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The Lattice Trilogy #1
The Lead Cloak
Byron Shaw can track and find anyone on Earth. Except the people who tried to kill him.
Privacy no longer exists—the Lattice enables anyone to re-live any moment of your life. People can experience past and present events—or see into the mind of anyone, living or dead.
Most people love it. Some want to destroy it.
Colonel Byron Shaw has just saved the Lattice from the most dangerous attack in its history. Now he must find those responsible. But there’s a question nobody’s does the Lattice deserve to be saved?
The answer may cost him his life.
Privacy no longer exists—the Lattice enables anyone to re-live any moment of your life. People can experience past and present events—or see into the mind of anyone, living or dead.
Most people love it. Some want to destroy it.
Colonel Byron Shaw has just saved the Lattice from the most dangerous attack in its history. Now he must find those responsible. But there’s a question nobody’s does the Lattice deserve to be saved?
The answer may cost him his life.
424 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2013
398 people are currently reading
1844 people want to read
About the author
Erik Hanberg
14 books85 followersErik Hanberg is the author of several books, including a science fiction trilogy, mysteries, and several nonfiction books for nonprofit leaders.
He currently lives in Tacoma with his wife Mary and their two children where he is also an elected official.
He currently lives in Tacoma with his wife Mary and their two children where he is also an elected official.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
May 16, 2017
My overall impression of this book is that it is the product of a solid narrative foundation backed up by poor pseudo science that suffered at the hands of a writer struggling with his craft. Ultimately this is the work of a lazy author.
Sometimes the prose is a little awkward, making the suspension of disbelief that much more difficult. While the narrative is sound, mostly, the prose prevents true immersion or suspension of disbelief. The closer I got to the end of the book the more I believed that this was largely due to laziness on the part of an author almost too eager to get to the end of his story.
As I started reading chapter 26, paused to reflect on another awkward and lazy turn of phrase ("no matter how much he hemmed and hawed"), I worried that he'd blow the chance for a thrilling climax in order to set up the sequel. And I don't think it's too far off to say that I was right. The climax was better than I expected but still ultimately lame.
I was also aware of a number of inconsistencies in the plot. Something categorically stated as fact in one chapter is contradicted in the next. A major operation by some of the protagonists is ostensibly carried out to prevent someone making a particular connection, but later those same protagonists claim that nobody could ever have predicted that the connection could be made and speak as if they were reacting to the fact that the connection in fact WAS made. Some facts are ignored while plot points are being developed as if the reader would forget details of the lead character's life from one chapter to the next. It's insulting to the reader's intelligence.
Another thing that bothered me was the number of pointless characters in the story. Some are there simply to be killed while others serve no purpose to the narrative whatsoever. Character development is not even worth exploring.
I think this author could do with learning to apply the principle of show don't tell. The story telling is blunt and lacks nuance. The author lacks the ability to describe emotion, build tension or navigate intrigue.
As I said before I think the story might have been a good one, but the author lacks the sensitivity to bring it to life.
Sometimes the prose is a little awkward, making the suspension of disbelief that much more difficult. While the narrative is sound, mostly, the prose prevents true immersion or suspension of disbelief. The closer I got to the end of the book the more I believed that this was largely due to laziness on the part of an author almost too eager to get to the end of his story.
As I started reading chapter 26, paused to reflect on another awkward and lazy turn of phrase ("no matter how much he hemmed and hawed"), I worried that he'd blow the chance for a thrilling climax in order to set up the sequel. And I don't think it's too far off to say that I was right. The climax was better than I expected but still ultimately lame.
I was also aware of a number of inconsistencies in the plot. Something categorically stated as fact in one chapter is contradicted in the next. A major operation by some of the protagonists is ostensibly carried out to prevent someone making a particular connection, but later those same protagonists claim that nobody could ever have predicted that the connection could be made and speak as if they were reacting to the fact that the connection in fact WAS made. Some facts are ignored while plot points are being developed as if the reader would forget details of the lead character's life from one chapter to the next. It's insulting to the reader's intelligence.
Another thing that bothered me was the number of pointless characters in the story. Some are there simply to be killed while others serve no purpose to the narrative whatsoever. Character development is not even worth exploring.
I think this author could do with learning to apply the principle of show don't tell. The story telling is blunt and lacks nuance. The author lacks the ability to describe emotion, build tension or navigate intrigue.
As I said before I think the story might have been a good one, but the author lacks the sensitivity to bring it to life.
September 26, 2013
Classic sci-fi, with a big technological hook (The Lattice, a device that lets you see past events and experience people's thoughts), a mysterious cabal of people who have somehow found a way around it, and a highly competent (but not superhuman) investigator who will tip the balance between the two. Like the best science fiction, this takes an issue (privacy) out of modern context, puts it under high stress in a future scenario and lets it play out. A great read with a fully-realized world and down-to-earth, believable characters. I highly recommend it. Plus there are two more books to come!
November 10, 2013
I quite enjoyed this book. Hanberg presented a future where not just the technology has advanced, but also, the culture, politics, and morality. And rightly so. If the technological changes become as prominent as they are in the book, then this would result in changes across the board through people's lives. Hanberg wrote about these changes in a very believable way and had an entertaining plot at the same time.
*** I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads ***
*** I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads ***
December 9, 2015
Though this felt somewhat ham-handed at times with the cultural criticism, I enjoyed reading it quite a bit. It's one of those books where the message is important enough that you can forgive the stiltedness. I ended up highlighting quite a few lines because it did a very good job of taking the fabric of the present and bunching it up so we can get a different look at it. Like tie-dye but for commentary on contemporary society.
I don't know what I'd do, in Byron's situation.
I don't know what I'd do, in Byron's situation.
November 27, 2015
Erik Hanberg, you played me in all the ways.
And I loved it.
Stellar mindboggling scifi.
Everyone read it.
You can get it in this very awesome scifi bundle right now :).
And I loved it.
Stellar mindboggling scifi.
Everyone read it.
You can get it in this very awesome scifi bundle right now :).
Read
November 6, 2013Originally posted at http://postdefiance.com/the-lead-cloa... by Timothy Thomas McNeely.
When you read this article, you may have just redirected from Facebook, followed a link from Twitter, or found it on your own somehow, and you are now exploring it on a computer or mobile device, using your eyes to read and hands to navigate.
If you lived in the future presented by Tacoma author Erik Hanberg in The Lead Cloak – book one of The Lattice Trilogy and available October 15 – you might read this on the “wrap” on your arm, or you might just lift a ring to your temple, enter a “jump” in the Lattice, and read through the eyes of the friend who sent you the article, experience the emotions of the editors who worked on it, or go back in time and experience being me as I write these very words and consider the next.
Any experience, present or past, is possible in the Lattice, up to and including the birth of our solar system. Any arrangement of atoms can be accessed through a Lattice reader, providing a near-boundless sea of experience to everyone with such a reader.
Although Hanberg loves author Frank Herbert (supporting a plan to name a park in Tacoma after Herbert and helping to host a birthday party for Herbert at Hilltop Kitchen), the construction of The Lead Cloak bears far more obvious connection to the work of two other science fiction titans, Gene Roddenberry and Philip K. Dick.
“The Minority Report,” by Dick, and some elements of George Orwell’s 1984, provide Hanberg’s addictive plot with fine parentage, while the humanity of Roddenberry’s work, “Star Trek” and elsewhere, provide the social commentary and heart evinced by Hanberg.
It is absolutely high praise to name-drop such luminaries in an article about a self-published novel from Tacoma, and it is justified.
The remarkable future Hanberg creates is set 68 years from now. Access to Lattice readers mirrors Internet access worldwide today – ubiquity for the “haves” and limited to no access for the “have nots.” For everyone in Hanberg’s post-Internet world, though, the effect is the same: in 2081, there is no privacy.
Or to put it another way, there is total transparency – while Big Brother may exist, everyone with a Lattice reader can not only identify their observers, but access their every thought and action. The agelong question regarding surveillance has been answered: Who watches the watcher? You do, if you feel like it and have the time.
Hanberg has taken every bit of transparency-advocacy to its logical ends: a pure elimination of privacy. Wikileaks would have no purpose in this future, and an Edward Snowden couldn’t generate much surprise or news.
Not surprisingly, there are some who want to destroy the Lattice, which they see as a wholly corrupting influence on society. Enter Colonel Byron Shaw, chief of security at the Nevada Lattice Installation, the primary means by which the Lattice exists (the secondary is located in the old CERN facility under Geneva, Switzerland).
Unlike the Internet, the Lattice is reliant on these facilities managing an enormous, 100 meter tall structure of rhodium atoms arranged in a lattice pattern and capable of rendering intelligible any atoms that pass through the structure and all other atoms with which they are entangled (which is all of them). Anyhow, because the Lattice is actually housed in merely two locations, it’s theoretically vulnerable to dedicated terrorist attack.
The Lead Cloak begins right where you might presume it to: on the toilet. Col. Shaw is taking a break, making a jump back to the Battle of Little Round Top, observing what another colonel experienced that day in 1863. If you are currently reading this in your own bathroom, you may be forgiven.
Shaw is interrupted from his revery by an attack on the Lattice Installation. No sooner is the assault thwarted than it precipitates a worldwide hunt, led by Shaw, for the plan’s masterminds. A mystery unfolds that brings into question Shaw’s loyalty to the Lattice, his childhood, and the value of his life. Inevitably, the following action sets the stage for the remaining two installations of The Lattice Trilogy.
Myriad sci-fi tropes populate The Lead Cloak, appropriated, alive and well. There are people addicted to the technology of the day, most conspicuously the “OJs” (orgasm junkies), who jump from tagged experience to tagged experience, often selling possessions and body parts to pay for one more high. There are new modes of travel, ready access to space, and call backs to times now long past – popular culture from a few decades ago is comfortably referenced from this medium-distance future.
But Hanberg puts his own spin on everything. And the idea of the Lattice, its particular advantages and dangers, not to mention the other technology present in the book, is unique, well-conceived, and worthy of your attention.
If you were in the Lattice now, jumped into the precise moment at which I am choosing these next words, you’d see me trying to find a way to speak to the book’s shortcoming.
Most of all – and it is an imperfection, not a mere choice among choices – this book could have benefitted from multiple-perspective narration. For a book so obsessed with the consequences of getting inside other people’s heads, we barely see the interiors of other characters.
The depth this technique could have added to the book is a loss. Such perspective-switching could have sharpened details and called out touchstone moments for key characters – especially the lovely domestic scenes, the same interludes that so many characters in the book note as distinct and affecting about Byron Shaw. His wife, Ellie, deserves more page time, at the least.
