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Our Cyber World #1
Dead Beef
The company Cyberwarfare pioneer, Martin Spencer, founded wasn’t supposed to fire him. Spencer knows too much and can do far too much damage to U.S. national security. Years ago Spencer led a failed attack against Iranian computer systems that stranded his Cyber weapon payload behind enemy lines. U.S. officials fear the Iranians reverse-engineered Spencer’s creation and suspect Iranian operatives will now seek his help to turn his creation into a terrorist weapon. Learning that Spencer’s firing and ongoing midlife crisis are driving him to leave his wealth and marriage to pursue his first love, an Iranian national by the name of Sasha Javan, the chase is on. U.S. government and foreign operatives are gunning for him, and so is his spurned wife, Cynthia, herself a retired intelligence operative.
The pursuit intensifies when a major Cyber attack brings down the Los Angeles power grid and spreads throughout California. On the run and in hiding with Sasha, Spencer learns that a former colleague, Julian Rogers, is cooperating with Iranian sponsored terrorists. Martin Spencer must now decide whether to reject his former handlers and seek the quiet life he always wanted with Sasha or confront Julian to thwart attacks aiming to crash financial systems and commandeer a third of the U.S. nuclear weapon arsenal. Along the way, he must decide whether to reunite with Cynthia, who supports him in the midst of his struggle to resolve the impact of the weapons he has created and undo the personal regrets he has reaped to advance his career.
The pursuit intensifies when a major Cyber attack brings down the Los Angeles power grid and spreads throughout California. On the run and in hiding with Sasha, Spencer learns that a former colleague, Julian Rogers, is cooperating with Iranian sponsored terrorists. Martin Spencer must now decide whether to reject his former handlers and seek the quiet life he always wanted with Sasha or confront Julian to thwart attacks aiming to crash financial systems and commandeer a third of the U.S. nuclear weapon arsenal. Along the way, he must decide whether to reunite with Cynthia, who supports him in the midst of his struggle to resolve the impact of the weapons he has created and undo the personal regrets he has reaped to advance his career.
377 pages, ebook
First published April 30, 2014
About the author
Eduardo Suastegui
24 books78 followersEduardo Suastegui has loved to daydream since he was a child. With formal education in math and science, affirmed through hands-on engineering experience in designing, building, and integrating gadgets of varying complexity, that daydreaming fed technological innovation. On the side, it also fueled artistic expression.
Of late that daydreaming has engendered stories about hackers, rogue AIs, and space travel, with more than a few stories about a dog trainer and her military K9s sprinkled in. Rumor has it he may even have a Western or two in him.
Eduardo loves to dive into fast-flowing, character-driven stories. With each of the books he reads or writes, he hopes to continue that adventure. For him, a great story is one that moves ahead, but which also moves you. More than anything, through his writing he hopes to connect with readers and so share a piece of himself with those who pick up all that daydreaming turned into written words.
Of late that daydreaming has engendered stories about hackers, rogue AIs, and space travel, with more than a few stories about a dog trainer and her military K9s sprinkled in. Rumor has it he may even have a Western or two in him.
Eduardo loves to dive into fast-flowing, character-driven stories. With each of the books he reads or writes, he hopes to continue that adventure. For him, a great story is one that moves ahead, but which also moves you. More than anything, through his writing he hopes to connect with readers and so share a piece of himself with those who pick up all that daydreaming turned into written words.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 28, 2014
Dead Beef makes a great first impression. Nicely drawn characters and first rate scenes with snappy dialogue hooked me immediately. But after the first hundred pages, I started skimming ahead in hopes of finding a plot worth pursuing. No luck.
The problem with Dead Beef is that it's mostly banter and set piece action scenes. The barest bones of a story are hamburger-helped into novel length by action scenes that while good, do not advance the wisp of a plot. Hackers as tech gods is cliché and ooh-ah jargon just slows the pace further. The scene of bad guys supposedly hacking nearby wireless access points by working at a coffee shop with wi-fi made me roll my eyes. Last, a clever (at first) line of binary code that cyphers 'Dead Beef' is used as a scene spacer but quickly becomes annoying through overuse when a spacer isn't necessary.
