The Blue Nowhere

In The Blue Nowhere, we have computer hackers run wild as Phate, a Silicon Valley hacker, is taking a computer game to a whole new level, collecting points by killing hard to kill targets. Phate does this by infiltrating people’s computers with a trap door virus, giving him access to all of the information on their computers. He then hunts them down and kills them, often by manipulating data found in computers to some way trick them. The computer crimes division is a bit overmatched in trying to deal with Phate, so they use an incarcerated computer hacker, Wyatt Gillette, to assist in their investigation. Gillette is an equally skilled hacker and matches wits with Phate, with whom he shares a past history. The lead Detective, Frank show more Bishop, uses Gillette’s skills and old-fashioned police investigation to hunt down Phate as he continues to kill.

This is a different type of crime thriller than what I am used to reading. Serial killers in fiction tend to be very similar and generic, but Phate is a very different kind of killer. He is completely disassociated with reality. For him, the only thing that matters are machines, code, and virtual reality. He doesn’t see people as being people. To him, they are only objects. He contrasts with Gillette, who also is enthralled by machines, but he at least has an ex-wife that he loves and views people as people, and not mere lines of code. The chase in this novel works well. The one shortcoming is the believability of Phate’s character. The way he acts and the real world skills he has is so unlike any hacker type I have ever known. I’m not tech savvy enough to determine how realistic some of the online activities were, but the characterization of Phate was a bit sketchy. This was a good thriller and an entertaining read, one that I enjoyed.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street show less

I don't usually find much fault in Deaver's books but I have to say, a lot of the tech talk in this felt very awkward, and it was only written in 2001 when a handful of the irksome things should already have been changed; the first handful of pages I wasn't sure if I was going to keep on with it. But, as we get more into the plot and the characters, his usual excellence shines through and helps overcome the odd bits of tech talk. Overall if one enjoys Deaver's work and can push past the opening, this ought to be pretty enjoyable.

The ‘Blue Nowhere’, the world of computers! Electricity running machines in an intangible place.

The “gotcha” at the end of chapter one is pretty dang good! Interesting idea - social engineering...
I think a computer person would love this book! Me? I liked it a bit! The computer stuff wasn't very interesting to me, and there's a lot of that in here. The cat-and-mouse game between Gillette and Phate was pretty good though! Each one out maneuvering the other, over and over! Lots of twists, turns, 180's and even some 360's! I pretty much guessed wrong, every time I guessed, and I liked that! A good, solid thriller!

Reading a book in 2022, written 21 years prior about computers, is interesting. At its core, "The Blue Nowhere" is about the power of viruses and hackers who can infiltrate and control remote computers.

I was initially curious to see if there were things Deaver wrote about that came to fruition; and other than identify theft...sort of, he kept referring to "social engineering"...there didn't seem to be that many prescient ideas.

But the story itself was pretty good. There were many plausible twists and turns, but I do think some of the things he got his antagonist (and his programs) to do were a bit far-fetched, even today.

Our main protagonist, Wyatt Gillette, is a hacker in prison for breaking DoD encryption software. Our antagonist, show more "Phate," is using computers to gain access to folks, then killing them. These acts get him points in a rather ambiguous computer game (that no one else seems to be playing). Gillette is allowed to help a California State Police Computer Crimes Unit try to figure out who Phate is and stop him.

I wouldn't discourage someone from reading this book. It's not the greatest, but I've read worse.. show less

i have always found fiction about computer security very hard to enjoy ('net force' and 'digital fortress' come to mind). i guess being in the industry myself, i find them more annoying than entertaining (an experience that may be similar to a history major sitting down to watch pearl harbor??).

i had high hopes at the beginning of this book. in spite of myself, i found the early chapters actually sound credible - tech-wise...but as the story went on, the inaccuracies in all the techno-babble quickly made them sound like poor attempts at geek-ery. although i realize, of course, that all the hacking and computer security stuff was nothing more than a plot devise, it still kind of ruined the experience for me.

having said that, i have show more never enjoyed a novel based on it security as much as i have this one :) show less

The " nowhere" represents online space, that world of electrons that hackers and unline freaks lose themselves in. It' a nifty metaphor and Deaver handles the technical details of this novel very well — at least as far as I could tell. A brilliant programmer, a cracker (someone who breaks into another computer to do damage as opposed to a hacker who just breaks in to poke around for the thrill of beating the system) is killing people and the Computer Crimes Unit relaizes they are in way over their heads. They enlist the help of Wyatt Earp — oops, Wyatt Gillette — another brilliant hacker currently in jail for having broken in to some defense department computers — to help them find Phate. Phate (there are many spelling related show more puns) was a former associate of Wyatt' who has so confused reality with a computer game he was playing that he has mixed up the real killing with that of the computer game. By accessing linked computers he is able to " engineer" his identity (changing grades, occupation, references, ownership, etc.,) and track down an ever-increasing set of targets, giving himself additional points as the difficulty inceases. Of course, if you' paranoid, this book will really get you going, because Phate has created a program called Trapdoor that permits him to enter your computer and collect all the information stored therein and then use that data to his own nefarious purposes. Of course, if you never go online, you would have nothing to worry about. Throughout the story, Phate has an ally, one who keeps revealing the police plans and actions so Phate can stay one step ahead of the authorities. The identity of this ally, Shawn, comes as a complete and very satisfying surprise. Good story. show less

Unless you are a "tech geek" the language will put you off this book, or you will find yourself skipping over it. Overall this novel is a little light weight, but was quick and fun to read if you need a diversion. I would recommend it and rate it "Pleasurable not-memorable".