I can only hope that book two and three of The Lattice Trilogy will let us get to know both her and others a bit more.
Yet this fault is far outweighed by writing both crisp and efficient, social commentary that is, in the end, even-handed, and a story that is truly fun and exciting. I look forward to seeing what comes next in this brave new world.
The Lead Cloak, delivers an engaging story, an exciting plot, and an author to watch, not just for readers in Tacoma, but wherever books are sold. If you own a Lattice reader, you can find tags of me reading the book at home, in Olympia, and on a plane to Pasco. You can experience my surprise at encountering this new voice in sci-fi so close to home, and my enjoyment of his work.
Join author Erik Hanberg for a book release party and signing on October 15, 7 p.m. at King’s Books, 218 St Helens Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402. Free.
The Lead Cloak by Erik Hanberg. 421 pp. Side x Side Publishing. $12.99 paperback and $5.99 ebook.
When you read this article, you may have just redirected from Facebook, followed a link from Twitter, or found it on your own somehow, and you are now exploring it on a computer or mobile device, using your eyes to read and hands to navigate.
If you lived in the future presented by Tacoma author Erik Hanberg in The Lead Cloak – book one of The Lattice Trilogy and available October 15 – you might read this on the “wrap” on your arm, or you might just lift a ring to your temple, enter a “jump” in the Lattice, and read through the eyes of the friend who sent you the article, experience the emotions of the editors who worked on it, or go back in time and experience being me as I write these very words and consider the next.
Any experience, present or past, is possible in the Lattice, up to and including the birth of our solar system. Any arrangement of atoms can be accessed through a Lattice reader, providing a near-boundless sea of experience to everyone with such a reader.
Although Hanberg loves author Frank Herbert (supporting a plan to name a park in Tacoma after Herbert and helping to host a birthday party for Herbert at Hilltop Kitchen), the construction of The Lead Cloak bears far more obvious connection to the work of two other science fiction titans, Gene Roddenberry and Philip K. Dick.
“The Minority Report,” by Dick, and some elements of George Orwell’s 1984, provide Hanberg’s addictive plot with fine parentage, while the humanity of Roddenberry’s work, “Star Trek” and elsewhere, provide the social commentary and heart evinced by Hanberg.
It is absolutely high praise to name-drop such luminaries in an article about a self-published novel from Tacoma, and it is justified.
The remarkable future Hanberg creates is set 68 years from now. Access to Lattice readers mirrors Internet access worldwide today – ubiquity for the “haves” and limited to no access for the “have nots.” For everyone in Hanberg’s post-Internet world, though, the effect is the same: in 2081, there is no privacy.
Or to put it another way, there is total transparency – while Big Brother may exist, everyone with a Lattice reader can not only identify their observers, but access their every thought and action. The agelong question regarding surveillance has been answered: Who watches the watcher? You do, if you feel like it and have the time.
Hanberg has taken every bit of transparency-advocacy to its logical ends: a pure elimination of privacy. Wikileaks would have no purpose in this future, and an Edward Snowden couldn’t generate much surprise or news.
Not surprisingly, there are some who want to destroy the Lattice, which they see as a wholly corrupting influence on society. Enter Colonel Byron Shaw, chief of security at the Nevada Lattice Installation, the primary means by which the Lattice exists (the secondary is located in the old CERN facility under Geneva, Switzerland).
Unlike the Internet, the Lattice is reliant on these facilities managing an enormous, 100 meter tall structure of rhodium atoms arranged in a lattice pattern and capable of rendering intelligible any atoms that pass through the structure and all other atoms with which they are entangled (which is all of them). Anyhow, because the Lattice is actually housed in merely two locations, it’s theoretically vulnerable to dedicated terrorist attack.
The Lead Cloak begins right where you might presume it to: on the toilet. Col. Shaw is taking a break, making a jump back to the Battle of Little Round Top, observing what another colonel experienced that day in 1863. If you are currently reading this in your own bathroom, you may be forgiven.
Shaw is interrupted from his revery by an attack on the Lattice Installation. No sooner is the assault thwarted than it precipitates a worldwide hunt, led by Shaw, for the plan’s masterminds. A mystery unfolds that brings into question Shaw’s loyalty to the Lattice, his childhood, and the value of his life. Inevitably, the following action sets the stage for the remaining two installations of The Lattice Trilogy.
Myriad sci-fi tropes populate The Lead Cloak, appropriated, alive and well. There are people addicted to the technology of the day, most conspicuously the “OJs” (orgasm junkies), who jump from tagged experience to tagged experience, often selling possessions and body parts to pay for one more high. There are new modes of travel, ready access to space, and call backs to times now long past – popular culture from a few decades ago is comfortably referenced from this medium-distance future.
But Hanberg puts his own spin on everything. And the idea of the Lattice, its particular advantages and dangers, not to mention the other technology present in the book, is unique, well-conceived, and worthy of your attention.
If you were in the Lattice now, jumped into the precise moment at which I am choosing these next words, you’d see me trying to find a way to speak to the book’s shortcoming.
Most of all – and it is an imperfection, not a mere choice among choices – this book could have benefitted from multiple-perspective narration. For a book so obsessed with the consequences of getting inside other people’s heads, we barely see the interiors of other characters.
