Stephen Bury (2)

Bizarre characters in an almost Philip-K-Dick-ian plot about a presidential candidate who, after suffering an incapacitating stroke, makes a Faustian bargain with a hi-tech campaign consultant who can restore the candidate but at the price of his autonomy. The candidate soon finds that the restorative brain surgery he has undergone has left his mind at the mercy of the consultant who now forces the candidate to say what the consultant wants him to say. Naturally, the consultant has show more thoroughly focus-grouped everything the candidate is to say. The evil of it all is not that the consultant imposes his own thoughts or ambitions so much as that he makes the candidate say what "people" want to hear according to the consultant's research. show less

This is good mind-candy reading - a great beach book. It's suspenseful, the characters are engaging, the plot is pretty unpredictable, and although it is well-written, it's not at all intellectually challenging. I listened to the audiobook, and it's exactly how I like audiobooks, because I listen to them while I'm doing housework - engaging, but not demanding.

The book centers on events leading up to the First Gulf War. There are two main plotlines: one follows a low-level FBI analyst who show more uncovers some information that leads her to suspect Iraqis are developing biological weapons with American funding. The other plotline follows a sheriff in small-town Iowa who discovers connections between strange events in his university town, and also comes to suspect that people are developing biological weapons.

This is definitely Neal Stephenson light, or Tom Clancy meets Neal Stephenson. But Stephenson's fingerprints are all over it, especially in the witty writing and the engaging characters. show less

To say this was an unexpected experience would be an understatement. Stephenson and his colleague put together a story far ahead of its time (1995) filled with extraordinary characters, concepts and plot twists. Given the current dynamic of today's presidential craziness, it raises the question: Is it possible Trump has an implant? Of course not, but the concept of being electronically controlled by groups financed by the billionaire boys club isn't far reaching. The last few chapters get show more the heart rate up and move at lighting pace similar to a Baldacci or Brown book. I can't recommend this book enough, especially with the current political climate! show less

The president has just announced that he wants to default on the nation's enormous debt, so a huge secret financial syndicate implants a brain control device in a presidential candidate to make sure he wins. Except trying to describe the plot of this book really doesn't do it justice, because it explores a lot of themes - the power of the media to interfere in politics, the power of money, the implications of technology that can work wonders to heal damaged brains... this is part political show more thriller, part sci-fi, and part satire. The characters are engaging and fun, the story is interesting and thought-provoking in a non-intellectually-taxing mind-candy sort of way, the writing is excellent. This is an all-around entertaining and fun book. show less