Matthew Mather (1969–2022)

I picked up "Darknet" because I work in AI and automation and I wanted to see what someone who sees the darker possibilities of the technologies would imagine as our future.

Matthew Mather does a good job with the technology. The things he imagines are a "five minutes from now" version of the current technology used for bots, machine learning, pattern recognition, drones and cryptocurrency.

He's also come up with a dark and plausible global conspiracy, powered by an AI technology that happily show more uses humans to do the wetwork.

The action is set across the world: China, the US, Canada, the UK. There's a surprisingly high body count and the action is relentless.

I'm sure the novel has a clever resolution for dealing with the monstrous entity Matthew Mather's imagination has spawned but I'm never going to find out what it is.

I gave up just before the half-way point because I realised that I really didn't care what happened to any of the people. It was like watching someone else play a video game: great graphics and sound effects but zero emotional engagement.

If you're in it for a fast-paced, action-packed thriller with a plausible extrapolation of current technology then "Darknet" may do it for you. Personally, I'll wait to download the video when the movie is inevitably made. show less

Preface: I swear on my mother's iPad that I did not read any of the reviews or quotes at Amazon.com before writing this review, so help me Bezos.

Much has been written of how man and machine will interact in the future; whether it's Gibson's "Neuromancer", Stephenson's "Snow Crash", or any of a number of indie authors out there now. Matthew Mather's debut novel "The Complete Atopia Chronicles" takes artificial intelligence, distributed computing, nanotechnology, and the full range of humanity show more (hubris, love, addiction, selfishness, anger, happiness, etc.), portions them all into a blender, and mixes up the finest-tasting best-guess at just what Kurzweil's Singularity might be like.

Like all good SF writers, Mather extrapolates from our present global state of being (advertisements seemingly on every surface, the increasing effects of climate change, rising economic power of India and China) to build a world where distributed consciousness is in beta-testing and those chosen few are living fantastic lives both on a man-made independent island and in their own heads; but as good SF also does, we see how advancement comes with a price and no matter how much we build or how smart we think we are, in the end we are still human.

Of particular note is the device of telling each protagonist's tale in full before moving on to the next story. A more traditional approach would ironically skip from character to character, viewpoint to viewpoint, telling the tale as it unfolds; to truly obtain the full effect of each story occuring simultaneously one would need access to the distributed consciousness technology described in the novel. As it is we mere humans simply need to hold what we've read in our memory, but don't be surprised to find yourself scrubbing back to an earlier story to confirm that yes indeed, this is what was happening when that seemingly random thing occured; not to give anything away, that is. Of course, each tale of the Atopia Chronicles stands on its own and does not need the others to be enjoyed, or to educate.

Above all the future-gazing, techno-whizbangery and story-telling devices, the most important thing is the ability to tell a good story and to make you incapable of waiting to turn the page, which Mather accomplishes nicely in the Atopia Chronicles. While moving from one character wholly to another is jarring in the earlier stories ('Okay,' you say to yourself, 'why should I care about this guy? I still care about the last guy!'), as you keep reading you realize that your earlier friends are still out there, if only you could send a splinter off to check on what they were up to at that moment. show less

CyberStorm is an excellent apocalyptic disaster novel by Matthew Mather. Michael Mitchell, his wife Lauren and their toddler son Luke live on the sixth floor of an apartment building in New York City. Their best friends, Chuck and Susie and their infant daughter Ellarose live in the apartment next door. Unfortunately, their lives become perilous due to three powerfully destructive forces that converge on NYC during the Christmas season. Widespread malicious cyber-attacks bring down power show more grids and major logistical networks, as well as taking away email and Internet access and the ability to use credit cards or get cash. In addition, the city is hit by horrendously powerful, relentless, and recurring winter storms that make it extremely difficult and very dangerous to even go outside. Also there’s the threat of Bird Flu that also increases everyone’s panic level. This book includes a large number of interesting, appealing, and also sinister characters, who endure a harrowing nightmare struggle to survive. The very fabric of modern society is torn asunder by the extreme violent behavior of terrified, starving people trying to survive, and many characters do not survive. This is an amazingly gripping story that I did not want to stop reading, although I sometimes was emotionally caught up in the terror and gloom of the desperate situations and life-threatening struggles. Mather, who self-published this book via amazon, has a bright future as an author. He is planning a sequel to this book, which I will certainly read, and I also plan to read his second book Atopia, which is already available. I highly recommend this book. show less

Interesting Time To Read These Stories. I read CyberStorm nearly a year ago, in February 2020. Right as the COVID issue was beginning to cause global panic. But at least that story *mostly* focused on New York City, so while it was uncomfortable due to being all-TOO-realistic, it was at least possible to tell myself (as a Southern man who has only rarely even been through or over NYC) that it wouldn't happen here.

This book kept that all-too-realistic nature going (though with perhaps a few show more too many shots at billionaires who are legitimately trying to save humanity at the front), but this time went from New Orleans to Virginia Beach via Mississippi, Kentucky, and Ohio. Much harder to tune out as "it can't happen here", particularly since I stared down the face of Irma less than a month after moving to Florida and this book features just such a storm bearing down on Virginia. ;)

Overall truly a remarkable work of near-future science fiction, one that primarily uses tech that is already available to tell a tale that will hopefully never come to fruition.

And that ending! Let's just say I'm glad I read this book in January 2021, knowing CyberWar - the next book - is slated to be released in just a few months. :D Very much recommended. show less