The depth this technique could have added to the book is a loss. Such perspective-switching could have sharpened details and called out touchstone moments for key characters – especially the lovely domestic scenes, the same interludes that so many characters in the book note as distinct and affecting about Byron Shaw. His wife, Ellie, deserves more page time, at the least.
I can only hope that book two and three of The Lattice Trilogy will let us get to know both her and others a bit more.
Yet this fault is far outweighed by writing both crisp and efficient, social commentary that is, in the end, even-handed, and a story that is truly fun and exciting. I look forward to seeing what comes next in this brave new world.
The Lead Cloak, delivers an engaging story, an exciting plot, and an author to watch, not just for readers in Tacoma, but wherever books are sold. If you own a Lattice reader, you can find tags of me reading the book at home, in Olympia, and on a plane to Pasco. You can experience my surprise at encountering this new voice in sci-fi so close to home, and my enjoyment of his work.
Join author Erik Hanberg for a book release party and signing on October 15, 7 p.m. at King’s Books, 218 St Helens Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402. Free.
The Lead Cloak by Erik Hanberg. 421 pp. Side x Side Publishing. $12.99 paperback and $5.99 ebook.
Read
May 27, 2020This was so... weak. For sci-fi there is no science. There is also no good explanation for how such a clearly terrible idea as Lettice came to be. The justification for it is lacking so the whole premise of the novel is ridiculous. Though the opening scenes are engaging, the interest wanes by the second and third chapters. Without a solid premise, I found it hard to care about any of the characters or events. Lazy writing.
June 12, 2017
It's been said that science fiction is set in the future but it's always written about the present. That's evident in this unusual but interesting opening book for The Lattice Trilogy. While it's set in 2081 it addresses many of the issues already surrounding the internet.
In the book Colonel Byron Shaw guards one of two installations that house The Lattice, his assignment is at Area 51 and the other is in the former particle accelerator in Switzerland. The Lattice is an advanced computer that can trace individual atoms back through history. This allows users to connect to devices that allow them to see any event in time or even to participate in it by experiencing what a person in history is experiencing. In modern times it essentially means that there is no privacy. If someone sees a beautiful woman on the street he can trace her sexual history and know what it's like to be her or her partner making love. Shaw enjoys going back to Civil War battles to experience the battle from the perspective of various generals, hearing their thoughts and seeing the event through their eyes.
Some people are horrified by this, so much so that the book opens with an attempted nuclear attack on the installation where Shaw works. The attackers nearly succeed, in part by using a double to infiltrate Shaw's team.
Shaw is sent to Switzerland to examine security at the second site. There he receives a message on a mysterious ball that seems to be able to appear and disappear on command. Those who attempted the nuclear attack can use these to communicate in writing.
Shaw is kidnapped by this group and given a choice to join or die.
The science in the book is highly speculative, but as Arthur C. Clarke said, anything sufficiently advanced will look like magic. This is pushing a lot of technical advancement into a 60-year window, but the ideas are unique and intriguing. In addition to getting to have his characters play with nearly miraculous science Hanberg also gets to examine human privacy, the toys of the haves opposed to the horrors of the have-nots, and the activities of a uniquely structured terror cell.
Without dropping a spoiler there's a moment at the end of the book in which a character says "What have we done?" which sets up lots of possibilities for the next two books.
Action is vivid and there's a great deal of interesting strategizing for both protecting and attempting to destroy The Lattice, and some tense life-or-death situations. Hanberg has created a vivid if uncomfortable future in a book that reads like a top-notch thriller.
In the book Colonel Byron Shaw guards one of two installations that house The Lattice, his assignment is at Area 51 and the other is in the former particle accelerator in Switzerland. The Lattice is an advanced computer that can trace individual atoms back through history. This allows users to connect to devices that allow them to see any event in time or even to participate in it by experiencing what a person in history is experiencing. In modern times it essentially means that there is no privacy. If someone sees a beautiful woman on the street he can trace her sexual history and know what it's like to be her or her partner making love. Shaw enjoys going back to Civil War battles to experience the battle from the perspective of various generals, hearing their thoughts and seeing the event through their eyes.
Some people are horrified by this, so much so that the book opens with an attempted nuclear attack on the installation where Shaw works. The attackers nearly succeed, in part by using a double to infiltrate Shaw's team.
Shaw is sent to Switzerland to examine security at the second site. There he receives a message on a mysterious ball that seems to be able to appear and disappear on command. Those who attempted the nuclear attack can use these to communicate in writing.
Shaw is kidnapped by this group and given a choice to join or die.
The science in the book is highly speculative, but as Arthur C. Clarke said, anything sufficiently advanced will look like magic. This is pushing a lot of technical advancement into a 60-year window, but the ideas are unique and intriguing. In addition to getting to have his characters play with nearly miraculous science Hanberg also gets to examine human privacy, the toys of the haves opposed to the horrors of the have-nots, and the activities of a uniquely structured terror cell.
Without dropping a spoiler there's a moment at the end of the book in which a character says "What have we done?" which sets up lots of possibilities for the next two books.
Action is vivid and there's a great deal of interesting strategizing for both protecting and attempting to destroy The Lattice, and some tense life-or-death situations. Hanberg has created a vivid if uncomfortable future in a book that reads like a top-notch thriller.