My feeling is that a good editor could make this book rock. I'm not talking about spelling, grammar and punctuation problems. Those basics are accomplished reasonably well for an indi-book, approaching commercial quality. The author can clearly write. I'm talking about story structure, or more specifically, the lack thereof.
But then a funny thing happens. The end delivers a fairly good thrill. This is a common trait of an amateur writer with talent, the story works at start and finish but has a flabby middle. Again, this is something that an editor could fix.
Just because this isn't my cup of tea doesn't mean others might not enjoy this book. It's good points are quite good. For those who don't care about the difference between a hypervisor and a hay ride, if the Amazon sample looks good, have at it.
The problem with Dead Beef is that it's mostly banter and set piece action scenes. The barest bones of a story are hamburger-helped into novel length by action scenes that while good, do not advance the wisp of a plot. Hackers as tech gods is cliché and ooh-ah jargon just slows the pace further. The scene of bad guys supposedly hacking nearby wireless access points by working at a coffee shop with wi-fi made me roll my eyes. Last, a clever (at first) line of binary code that cyphers 'Dead Beef' is used as a scene spacer but quickly becomes annoying through overuse when a spacer isn't necessary.
My feeling is that a good editor could make this book rock. I'm not talking about spelling, grammar and punctuation problems. Those basics are accomplished reasonably well for an indi-book, approaching commercial quality. The author can clearly write. I'm talking about story structure, or more specifically, the lack thereof.
But then a funny thing happens. The end delivers a fairly good thrill. This is a common trait of an amateur writer with talent, the story works at start and finish but has a flabby middle. Again, this is something that an editor could fix.
Just because this isn't my cup of tea doesn't mean others might not enjoy this book. It's good points are quite good. For those who don't care about the difference between a hypervisor and a hay ride, if the Amazon sample looks good, have at it.
June 1, 2015
Great novel whether you like spies, computers,or adult many faceted relationships
I look forward to reading many more books by this author. The story was complex and ever changing. It kept me reading just a little bit more. The technical parts were explained well enough that they enhanced the many storylines. The protagonist showed heroism not usually depicted in intellectuals. The women were strong, complex. heroic people worth knowing. The author avoided so many easy stereotypes, except, of course, the bureaucrats. It will be intriguing to watch how the author covers the same storylines from different points of view.
I look forward to reading many more books by this author. The story was complex and ever changing. It kept me reading just a little bit more. The technical parts were explained well enough that they enhanced the many storylines. The protagonist showed heroism not usually depicted in intellectuals. The women were strong, complex. heroic people worth knowing. The author avoided so many easy stereotypes, except, of course, the bureaucrats. It will be intriguing to watch how the author covers the same storylines from different points of view.
December 10, 2014
Really enjoyed the story but it could have used another pass by an editor. For example he consistently used the word "discrete" when he really meant "discreet." There are quite a few errors like this that will not be caught by a spellchecker because they are not misspelled, they're simply the wrong words. Still enjoyed the story, though.
February 25, 2015
Another good thriller by Mr. Suastegui. I shall have to get more.
September 18, 2015
A good read for those readers who enjoy techno/cyber thrillers with some action attached. First of a series from Suastegui.
December 29, 2018
This is a thriller with a bent of science fiction in it – the technology, while futuristic, is explained in a way that doesn’t go over your head – and the author does a good job of character development and makes you feel as if you are a participant in the action. I picked this up for free during a Kindle promotion vs. its regular price of 99 cents, and certainly received more than 99 cents worth of entertainment value. If you like technothriller, I would recommend you give this one a try.
May 21, 2024
Amazing author
I'm afraid this may be the future. Only people with computer skills and coding that only a few could even comprehend will determine the outcome of what goes on in the cyber world. I hope they will be people on the side of right..
I'm afraid this may be the future. Only people with computer skills and coding that only a few could even comprehend will determine the outcome of what goes on in the cyber world. I hope they will be people on the side of right..
