Project 863: The Nightmare Hacker

by Shenelle Aeriela Trujillo, Nicholas Gray (Illustrator), Seth Dunham (Illustrator)

Project 863 is thrown into another mystery to solve at the plea of the REDACTED's new leader, Magnolia, this one concerning a serial killer that is targeting people without mercy. Their detective skills are put to the test now more then ever before when the murderer infiltrates Spellbound as a faceless hacker, turning up the heat further and pushing them into the darkest corners that Syntec once inhabited, ones they never thought they'd ever see.

Join Matthias, Samantha, Woods, Bailey and the rest of Subject 4 in uncovering this villain in the next book following the story of Project 863!

300 pages, Paperback

Published July 31, 2023

Reviews

[Lo Gold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared to book 1, the writing and storytelling did improve, which I liked a lot! Still very imperfect, and a little too on the nose with a lot of foreshadowing/clues, but I honestly enjoyed it despite figuring out both the murderer and their motif veeeery early on. Spoilers ahead!

Syphus being a more prominent character in Matt's head was awesome, although I thought it was common knowledge it wasn't just Matthias inner voice from the start, lol, (one of many examples of too obvious writing, that makes the characters just look dumb).
I also loved how he's been just a myth/legend for years, and now the mansion and last vision with him and Wes (and him actually "talking" to Matt) just made him so, real. He was an actual person that was led astray by his own search for power and success. He had a sister, best friend and a shitty father, and most importantly, a heart. You almost forget that he's been dead for the entire running of the series. The most extreme haunting the narrative guy I've ever seen.

In general, writing and storytelling still needs a lot of work. But very intriguing story, and beautiful characterization of Nelson specifically. Sadly a lot of other characters are sort of flat. It's a very plot driven book, and the ending didn't manage to make me feel anything for the (self sacrificing) murderer, sorry.

[Dayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok...so this was better than when they were filming. am I willing to die on this small hill, mayby.

I loved how we got more backstory from syphus, and i could read a whole book of just the banter between his thoughts and Matt's.

once again I waited way to long to finally read this, but then again, that means I got to enjoy it right now

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely thrilling story. One of my favorite chapters in the story that is 863; however, it is disappointing that the authors, as of now, are on an indefinite hiatus from writing. I hope that they are able to write more in the future.

[Roman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would’ve rated it higher if it didn’t end on a cliffhanger knowing no more books are going to be written.

[Riley Allman · Rating 3 out of 5]

rest in peace, project 863.