January 11, 2016
This is a Sci-Fi story of a future where a scientific breakthrough has made it possible to predict the position every atom of the universe at any time in the past. Including the very recent past. Okay, a tall order, but not too out of line with some of the predictions of quantum physics. We can suspend our disbelief.
The premise of the tale is that this ability allows a molecular-level Internet where there are no secrets, because everyone’s actions, including their thoughts, are instantly available to the world. A harder pill for the believer to swallow, but fascinating in where the author thinks this might take society.
And the society Erik Hanburg pictures is not wonderful. It is a society where people ignore a lot of the things that make us human, because the Lattice does it for them. There is a very real possibility that the whole human race is addicted to this technology.
Enter Byron Shaw, full supporter of the Lattice and all it stands for. Saved from kidnappers by the Lattice, he has become the head of security for the Lattice complex itself, protecting it from the luddites who want to destroy it.
Until he starts to wonder…
And that’s what this story is really about. Inside all the wonderful science, quasi-science, and downright fiction is the tale of a man who begins to question his strongest beliefs, how he feels as he moves through that journey, and where it takes him.
The concept of the Lattice is a powerful device for the writer, because we have a pure Omniscient point of view; we can zoom anywhere and to any thought of any character, past or present. This could lead to overkill, but Hanburg uses the technique with consummate skill, giving us just enough information on the emotions and desires of the characters to create empathy and move the plot along.
Except for that little nudge of extra belief that we must have to keep us from nit-picking about the believability of the science, this book has the perfect balance of high-tech, suspense, empathy, believable emotion, and modern application that makes a great Sci-Fi story.
Highly recommended for fans of all Sci-Fi, especially of the dystopian variety.
The premise of the tale is that this ability allows a molecular-level Internet where there are no secrets, because everyone’s actions, including their thoughts, are instantly available to the world. A harder pill for the believer to swallow, but fascinating in where the author thinks this might take society.
And the society Erik Hanburg pictures is not wonderful. It is a society where people ignore a lot of the things that make us human, because the Lattice does it for them. There is a very real possibility that the whole human race is addicted to this technology.
Enter Byron Shaw, full supporter of the Lattice and all it stands for. Saved from kidnappers by the Lattice, he has become the head of security for the Lattice complex itself, protecting it from the luddites who want to destroy it.
Until he starts to wonder…
And that’s what this story is really about. Inside all the wonderful science, quasi-science, and downright fiction is the tale of a man who begins to question his strongest beliefs, how he feels as he moves through that journey, and where it takes him.
The concept of the Lattice is a powerful device for the writer, because we have a pure Omniscient point of view; we can zoom anywhere and to any thought of any character, past or present. This could lead to overkill, but Hanburg uses the technique with consummate skill, giving us just enough information on the emotions and desires of the characters to create empathy and move the plot along.
Except for that little nudge of extra belief that we must have to keep us from nit-picking about the believability of the science, this book has the perfect balance of high-tech, suspense, empathy, believable emotion, and modern application that makes a great Sci-Fi story.
Highly recommended for fans of all Sci-Fi, especially of the dystopian variety.
October 5, 2016
Well now...Here's an interesting idea. To be able to see anything anywhere in the world at any time from anywhere in the past up until the present moment...furthermore, to be able to feel what someone else feels.....yes, this was definitely interesting.
I love the main idea of the book. The weird thing is, that I disagree with the author. Almost all the reasons he touted as proofs the lattice is bad were only about the human will being weak. A kin to "alcohol is bad", or "computer games are bad". And the best reasons - increasing empathy, understanding your loved ones by virtue of actually being able to see from their point of view....these were not even mentioned. Well...they were, but only as "experiments in the bedroom", which doesn't quite live up to the full potential. Imagine a psychologist who could go through exactly what you went through...imagine you get into an argument with someone and say "no, that's not what I meant - look back 2 minutes" and the person goes back into your head and can see, what you meant and intended...no more misunderstandings. Wow.
I felt a bit sad, that the plot was not solved by the briliance of the main character, but by the scientific breakthrough - which is always tempting for sci-fi authors, as it is very easy. Near the end, I must admit I did a bit of skimming due to this...
All that said, it's definitely worth reading, if only to explore the idea of lattice. I disagree with the author's conclusion though - this would change the world for the better. No more corruption, no more crime (almost), no more historic inaccuracies and mysteries, all the wonders of the world recovered, having objective experiences and not being able to ever say again "you wouldn't understand"....yes, there is potential for misuse. As always. But here, it would be difficult for someone to do so, because it's easy to go back and prove it to the world.
I love the main idea of the book. The weird thing is, that I disagree with the author. Almost all the reasons he touted as proofs the lattice is bad were only about the human will being weak. A kin to "alcohol is bad", or "computer games are bad". And the best reasons - increasing empathy, understanding your loved ones by virtue of actually being able to see from their point of view....these were not even mentioned. Well...they were, but only as "experiments in the bedroom", which doesn't quite live up to the full potential. Imagine a psychologist who could go through exactly what you went through...imagine you get into an argument with someone and say "no, that's not what I meant - look back 2 minutes" and the person goes back into your head and can see, what you meant and intended...no more misunderstandings. Wow.
I felt a bit sad, that the plot was not solved by the briliance of the main character, but by the scientific breakthrough - which is always tempting for sci-fi authors, as it is very easy. Near the end, I must admit I did a bit of skimming due to this...
All that said, it's definitely worth reading, if only to explore the idea of lattice. I disagree with the author's conclusion though - this would change the world for the better. No more corruption, no more crime (almost), no more historic inaccuracies and mysteries, all the wonders of the world recovered, having objective experiences and not being able to ever say again "you wouldn't understand"....yes, there is potential for misuse. As always. But here, it would be difficult for someone to do so, because it's easy to go back and prove it to the world.
April 8, 2016
In the future, no one's thoughts are their own. Anyone can "jump" into someone else's mind. There is no privacy. There are no private thoughts. That is the background for this excellent novel.
The world is linked together by The Lattice. Byron Shaw is one of the people that work to protect it. He can't imagine living without it. It allows him to go anywhere, even into the past, and live a life that doesn't belong to him.
In the real world, he is married to Ellie, a nurse who works with people addicted to The Lattice. It seems that real life pales in comparison to what can be done in The Lattice.
Byron is kidnapped by a group that wants to bring down The Lattice. Even the inventor of it believes it has done more harm than good. Of course, there's also the inequity of the rich having access to the technology, while it is only dangled in front of the poor to make them feel even worse about their lives.
The group leads two raids on The Lattice and its backup, using technology that is brilliant in its conception. The action is intense and the suspense unrelenting.
The characters in the book are very well-defined and thought out. I felt for both the people who wanted to destroy The Lattice and those who were there to protect it. The people in the book are very intelligent. It is interesting listening to them discuss this technology and the impact it has had on humans. Byron is the main character and he undergoes a metamorphosis in the book. Readers will really care about him, his wife, and his friends.
I absolutely loved this book, and I am going to pre-order the sequel right now. Very highly recommended.
The world is linked together by The Lattice. Byron Shaw is one of the people that work to protect it. He can't imagine living without it. It allows him to go anywhere, even into the past, and live a life that doesn't belong to him.
In the real world, he is married to Ellie, a nurse who works with people addicted to The Lattice. It seems that real life pales in comparison to what can be done in The Lattice.
Byron is kidnapped by a group that wants to bring down The Lattice. Even the inventor of it believes it has done more harm than good. Of course, there's also the inequity of the rich having access to the technology, while it is only dangled in front of the poor to make them feel even worse about their lives.
The group leads two raids on The Lattice and its backup, using technology that is brilliant in its conception. The action is intense and the suspense unrelenting.
The characters in the book are very well-defined and thought out. I felt for both the people who wanted to destroy The Lattice and those who were there to protect it. The people in the book are very intelligent. It is interesting listening to them discuss this technology and the impact it has had on humans. Byron is the main character and he undergoes a metamorphosis in the book. Readers will really care about him, his wife, and his friends.
I absolutely loved this book, and I am going to pre-order the sequel right now. Very highly recommended.
March 6, 2017
I listened to the Audible version of this book with an excellent narration by Erik Hanberg.
There isn't much I can say about the book that hasn't been said already in the reviews, especially the comprehensive one by Timothy Thomas McNeely.
I can only add that I enjoyed the story very much. In 2016 we have a (very) limited amount of privacy, in The Lead Cloak's 2081 we have no privacy at all. As insane as it sounds to me right now to live in that environment is about as insane as it would sound to someone living in 1949 to live in our current one.
I love techno science fiction. I love the plausibility of the scientific and technological advancements. Erik Hanberg gave us exactly enough background on the technology of the Lattice to make any reader comfortable without overwhelming with tech specs.
All of my favorite books have action scenes and this one is no exception. There are several heart stopping moments and one in particular with a twist that boggles the mind.
The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger because this is the first book in a series. I don't know why I wasn't expecting the last scene. It's perfectly logical. I just didn't look hard enough or think things through well enough.
Overall, an excellent Techno Sci-Fi Dystopian.
There isn't much I can say about the book that hasn't been said already in the reviews, especially the comprehensive one by Timothy Thomas McNeely.
I can only add that I enjoyed the story very much. In 2016 we have a (very) limited amount of privacy, in The Lead Cloak's 2081 we have no privacy at all. As insane as it sounds to me right now to live in that environment is about as insane as it would sound to someone living in 1949 to live in our current one.
I love techno science fiction. I love the plausibility of the scientific and technological advancements. Erik Hanberg gave us exactly enough background on the technology of the Lattice to make any reader comfortable without overwhelming with tech specs.
All of my favorite books have action scenes and this one is no exception. There are several heart stopping moments and one in particular with a twist that boggles the mind.
The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger because this is the first book in a series. I don't know why I wasn't expecting the last scene. It's perfectly logical. I just didn't look hard enough or think things through well enough.
Overall, an excellent Techno Sci-Fi Dystopian.
March 20, 2016
"Everyone always has an audience"
Meet the Lattice, a world wide web like no other. Because, when plugged into the total emersion format, via either a box or a ring, anyone can mentally transport themselves to any known place or person from past or present, either to observe the surroundings or even to enter the minds and feelings of another specified individual. It can provide ultimate thrills, invade the most private thoughts, ideas, hopes and fears any time, any place , and there is nowhere to hide from it.