February 3, 2016
Dead Beef is a terrible title. I wasn't too sure I'd want to read it although I've read Eduardo Suastegui's books, so decided to take a chance.
It turns out the books is pretty darned good, and I'll read Pink Ballerina (another terrible title) since it's part of the same series called Our Cyber World.
Enough on the titles. Mr. Suastegui can title his books however he wants.
My duty as a reviewer is to assure anybody considering reading this book they will not be disappointed. I can do that. The author has an extensive knowledge of computing and hacking. While I know some of what he describes is not today's reality, he can make it believable and I trust his future vision is pretty accurate.
I also like the main character, Martin Spencer, being surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women. But like in the later Bond movies, they're very dangerous women and do a heck of a job protecting Martin while he goes to cyber war against his best friend, Julian. Why is Julian being the bad guy here? He might not have much to say about it, but he still dukes it out via internet, satellite, and keyboard to his best ability. Will Martin save the world despite his friend's best efforts? Read the book to find out.
Recommended.
It turns out the books is pretty darned good, and I'll read Pink Ballerina (another terrible title) since it's part of the same series called Our Cyber World.
Enough on the titles. Mr. Suastegui can title his books however he wants.
My duty as a reviewer is to assure anybody considering reading this book they will not be disappointed. I can do that. The author has an extensive knowledge of computing and hacking. While I know some of what he describes is not today's reality, he can make it believable and I trust his future vision is pretty accurate.
I also like the main character, Martin Spencer, being surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women. But like in the later Bond movies, they're very dangerous women and do a heck of a job protecting Martin while he goes to cyber war against his best friend, Julian. Why is Julian being the bad guy here? He might not have much to say about it, but he still dukes it out via internet, satellite, and keyboard to his best ability. Will Martin save the world despite his friend's best efforts? Read the book to find out.
Recommended.
April 21, 2016
Dead Beef (Our Cyber World Book 1) by Eduardo Suastegui is a well researched, brilliantly written book. I gave it five full stars. Cyber secrets & political intrigue keep the pages flying.
Describing the working relationship between Martin Spencer & Julian Rogers: "Actually we colloquially called their joint solution Yin-yang. The symbiosis of determination & chaos. The tense resolution of order & disorder. It gets really technical, & even I begin to over-extend my understanding. But I think in the simplest terms I can come up with, it comes down to how life works, doesn't it? We can plan, anticipate detours & mishaps & what we would do to mitigate them, but when you throw chaos into the mix you can't possibly anticipate everything."
I received a complimentary kindle copy from Amazon. That did not change my opinion for this review.
Link to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-BEEF-Cyber...
Describing the working relationship between Martin Spencer & Julian Rogers: "Actually we colloquially called their joint solution Yin-yang. The symbiosis of determination & chaos. The tense resolution of order & disorder. It gets really technical, & even I begin to over-extend my understanding. But I think in the simplest terms I can come up with, it comes down to how life works, doesn't it? We can plan, anticipate detours & mishaps & what we would do to mitigate them, but when you throw chaos into the mix you can't possibly anticipate everything."
I received a complimentary kindle copy from Amazon. That did not change my opinion for this review.
Link to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-BEEF-Cyber...
May 29, 2016
I received this book through the goodreads giveaways for an honest review.
Dead Beef was such a fun read for me. I really liked the central characters. There was good action - very fun fast paced read!
I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Dead Beef was such a fun read for me. I really liked the central characters. There was good action - very fun fast paced read!
I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
November 28, 2014
Loved it
Well told story, realistic characters.reminds me of Vince Flynn character mitchell Rapp in a way. Looking forward to reading more of your books.
Well told story, realistic characters.reminds me of Vince Flynn character mitchell Rapp in a way. Looking forward to reading more of your books.
March 16, 2015
ok read...a little long...lost interest 3/4 way through
November 13, 2016
The speed at which the hackers worked seemed a bit out of reach. I thought the story was a little long in the middle but it picked up nicely toward the end.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews