kidnapped owner of a fictional entry in (and fictional winner of) the Swiftsure race of 2016! The fact of the actual race (sponsored by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club every Memorial Day weekend) in real-time late May 2017 lends a touch of reality to Tiger and the Robot, especially if you’re familiar with Victoria, Vancouver, British Columbia, and possibly even the annual Swiftsure event.

June 28, 2017
PRIVACY WARS by John D. Trudel – a cyber-tech thriller

“You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.” Scott McNealy, CEO, Sun Microsystems, January 1999

Thrust into a conference room with trigger-happy guards, Privacy Wars opens with negotiations taking place between a software company and one of its clients. The tension is high as this particular client demands special concessions for its privacy software that Cybertech refuses to offer. Fans of Trudel’s work will recognize Cybertech and John Giles from his book Soft Target.

Set in the not-so-distant future, through a series of “astronomical deficits and a dark period of crony capitalism, corruption, socialism, and frequent national embarrassments,” America has lost its strength as a world power, and Asia has taken its place. Desperate for a solution, the U.S. president enters into secret agreements with Japan for a loan, deals which suggest treasonous behavior and abuses of authority. The biggest casualty will be Cybertech, whose software creates problems for those who think no information should be private.

Cybertech realizes that it is being targeted through a series of bogus lawsuits and violation claims, crippling its ability to function. When “Iron John,” Giles’ son, Will, now CEO of Cybertech, realizes the attacks might be personal, he goes into hiding and heads for the hills, leaving everything behind, with minimal resources for surviving in the woods. Will is confronted by a mysterious woman who gives him instructions to ensure his survival, and he has little choice but to trust her.

The attacks on Cybertech escalate from bureaucratic tyranny to an all-out physical war. An organization called the Peace Enforcers, which operates as though they are above any law, conducts acts of war on US soil with no provocation. In conjunction with a martial-arts trained killer named Tanaka, who enjoys torturing and killing, Cybertech staff find themselves at the Peace Enforcer’s mercy, and Will, who has no defensive training, insists on returning to the corporate offices to try to help his staff.

The consequences of this action are a major turning point in the story: our hero finds himself assisted by ancient technologies of advanced civilizations, the Viracocha, who go back to the building of the pyramids. Fortunately for us, Trudel includes well-researched explanations into the theories after the end of the story: what might appear to be fantasy and science fiction may have some real-world credence.

The dogged romantic pursuit of Will by his protector, Becky, who is described in favorable dimensions, complete with advanced degrees and connections in high places, adds a sense of intimacy to the story. Trudel has a mastery of using media’s humorous mis-reportings (as he puts them) that create unintentional heroes. Each section of the book starts with a real attributed quote pertaining to the story line, some going back to ancient times, and others that are there for Trudel to remind the reader of America’s constitutional roots.

Privacy Wars by John D. Trudel, explores and confronts the issues that are involved with absolute privacy in software, corporations and government from several perspectives with the need to balance personal privacy and corporate privacy with the need for national defense. Trudel is known for his catch phrase “Thrillers are fiction…until it happens.” And he knows how to write a thriller!

January 24, 2016
An Editorial Review of “Raven’s Run” by John D. Trudel

A covert CIA mission gone sideways, a harrowing post-WWI transatlantic flight, and a research facility with “remote viewing” capabilities: three seemingly separate stories woven across time and locations bring us to the brink of an attack that would annihilate North America in this entertaining and suspenseful novel titled Raven’s Run.

John D. Trudel researched actual historical archives to tell the escapades of his uncle, George O. Noville, a Navy officer who made historical flights, explored Antarctica, became an oil executive, and eventually settled in Mexico to retire. It is through his voice that the reader ‘hears’ the story of forgotten U.S. history.

Josie is a gentle soul with an incredible psychic ability (as well as a penchant for marijuana and going braless). All she has to do is have physical contact with an item to see its history, location, and actions occurring around it. The government, needless to say, sees her as a valuable asset and has her working in secrecy. Her viewings have sometimes left her comatose – she is especially sensitive to violence, and sees her own future in a mental institution if she doesn’t change the path she’s on.

Wayne, who has been given the boot from the CIA, is given a second chance along with a new identity as Raven. He is tasked to protect Josie. While on his failed yet explosive mission in Iran, Raven had uncovered a diary belonging to Noville, with the title “Operation High Jump,” a major Antarctic expedition that occurred right after World War II.

All evidence from the mission was destroyed, but the significance of the notebook is unclear. Josie is tasked with viewing the events surrounding the notebook, but the vastness of the great white ice continent makes finding any worthwhile data a huge challenge. While her talents are great, they are not unlimited.

Meanwhile, Islamic extremists are racing toward a mission of their own in Antarctica, allowing nothing to stop their quest to rid the world of the “Great Satan” and infidels. With ties to oil executives, high level U.S. government officials, and a nuclear-powered icebreaking vessel, not much can stop them, not even one of their own. The suspense builds at a breakneck pace.

Josie and Raven form an unlikely bond, breaking down the walls that he has had to build around himself out of necessity. Raven gains Josie’s trust, and she his. They start envisioning their own future together, but first they must complete this last, dangerous mission: solving the mysteries surrounding Noville, his death, and his diary. Will their love give them the strength to survive the ordeal, or add to their vulnerability?

Mechanical techies will enjoy Raven’s Run’s detailing of weaponry and engine mechanics on airplanes and ships, in both military and private use. Trudel challenges some widely held positions on climate change, Islam, the JFK assassination, Vietnam, international incidents occurring between WWII and today.

While this reviewer didn’t do any fact checking, Trudel offers a “Factoids and Fantasies” section to help the reader sort through historical fact and what is inspired in this work. A post on Trudel’s blog sums it up nicely: “There is a lot of truth in fiction these days, and we live in interesting times.”

Reviewer’s Note: All in all, I give Raven’s Run five stars. The ending is awesome! I tried not to give too much away in the review because the unfolding and braiding of events adds to the reader’s pleasure of discovery. This reviewer is looking forward to reading Trudel’s sequel, Raven’s Redemption which will be out in 2015.

October 9, 2014