This, hopefully, unlikely concept provides the structure for this story. The main protagonist, Shaw, runs and protects the main Lattice provider tower and fully believes in the service it provides to society. But not everyone agrees. And, as well as being an exciting thriller, the exploration of the ideas inherent in such a facility is the mainstay of the book. Interesting and thought provoking, The Lead Cloak is quite well written although slightly deeper character development would have further enhanced the writing.
If looking for something more than simple blazing guns, this is definitely recommended.
The audio version narration fits the text well.
Meet the Lattice, a world wide web like no other. Because, when plugged into the total emersion format, via either a box or a ring, anyone can mentally transport themselves to any known place or person from past or present, either to observe the surroundings or even to enter the minds and feelings of another specified individual. It can provide ultimate thrills, invade the most private thoughts, ideas, hopes and fears any time, any place , and there is nowhere to hide from it.
This, hopefully, unlikely concept provides the structure for this story. The main protagonist, Shaw, runs and protects the main Lattice provider tower and fully believes in the service it provides to society. But not everyone agrees. And, as well as being an exciting thriller, the exploration of the ideas inherent in such a facility is the mainstay of the book. Interesting and thought provoking, The Lead Cloak is quite well written although slightly deeper character development would have further enhanced the writing.
If looking for something more than simple blazing guns, this is definitely recommended.
The audio version narration fits the text well.
April 19, 2018
Wow.
Scary in a thought provoking way. The idea of the Lattice is intriguing. It would be amazing to “jump” back in time and “live” an experience as it happened. Or to “jump” to another planet or solar system. There would be so many positive uses for such a technology. However, for every positive use, there would be many equal negative uses. There would never be freedom or privacy again. The potential for damage and destruction far outweigh any positive uses something like that could have. It would be nice to never have to worry about crime any more, but at the cost of losing the privacy of your own thoughts? Nope.
Scary in a thought provoking way. The idea of the Lattice is intriguing. It would be amazing to “jump” back in time and “live” an experience as it happened. Or to “jump” to another planet or solar system. There would be so many positive uses for such a technology. However, for every positive use, there would be many equal negative uses. There would never be freedom or privacy again. The potential for damage and destruction far outweigh any positive uses something like that could have. It would be nice to never have to worry about crime any more, but at the cost of losing the privacy of your own thoughts? Nope.
July 27, 2016
The concept of the Lattice is both amazing and terrifying. Hopefully something like this will never exist, but if it did I'd definitely be on the side of the group working to destroy it.
The characters were all interesting and well-written.
The ending was a little predictable, but I'm still looking forward to continuing with the series.
The characters were all interesting and well-written.
The ending was a little predictable, but I'm still looking forward to continuing with the series.
June 19, 2017
This is a book that stimulates discussion. How do you properly investigate a crime when anyone can follow along in your mind? When your every thought and action on the matter end up on the news? Privacy exists no longer, anyone can access anybody else's thoughts and memories.... well, not really. Only those with the resources can access these. But everyone loses their innermost privacy. When you can access someone's thoughts and feelings firsthand, how do you determine standards of conduct? Do you hold people accountable for their subconscious thoughts? How do you trust anybody? Good stuff.
July 20, 2016
I quite liked this book. But it was missing something and I'm not sure what.
It was so imaginative and creative. I never would have thought mind control possible but this book made me believe even just for a few hours while reading this that I could one day communicate without speaking and could look back at the past historical figures of society like cleopetra and read her thoughts etc. Fasinating concept.
It was so imaginative and creative. I never would have thought mind control possible but this book made me believe even just for a few hours while reading this that I could one day communicate without speaking and could look back at the past historical figures of society like cleopetra and read her thoughts etc. Fasinating concept.
February 27, 2017
This book is awesome. READ IT! A lot of unbelievable things happen in the book, but the way it is explained makes you understand that this could totally happen in the future. I loved the characters, but the world was a masterpiece. It made me think about the nature of privacy and how easily it can be violated. It featured actual science in a science fiction, and wove it really well into the story telling.
July 18, 2019
It's madness!
And not in a good way. It's scary to think that this book tells a story of a possible future. With people raising concerns about privacy and security and not enough people caring more about them, this story may just be what we have in store for us some years ahead.
Reality will probably not be written out the same way, but we should all learn to care more about where we're taking technology.
And not in a good way. It's scary to think that this book tells a story of a possible future. With people raising concerns about privacy and security and not enough people caring more about them, this story may just be what we have in store for us some years ahead.
Reality will probably not be written out the same way, but we should all learn to care more about where we're taking technology.
November 22, 2013
I was fortunate enough to win this important book in the Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I could not put this book down and I want the next installment today. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
October 6, 2017
Interesting premise: Internet at 10× where people can read your mind and your past
Great story. Good character development/evolution. No distracting side trips. A good mix of action, love/care for others, stakes, reveals. Great storytelling skills. Thanks Erik.
Great story. Good character development/evolution. No distracting side trips. A good mix of action, love/care for others, stakes, reveals. Great storytelling skills. Thanks Erik.
September 1, 2017
The science in this book is just fascinating, I couldn't put it down!
In a future world where we aren't all just connected, we are intrusive! In this story, using the Lattice we can look into people's thoughts.. inside their bodies, visit the past and do the same to anyone who has ever lived.. it's an amazing, addicting and terrifying idea.
Then you have Byron... who calls himself a glorified security guard, and is obsessed with visiting the 1863 battle of Little Round Top at Gettysburg, yet is an intelligent and complex man. The Lattice is well protected and although raiders often attempt to attack, none even get close, until one day everything changes.
Byron's world is turned upside down and he begins a search for the impossible that takes him out of his world and forces him to make some really tough choices.
Excellent beginning to a trilogy (very thankful there is not a cliffhanger ending).
In a future world where we aren't all just connected, we are intrusive! In this story, using the Lattice we can look into people's thoughts.. inside their bodies, visit the past and do the same to anyone who has ever lived.. it's an amazing, addicting and terrifying idea.
Then you have Byron... who calls himself a glorified security guard, and is obsessed with visiting the 1863 battle of Little Round Top at Gettysburg, yet is an intelligent and complex man. The Lattice is well protected and although raiders often attempt to attack, none even get close, until one day everything changes.
Byron's world is turned upside down and he begins a search for the impossible that takes him out of his world and forces him to make some really tough choices.
Excellent beginning to a trilogy (very thankful there is not a cliffhanger ending).
May 4, 2020
I would have given this book a 4- star rating except for the ending. The premise was original and interesting. This was a book about advanced technology, and the benefits/negatives it produced. Should it be allowed to continue? Some thought yes, some no. The main story evolves around a group that wishes to destroy it. This group seemed to be intelligent people yet they were surprised at their own results. This was so out of character. This group should have known what the outcome of their actions would be. A total let down that they would not have thought more carefully about the consequences, making the end of the book unbelievable. And although this book could be a stand alone it also was carefully written to guide you into book two. For me it convinced me that I wouldn’t bother with the next book.
July 26, 2019
Not bad. That sounds like faint praise, but the premise (a mystery set in a world with a *complete* lack of privacy, down to any individual person's current thoughts) appears to give the author little room to work in any tension, drama, etc.
He does pretty well; I liked the general arc of the story. His character development wasn't the best I've seen, but it wasn't the worst, either. I'm willing to give the second book in the series a shot to see where he's going from here, and that *is* praise (I've got piles of books 'to-read', so anything that makes it onto my plate is pretty good, IMO!)
Worth a try if you like playing around with scifi that's really out there bordering science fantasy.
He does pretty well; I liked the general arc of the story. His character development wasn't the best I've seen, but it wasn't the worst, either. I'm willing to give the second book in the series a shot to see where he's going from here, and that *is* praise (I've got piles of books 'to-read', so anything that makes it onto my plate is pretty good, IMO!)
Worth a try if you like playing around with scifi that's really out there bordering science fantasy.
September 28, 2017
I have to start out by saying that this is a good book. I found it free online and it was in the sci-fi realm which is what I prefer. I have never read a book by this author.
That said, I am very pleasantly surprised by the premise of the story and the overall writing. The main plot device is mysterious enough that it falls outside belief but it really works and is not over explained. I generally done like to get into spoilers so I’ll leave it at that.
I recommend it and I will buy and read the next one.
That said, I am very pleasantly surprised by the premise of the story and the overall writing. The main plot device is mysterious enough that it falls outside belief but it really works and is not over explained. I generally done like to get into spoilers so I’ll leave it at that.
I recommend it and I will buy and read the next one.
October 9, 2018
What if everybody in the world could go back in time and see another person's actions or even read their thoughts? There is no longer any such thing as privacy. Nothing is secret.
This is the premise of The Lead Cloak.
At times I felt there was a little too much technology at the expense of character development and story telling. That said, it was well written and well worth a few hours of your time.
An entertaining and thought provoking read.
This is the premise of The Lead Cloak.
At times I felt there was a little too much technology at the expense of character development and story telling. That said, it was well written and well worth a few hours of your time.
An entertaining and thought provoking read.
December 8, 2023
Not for me
First two chapters made me interested, then I started skimming. Did not find the characters likeable. Felt a bit like having The Matrix in the real world running everything like Big Brother, all vehicles, personal devices; with a bit of the plot of Strange Days film thrown in too.
The book did raise one interesting question: As we rely more on computers, who will protect and\or sabotage the systems and infrastructure?
First two chapters made me interested, then I started skimming. Did not find the characters likeable. Felt a bit like having The Matrix in the real world running everything like Big Brother, all vehicles, personal devices; with a bit of the plot of Strange Days film thrown in too.
The book did raise one interesting question: As we rely more on computers, who will protect and\or sabotage the systems and infrastructure?
March 27, 2017
I loved this book! Not just because of the cool sci-fi technicalism, but also the very well-rounded, three dimensional characters, the big plot, and the philosophical questions the book brings up. I got this free through a Book Bub special and it's the best freebie I've ever had. Definitely buying the next one!
July 18, 2017
Cracking story
A great engaging story that hooks you from the start. The science is believable and the characters are brought to life by this author. I loved this novel and I will certainly buy the next one. I couldn't put this book down and I would recommend this to all sci fi reader.😀
A great engaging story that hooks you from the start. The science is believable and the characters are brought to life by this author. I loved this novel and I will certainly buy the next one. I couldn't put this book down and I would recommend this to all sci fi reader.😀
November 2, 2018
The story is built around a single interesting technological advance, the myriad societal changes that emerge from its implementation, and the struggle between those charged with protecting it and a clandestine group who are determined to eradicate it. The characters are more than just cardboard cutouts for advancing the plot, drawing the reader into their world. I'm ready for the next volume.
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