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The Downlode Heroes #2
The Trust
In the virtual worlds at the Downlode Trust, you can be anyone you want - but who can you believe?
Hank doesn’t do VR. Not anymore.
He was always good at VR games, especially Combat Unlimited, but he's left all that behind. These days, he doesn't even log on. But he’s down on his luck, and when he’s offered a place at the prestigious Downlode Trust, it’s too good to miss. It means leaving home and everything he knows, but tempted by the Trust’s cutting edge VR, he signs up. Now, he must travel to the UK and forge a new life while tackling new challenges that push at the limits of his ability.
But there’s trouble at the Trust. A security breach in the Trust's systems looks like an inside job. Who could be behind the cyberattack? And will it make the Trust's students vulnerable?
As head of operations, Colonel Stewart Headingley-Clarke is in a race against time to protect everyone at the Trust. Can he root out the trouble before the new students arrive?
Meanwhile, one student has discovered an illegal mod, smuggled into the VR system. It will make her invincible, and she wants to make sure she's the only one who can use it. She’ll do whatever it takes, and no one will be allowed to stand in her way. No one.
Join Hank in The Trust, but remember: logging in is just the beginning.
From the author
The Trust is a perfect read for fans of cyberpunk and technothrillers - it's a complex and fast-moving story, and like Ready Player One, will be enjoyed by those who are interested in role playing games, LitRPG, and speculative ideas about technology. In The Trust, while technology and VR are important to the plot, the characters are what drives the story forward. You do not have to have read the first book, CHEATC0DE, to enjoy this story.
Hank doesn’t do VR. Not anymore.
He was always good at VR games, especially Combat Unlimited, but he's left all that behind. These days, he doesn't even log on. But he’s down on his luck, and when he’s offered a place at the prestigious Downlode Trust, it’s too good to miss. It means leaving home and everything he knows, but tempted by the Trust’s cutting edge VR, he signs up. Now, he must travel to the UK and forge a new life while tackling new challenges that push at the limits of his ability.
But there’s trouble at the Trust. A security breach in the Trust's systems looks like an inside job. Who could be behind the cyberattack? And will it make the Trust's students vulnerable?
As head of operations, Colonel Stewart Headingley-Clarke is in a race against time to protect everyone at the Trust. Can he root out the trouble before the new students arrive?
Meanwhile, one student has discovered an illegal mod, smuggled into the VR system. It will make her invincible, and she wants to make sure she's the only one who can use it. She’ll do whatever it takes, and no one will be allowed to stand in her way. No one.
Join Hank in The Trust, but remember: logging in is just the beginning.
From the author
The Trust is a perfect read for fans of cyberpunk and technothrillers - it's a complex and fast-moving story, and like Ready Player One, will be enjoyed by those who are interested in role playing games, LitRPG, and speculative ideas about technology. In The Trust, while technology and VR are important to the plot, the characters are what drives the story forward. You do not have to have read the first book, CHEATC0DE, to enjoy this story.
575 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 5, 2017
4 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Mikey Campling
26 books82 followersMichael (Mikey to friends) is a full-time writer living and working in a tiny village on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon. He writes stories with characters you can believe in and plots you can sink your teeth into.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 2, 2020
The Trust: No More Games - a review by Rosemary Kenny
A psychological cyber-thriller that reminded me of a combination of both The Matrix and an old BBC tv series, The Tomorrow People, Michael Campling's The Trust: No More Games, (The Downlode Trust, Book 2) is a stunning, shocking, superb sci-fi story.
Small-town youngsters, including MC Hank Bessett, are tempted by whatever means to enrol at the Downlode Trust's UK HQ.
Subtly separated from their homes and families and covertly manipulated, the new recruits are mostly innocent of exactly who backs the global organisation, or for what purpose they're there.
Cyber-terrorist infiltration provides a secondary storyline, but throughout, Hank (and others at Northridge) is a constant participant - willingly or not. Sometimes ignorant, often helpless but nevertheless determined, he realises there is something not quite right about what's happening at the remote academy, or in the insubstantial, (but deadly to intruders &/or the innocently curious chance visitor) VR jungle world, where it's every avatar for themself.
Don't miss this gritty, psychological action-thriller, with a twist that you won't see coming and definitely won't be able to put down, once you've logged in.
Don't try to escape - you know you want it - NOW GO!
A psychological cyber-thriller that reminded me of a combination of both The Matrix and an old BBC tv series, The Tomorrow People, Michael Campling's The Trust: No More Games, (The Downlode Trust, Book 2) is a stunning, shocking, superb sci-fi story.
Small-town youngsters, including MC Hank Bessett, are tempted by whatever means to enrol at the Downlode Trust's UK HQ.
Subtly separated from their homes and families and covertly manipulated, the new recruits are mostly innocent of exactly who backs the global organisation, or for what purpose they're there.
Cyber-terrorist infiltration provides a secondary storyline, but throughout, Hank (and others at Northridge) is a constant participant - willingly or not. Sometimes ignorant, often helpless but nevertheless determined, he realises there is something not quite right about what's happening at the remote academy, or in the insubstantial, (but deadly to intruders &/or the innocently curious chance visitor) VR jungle world, where it's every avatar for themself.
Don't miss this gritty, psychological action-thriller, with a twist that you won't see coming and definitely won't be able to put down, once you've logged in.
Don't try to escape - you know you want it - NOW GO!
June 8, 2017
Kindle Unlimited, Don't remember how got the first one, maybe freebie day or ku, but the second one was an ARC. Maybe my take on the book is a bit different than some of the reviews because am not a gamer and am used to his writing style and all. I liked it; for rundown of the plot, see the blurb or better yet just read the book.
Cheatcode (The Downlode Heroes Book 1)
The Trust (The Downlode Heroes Book 2)
Cheatcode (The Downlode Heroes Book 1)
The Trust (The Downlode Heroes Book 2)
February 5, 2019
I'm not sure if it's because I'm not a gamer, but I really struggled with this book. I enjoyed the previous novel, Cheatc0de and really wanted to learn more about Hank and VR, but no matter how hard I tried I just could not get into this story. There were also a high number of errors, and far too many characters to keep track of. I found it difficult to keep on reading, but somehow persevered until the end. Young adult gamers may enjoy this series, but it's not really for me.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews