Title: The Devil's Code
Author: John Sanford
Pages Read: All
Rating: 8 (10 is the best, right?)
The Devil's Code is a novel, surrounding high-tech hijackers and covered-up murders. It is about Kidd, a black hat hacker, whose friend was killed under mysterious circumstances. He goes to investigate and digs up a group called Firewall, and a conspiracy hidden under the private corporation, AmMath. His journey takes him across America, with the NSA and FBI riding his tail.
I found one major point in symbolism- the story of The Old Man of the Sea. This symbol starts as OMS, a file on the AmMath server. Kidd, near the climax of the story, realizes the story of Sinbad and the Old Man, who rode Sinbad to near death, before Sinbad managed to beat him to death. This relates to AmMath “riding” government satellites for illegal retailing of photos.
I find it rather amusing that this author made such a deal of a group of people hijacking a satellite. This was written back in 2000, and in the time since, there have been advances in the hacking exploits so vast that any kid motivated enough could do something like what it took an entire committee to accomplish. The Devil's Code is a well-written book that, while outdated, is thrilling and interesting all the way through.
Reese, you are a very strong writer and keep me intriuged. I would love to read this book in the near future. I also like how you put fact, and opinion into your writing because it gives me more than one view when i read a book.
ReplyDeleteThis book, while not my usual cup of tea, definitely seems like something I wouldn't mind reading. I appreciate how you took notice of the fact that it is outdated but still saw a good story for a good story. Although I think that only kids like you would actually have a chance at hijacking a satellite. I personally am not very knowledgeable on the subject of computers or technology for that matter, and I am curious as to whether or not someone considering reading this book would need to have prior knowledge on the subject? I think your summary was a clean, well written piece and it made me take interest in satellite hijacking and the people behind it.
ReplyDeleteJoyce-
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. To answer your question, you need no prior knowledge to fully comprehend this book. Kidd works with someone who doesn't understand hacking, so he explains everything he does. The author uses this technique to inform his readers.
You are very welcome, thanks for replying. Now that you said that, I might just look for it the next time I'm in the library. I always like it when authors are able to use their characters to ask the questions for the reader. And I absolutely HATE it when authors assume that everyone who reads their books will already have prior knowledge on the subjects discussed. So inconsiderate...
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