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PeaceMaker #1
PeaceMaker,
Software expert Ray Brown is plunged into a life-or-death contest with PeaceMaker, a deadly artificial intelligence that has infected most of the world's computing devices. His determination to eliminate PeaceMaker leads him into a dangerous conflict with the Domain, a clandestine organization dedicated to a new world order. Humiliated by the federal government in an anti-trust trial that has torn apart her software company, CEO Dianne Morgan is obsessed with a plan to unleash PeaceMaker and shut down computer systems across the world. She is determined to crush the global economy unless the nations of the world agree to share power with the Domain. Although Dianne and Ray have never resolved a long simmering passion, she must hunt him down before he terminates PeaceMaker. As the Domain hunts Ray, Dianne learns of a mysterious third force that has discovered PeaceMaker and plans to attack the Domain. Dianne, Ray and this third force struggle for control, but PeaceMaker has its own plans.
284 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
1 person is currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Dan Ronco
3 books62 followersBorn into a tough neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, I learned powerful lessons about family, friendship and violence. My escape was fiction, and I spent many hours reading in the local library. My passion was technology and I went on to gain a BS in Chemical Engineering from NJIT. Not enough challenge. Always fascinated by new technologies, I was awarded a full fellowship at Columbia University and gained a MS in Nuclear Engineering. Although I designed submarine nuclear reactors for three years, I discovered that I enjoyed computer technologies more than reactor design, so I changed career direction and achieved a second MS; this one in Computer Science from RPI.
Fascinated by virtually all areas of software development, my expertise grew to include development, design, project management, quality improvement and finally, general management. My niche was software consulting and my team assisted many large corporations and governmental organizations. Always looking for the latest challenge, I built and managed several consulting practices. I'm especially proud of two accomplishments – assisting AT&T greatly improve the quality of the first commercial UNIX release and helping Microsoft to create a world class consulting organization. Positions held during my consulting years included Senior Principal with an international accounting/consulting firm, President, Software Technology Management Inc. and General Manager with Microsoft.
Several years ago I decided to leave consulting and concentrate on a long held desire to write fiction. A successful engineer and businessman, I had the breath of experience to understand and synthesize rapidly evolving strands of technology. It became clear that fundamental change would turn our society upside down within the next few decades. Humans will have to adapt rapidly to gain the advantages of these changing social and technological innovations. Indeed, we will have to adapt rapidly just to survive.
I scoped out a trilogy of novels to expose three oncoming challenges; computer viruses enhanced with artificial intelligence (set in 2012), the oncoming clash between religion and technology concerning what it means to be human (2022), and the beginnings of the integration of human and artificial intelligence into a network entity (2031). Each novel is written as a thriller – packed with adventure, sex, greed and romance – as well as realistic science and technology. The three leading characters – Dianne Morgan, a female mega-billionaire obsessed with power; Ray Brown, her onetime lover and a brilliant software architect; and David Brown, Ray’s genetically gifted son – are fascinating and all too human.
PeaceMaker, my first novel, was released in August, 2004 with outstanding feedback by critics, authors, and most importantly, by customers. As one critic wrote, " If you enjoy techno-thrillers, you’re going to enjoy Peacemaker." If you prefer reading on-line, PeaceMaker has been posted to my website as a free serial novel.
My second novel, Unholy Domain, was released the spring of 2008 by Kunati Publishing. The response was excellent, and several reviewers compared my writing to that of Philip K. Dick. That might be a stretch, but I'm not complaining.
My third novel, 2031: The Singularity Pogrom, was released at the end of August, 2010.
Fascinated by virtually all areas of software development, my expertise grew to include development, design, project management, quality improvement and finally, general management. My niche was software consulting and my team assisted many large corporations and governmental organizations. Always looking for the latest challenge, I built and managed several consulting practices. I'm especially proud of two accomplishments – assisting AT&T greatly improve the quality of the first commercial UNIX release and helping Microsoft to create a world class consulting organization. Positions held during my consulting years included Senior Principal with an international accounting/consulting firm, President, Software Technology Management Inc. and General Manager with Microsoft.
Several years ago I decided to leave consulting and concentrate on a long held desire to write fiction. A successful engineer and businessman, I had the breath of experience to understand and synthesize rapidly evolving strands of technology. It became clear that fundamental change would turn our society upside down within the next few decades. Humans will have to adapt rapidly to gain the advantages of these changing social and technological innovations. Indeed, we will have to adapt rapidly just to survive.
I scoped out a trilogy of novels to expose three oncoming challenges; computer viruses enhanced with artificial intelligence (set in 2012), the oncoming clash between religion and technology concerning what it means to be human (2022), and the beginnings of the integration of human and artificial intelligence into a network entity (2031). Each novel is written as a thriller – packed with adventure, sex, greed and romance – as well as realistic science and technology. The three leading characters – Dianne Morgan, a female mega-billionaire obsessed with power; Ray Brown, her onetime lover and a brilliant software architect; and David Brown, Ray’s genetically gifted son – are fascinating and all too human.
PeaceMaker, my first novel, was released in August, 2004 with outstanding feedback by critics, authors, and most importantly, by customers. As one critic wrote, " If you enjoy techno-thrillers, you’re going to enjoy Peacemaker." If you prefer reading on-line, PeaceMaker has been posted to my website as a free serial novel.
My second novel, Unholy Domain, was released the spring of 2008 by Kunati Publishing. The response was excellent, and several reviewers compared my writing to that of Philip K. Dick. That might be a stretch, but I'm not complaining.
My third novel, 2031: The Singularity Pogrom, was released at the end of August, 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 6, 2007
Fantastic techno-thriller!! Peacemaker is a fast-paced thriller that left me eager for the upcoming sequel, "Unholy Domain." Ronco's fictional story warns us to proceed with caution as we rapidly advance our dependance on technology. This is not an old theme, but certainly a relevant one with the persistance of widely distributed email and online viruses in a society pushing for global portable internet access.
Many thanks to fellow "Goodreads" member, Dan Ronco for his free online read of "Peacemaker" at www.danronco.com.
Many thanks to fellow "Goodreads" member, Dan Ronco for his free online read of "Peacemaker" at www.danronco.com.
December 19, 2007
I learned about this book from the author who is on this site. I managed to win a copy of the book and am glad that I did because this was a book that kept me wondering what will happen next. It is set in the future and is about a computer virus that has become a force of its own.
Definitely a book to check out and read!
Definitely a book to check out and read!
May 6, 2008
I really liked this book because it had a great comcept that is not that unbelievable. The events in the book could really happen. I can't wait to read the second book in this trilogy. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good thriller.
November 27, 2007
was told this is a good one
November 30, 2008
A Breath of Fresh Air
I finished this book within 24-hours. I almost finished it in one sitting. I was captivated by the interesting and fast paced nature of the plot. The storyline was simple enough, but believable enough to be scary. I am a "hard" science fiction junkie, and I liked how this novel had an element of "hardness" to it, but was not overly complicated with details and really focused on moving the plot forward and creating complicated situations for the compelling characters.
I found the characters to be likable, but obviously flawed. The female characters simply oozed sexuality at every encounter. With the background and preliminary story developed for each character in the opening chapters, it was easy to follow and believe in each move they made and their motivations were expected and not randomly generated.
This book met, and exceeded, my expectations for a first novel. It was short, easy to read, captivating, and unique (which is probably the most important). It was not only unique in the idea of the computer software virus, but unique in the direction that the story heads afterward. It's one thing to create a world shattering event, but it is another thing to take that story in a direction that will become more interesting, both of which Ronco excels in doing. Using the analogy of a post apocalyptic book, I would not want the apocalypse to be the most interesting part of a book. You want the characters reactions and the story of their survival to be the most compelling, which "PeaceMaker" achieves in its own right. The "PeaceMaker" virus is just the tip of the iceberg. It is everything else that makes this book worth reading.
I look forward to the rest of this series (I think I read it will be a trilogy) and more to come from Dan Ronco. I'm glad I got in early in his writing career.
Highly recommended. This book was a breath of fresh air compared to the massive numbers of like-minded, similar stories that are churned out each week.
J.Stoner
I finished this book within 24-hours. I almost finished it in one sitting. I was captivated by the interesting and fast paced nature of the plot. The storyline was simple enough, but believable enough to be scary. I am a "hard" science fiction junkie, and I liked how this novel had an element of "hardness" to it, but was not overly complicated with details and really focused on moving the plot forward and creating complicated situations for the compelling characters.
I found the characters to be likable, but obviously flawed. The female characters simply oozed sexuality at every encounter. With the background and preliminary story developed for each character in the opening chapters, it was easy to follow and believe in each move they made and their motivations were expected and not randomly generated.
This book met, and exceeded, my expectations for a first novel. It was short, easy to read, captivating, and unique (which is probably the most important). It was not only unique in the idea of the computer software virus, but unique in the direction that the story heads afterward. It's one thing to create a world shattering event, but it is another thing to take that story in a direction that will become more interesting, both of which Ronco excels in doing. Using the analogy of a post apocalyptic book, I would not want the apocalypse to be the most interesting part of a book. You want the characters reactions and the story of their survival to be the most compelling, which "PeaceMaker" achieves in its own right. The "PeaceMaker" virus is just the tip of the iceberg. It is everything else that makes this book worth reading.
I look forward to the rest of this series (I think I read it will be a trilogy) and more to come from Dan Ronco. I'm glad I got in early in his writing career.
Highly recommended. This book was a breath of fresh air compared to the massive numbers of like-minded, similar stories that are churned out each week.
J.Stoner
September 6, 2007
PeaceMaker, a start-at-a-dead-run science fiction thriller, is set in the near future, where software revolutionaries are pushing artificial intelligence to the brink of terrorism.
The prologue plunges software architect Ray Brown into a life-or-death contest with PeaceMaker, a deadly artificial intelligence that has infected most of the world’s computing devices. Ray's determination to eliminate PeaceMaker leads him into a dangerous conflict with the Domain – a clandestine organization dedicated to a new world order.
Humiliated by the federal government in an anti-trust trial that has torn apart her software company, CEO Dianne Morgan is obsessed with a plan to unleash PeaceMaker and shut down computer systems across the world. She is determined to crush the global economy unless the nations of the world agree to share power with the Domain.
Although Dianne and Ray have never resolved a long simmering passion, she must hunt him down before he terminates PeaceMaker. As the Domain hunts Ray, Dianne learns of a mysterious third force that has discovered PeaceMaker and plans to attack the Domain. Dianne, Ray and this third force struggle for control, but PeaceMaker has its own plans.
The prologue plunges software architect Ray Brown into a life-or-death contest with PeaceMaker, a deadly artificial intelligence that has infected most of the world’s computing devices. Ray's determination to eliminate PeaceMaker leads him into a dangerous conflict with the Domain – a clandestine organization dedicated to a new world order.
Humiliated by the federal government in an anti-trust trial that has torn apart her software company, CEO Dianne Morgan is obsessed with a plan to unleash PeaceMaker and shut down computer systems across the world. She is determined to crush the global economy unless the nations of the world agree to share power with the Domain.
Although Dianne and Ray have never resolved a long simmering passion, she must hunt him down before he terminates PeaceMaker. As the Domain hunts Ray, Dianne learns of a mysterious third force that has discovered PeaceMaker and plans to attack the Domain. Dianne, Ray and this third force struggle for control, but PeaceMaker has its own plans.
August 1, 2011
Peacemaker is a fast-paced and thoroughly enjoyable techno-thriller. It has elements of S-F, but I see it more as a futurist book than S-F. Its themes include cyber-war, or more accurately cyber-terror, and artificial intelligence, a theme with a long history in S-F, but just when you think you have a handle on the AI plot, you don’t. This alone will get me to read the second book in the saga. More universal themes include the drive for power, how power corrupts, the abuse of power, alcoholism, sexual addiction and more. The characters are as well drawn and complex as the plot. This first book of the saga tells a complete story, no loose ends, but contains enough hints of the future to compel the reader to pick up the second book. I read the Kindle version of Peacemaker. It is not properly formatted in KDP with the result that paragraphs are off and dialogue is sometimes hard to follow. I suggest the author reformat and reissue this edition.
