William Hertling

High Marks for Action in a Somewhat Overused Plot

There are technothrillers that chill you with a look at near-future technology gone wrong. And there are ones that rock you with action that’s both real, near-term, and perhaps out there a bit. The Last Firewall is solidly in the camp of the latter.

Catherine (Cat) Matthews is an everyday student (in a near-future world) with everyday concerns, such as boyfriends, and only a few quirks. For one, she can see people’s data streams in netspace show more and sever them. But when she’s pushed into a life or death situation, she discovers capabilities she didn’t know she had, starting her on a collision course with an Artificial Intelligence with designs on the world. That course is littered with bodies and battles, waged with everything from today’s bullets to tomorrow’s massive cyberattacks. Catherine is supported (and opposed) by a cast of interesting characters – other AIs, robots, the creators of Artificial Intelligence, human-AI hybrids. Other than a couple of the villains, there’s hardly a human you’d recognize. But all the same, they feel more real than you might expect, adding to the book’s appeal.

There are a few downsides. For one, romantic inclinations in the heat of battle seem a bit out of place. Cat discovering new capabilities just in the nick of time also gets a bit overused. And the basic plot – an evil AI taking over the world is somewhat trite. That said, The Last Firewall does that theme just about as well as any of them, blending an array of current and possible future network technology.

So, if you’re looking for a thought-provoking story on AIs and human coexisting in the future, you’re probably in the wrong place. But if you’re seeking an action-packed battle to the end between a super heroine still learning her powers and an evil AI, The Last Firewall is for you. show less

I think there was a lot to like in this book. The main character is a woman who works in tech, suffers from PTSD and anxiety, and uses her tech skills to kill men who are abusing their wives. So that's a pretty fantastic premise, and the main character is pretty awesome..... And the author clearly knows what is and is not possible with today's technology, so the tech aspects were totally realistic.

However, I couldn't handle it - this was way too triggering for me. The descriptions of what it show more is like to live with PTSD, what it is like to have an anxiety attack, and what it is like to be a survivor of abuse were painfully accurate. It was too upsetting and I couldn't read it. show less

The first thing to know about this book is it is detail heavy with regard to hacking, coding, and internet technology. I don't know how much of the tech in this book is real or embellished but it all looked and felt real to me, and I'm no stranger to some of the technology. However the detail is expressed in a simplified manner and if you can get past that, this book is a compelling read. In fact it's almost three books in one, one part cyber-assassin, one part cat-and-mouse computer show more espionage thriller, and one part tech startup drama. All three are compelling on their own, and drawing the storylines together was I'm sure no easy feat. That being said, sometimes one storyline would carry on a little too long, getting a bit mired in details. That's a minor criticism, and on the whole I enjoyed this book. show less

Incredible (the literal meaning). This books crams an unbelievable amount of cool tech into its short narrative - common exploits and techniques but also some detailed description of various technologies that don't really matter to the plot but are just there so you can go "yes, I got that reference!". Not a paragraph will go by without some more or less obscure reference - this must be what fan-service looks like in book form.

Most of it will be completely incomprehensible unless you're a show more software engineer but there's also equal amounts of geek SF Americana. You name the cliche - it's there. It's so strange, like a shopping list of touchstones. Expensive coffee machines, microbreweries (honestly, at that point I just started laughing and could no longer take the book seriously), psycho-analysis, ramen fueled startups, Japanese culture, minecraft etc. etc.. The protagonist is a Kevin Mitnick, Linus Torvalds, John Draper, George Hotz, Kevin Poulsen (and many others) all rolled into one, taking on their skills and histories.

You'd think that would be enough to stretch anyone's credulity and provide enough material to work with but why stop there? Let's change that protagonist into a woman and a amputee and she murders people as a coping mechanism for her mental problems (throwing Dexter Morgan into the mix).

It's a fun wish-fulfilment fantasy, similar to Daniel Suarez, except the technical details are orders of magnitude better. The social commentary is equally heavy handed and black helicopters of the oppressive government zoom around the sky. Evil people are evil, good guys are saints. show less