January 12, 2011
PeaceMaker is about Ray Brown, a computer architect who builds a computer a system that catapults his company into the forefront of the computer industry. Brown discovers a virus imbedded in the system that is dangerous. His investigations become dangerous to him and everyone around him.
The story is full of techno speak that even the average Joe (like me) can understand. The story started getting confusing as it jumped back and forth in time and between people. Some of the chaacters connection to the story wasn't explained enough to get why they were included. The story read more like an introduction to the actual story rather than the story itself. With that said, the story was enjoyable, just incomplete.
The story is full of techno speak that even the average Joe (like me) can understand. The story started getting confusing as it jumped back and forth in time and between people. Some of the chaacters connection to the story wasn't explained enough to get why they were included. The story read more like an introduction to the actual story rather than the story itself. With that said, the story was enjoyable, just incomplete.
January 20, 2008
A sci-fi thriller set in the near future. Dianne Morgan, CEO of the largest Operating System company Atlas, unleashes PeaceMaker, an artificial intelligence virus. Ray Brown, a software architect, is in a race against the clock to thwart her plans.
Written by an ex-Microsoft employee. Freely available at http://danronco.com
It definitely made me curious to the sequel: Unholy Domain. And also Tomorrow's Children, the final part of this saga, to be published in spring 2009.
Written by an ex-Microsoft employee. Freely available at http://danronco.com
It definitely made me curious to the sequel: Unholy Domain. And also Tomorrow's Children, the final part of this saga, to be published in spring 2009.
November 4, 2011
I don’t know if I'd call this "good literature"...whatever that is, but I would say it was entertaining. It's not really an original premise nor does it have extraordinarily interesting characters and often falls into clichés, but despite all of that it was pretty fast paced and kept my interest till the end. It's kind of like if you have ever seen one of those B movies made for TV on the Sci-Fi channel, maybe starring Debbie Gibson or Tiffany. You know it's corny and the special effects are laughable, but you can't not watch a few minutes of it and be entertained.
October 29, 2010
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads. It is a fast paced techno-thriller and I read the entire book on a plane trip. The plot is intriguing and deals with the negative consequences of out-of-control artificial intelligence and egocentric, greedy humans. It is full of action and would probably make an exciting movie. I thought the quotes at the beginning of each chapter were clever and definitely added perspective. Just bought the second book in the trilogy.
December 30, 2010
I won this book thru Library Thing and I am so glad that I did. The book was an exciting, science-fiction thrill ride that kept me on the edge of my seat. The basic premise is that our technology could be our worst enemy, if not in the right hands. I highly recommend this book to anybody who is a fan of this genre. The book is a very quick read and once you start it, you cannot put it down. I definitely need to read the authors second book of this series.
October 7, 2013
PeaceMaker is a thrilling and suspenseful read packed with memorable characters, witty dialog, and a satisfying dose of computer jargon. Dan Ronco's futuristic techno-world is realistic and its plight all too plausible. The first of a trilogy that promises to probe the blessings and curses of an emerging technological society, PeaceMaker explores a timely question: how much technology is too much?
April 21, 2011
Kind of an odd book. The first chapter is so amazing that I reread it before continuing. But it loses steam about 2/3 of the way through. The general theme is also not that fresh or unique. However, it leaves open some interesting directions forward, so I'll probably continue on in the series. Overall, it feels like it had the potential to be fantastic but settled more towards merely good, which makes it seem disappointing.
December 11, 2012
It's strange, this story comes across like hard science fiction, yet it has a fair few cheesy moments and cliches. As for the female characters, I really don't know what to say. It was, however, and tense and interesting read.
May 7, 2008
Good work for his first novel. Dan Ronco writes about a not-so-distant future where everything is run by computers, and someone is trying to release a virus which could destroy all humanity.
January 13, 2011
I really liked this book, it was fast paced and fun to read, i esp liked the style. i look forward to read Dan Ronco's other books.
June 27, 2011
Review of member giveaway eBook
This is an accomplished techno-thriller. An easy, light read with a Trojan AI set to bring down modern civilization.
This was a very entertaining book.
This is an accomplished techno-thriller. An easy, light read with a Trojan AI set to bring down modern civilization.
This was a very entertaining book.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews