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The Hacker
Updated and revised in 2018, The Hacker was nominated for the prestigious Prometheus Award for best science fiction novel in 1990. Author Chet Day was in good company that year, given that other nominees included novels by Robert Heinlein, Joe Haldeman, and Poul Anderson. Foreshadowing today’s world wild web of crazed and angry trolls on social media, The Hacker is set in 1988, a time when communication and war games on computers occurred anonymously via Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes) hosted by individuals with a second landline. A character-rich and thought-provoking story, The Hacker mines many relevant themes, including loneliness, artificial intelligence, revenge, and religious mania. Join Tunnel Rat, Meat Grinder, The Succubus, and many other fascinating characters – including a Japanese Zen Master whose teenage granddaughter is a computer genius – in this tale that’ll have you scrolling through pages as fast as you can push the forward button. As one reviewer wrote when the novel was first published, “… see horror-writer Chet Day’s new book The Hacker for a deliciously schlocky tale of an elite hacker board infiltrated not by the feds but by a terrorizing demon handled ‘The Succubus.’ A more recent reviewer wrote, “I read this book for the first time many years ago. Chet Day is a great author and I wish he had more books out there. If you want to read a thriller about the world of computer hacking and the old dial-up BBSes, this is the book for you. I re-read my copy so many times I had to buy another to replace it!! :) They should release it on Kindle!!” Well, The Hacker is now available on Kindle, so buy a copy because it'll give you many hours of fun reading and maybe even a few spooky moments.
- GenresHorror
348 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1989
82 people want to read
About the author
Chet Day
22 books4 followersChet Day is a writer and student of all things interesting or weird living in North Carolina. For over fifty years, he's spent his free time writing novels, stories, essays, humor, personal reflections, literary criticism, natural health articles, and even sports columns.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 21, 2021
Taking place in the pre-internet late 80s, a group of BBS (Bulletin Board System) gamers are somehow infiltrated by a sinister new member on their boards known as The Succubus. Their games of psychological warfare are mere child's play to him, and he has plans to take these little war games to the next level...into the real world. Now the other members must go against their reclusive natures and meet up irl to figure out a way to bring The Succubus down. Too bad he's a genius, and will stop at nothing to destroy them. He knows their true identities. And he's somehow growing smarter and deadlier each day.
This was a blast to read. I normally like a bit more supernatural goodness in my horror fiction (this does have vaguely paranormal elements), but Chet Day has a really immersive writing style, keeping me turning the pages due to the relatable, well-realized characters and constantly mounting tension. The big baddie here is pretty unique as well. And creepy as all hell. I know very little about old BBS war games, but I was fully absorbed in the story anyway, as Mr. Day does an excellent job of enveloping the reader into late 80s computer culture.
Now on to his only other novel from back in the day, Halo.
This was a blast to read. I normally like a bit more supernatural goodness in my horror fiction (this does have vaguely paranormal elements), but Chet Day has a really immersive writing style, keeping me turning the pages due to the relatable, well-realized characters and constantly mounting tension. The big baddie here is pretty unique as well. And creepy as all hell. I know very little about old BBS war games, but I was fully absorbed in the story anyway, as Mr. Day does an excellent job of enveloping the reader into late 80s computer culture.
Now on to his only other novel from back in the day, Halo.
June 3, 2018
Such a great writer, such a boring book.
January 23, 2021
The Hacker is author Chet Day's second novel, published in 1989, two years after his debut, Halo, both published by Pocket Books—the plot here follows a group of digital misfits on an elite war-board BBS (bulletin board system, a hybrid of pre-and-proto internet) called The Surgery that runs afoul of an online persona known as The Succubus who wastes no time introducing a new form of hi-tech terror into their lives. The Surgery consists of six members: The Chief Cutter, Surgery sysop and shy college student; Master Wu, a teenaged Japanese prodigy; Tunnel Rat, a traumatized Vietnam Vet with no equal when it comes to breaking encryption; Nelly Dean, an older woman who is part of a top-secret research team working on something known as the Zeus Connector; Meat Grinder, the affable one of the group, also a local high school football player whose compassion and loyalty to his new friends makes him something of an antithesis to the author's character of Billy Halo; and Genghis Khan, a teenager defined not by his paraplegia but by his inner strength. One late night on the board, a hacker known as The Succubus creates a backdoor into The Surgery, setting in motion events that bleed over into the aforementioned development of a piece of technology known as the Zeus Connection, a direct neural interface (DNI), i.e., bridging human consciousness into computer architecture, which, as you can expect, goes terribly wrong.
Chet Day has become a favorite author of mine, full stop. Since cracking Halo open over half a year ago, I've made it a mission of mine to devour his other novels, including this, The Hacker, and a once unpublished novel of his titled Cordova's Girl, self-published in 2018 via Kindle but was actually penned and prepped for the printers back while he was waiting for Pocket Books to release this book. There is no such thing as a flat character in the worlds of Chet Day. For instance, Tunnel Rat had the moniker derived from his wartime "specialty"; digging tunnels in Vietnam on search-and-destroy missions, made worse that he is selected on account of his diminutive size, ultimately leading to him developing an eating disorder as a way to ensure he won't be sent underground again. A concern shared by some, not necessarily concerning The Hacker but other dated science fiction, is that the text usually refers to technological advances that have been far surpassed, ostensibly making their vision of a future obsolete. But The Hacker doesn't face that problem as one can easily translate the themes found within to our current social media culture—one only has to take the functionality of modern message boards/forums and project those capabilities overtop an ink-black command interface. At its core, The Hacker is a speculative fiction novel about the dangers of anonymity, and by extension, what would become known as "trolling" and "doxing," only steeped for long durations of time in science similar to that found in films like Brainstorm (1983) but mutated further into a riveting and dangerous thriller with dollops of wild and punchy science-fiction/horror elements. That's my thing with Chet Day's writing; I come for the promise of horror but stay for the literary composition. The Hacker is much more than a wire-racked paperback packet of ketchup; it's an effortlessly engaging science fiction horror/thriller that feels simultaneously dangerous and unpredictable but done Chet's way—a total mindscrew, written with a loving pen, but an unrelenting hand guiding it.
Chet Day has become a favorite author of mine, full stop. Since cracking Halo open over half a year ago, I've made it a mission of mine to devour his other novels, including this, The Hacker, and a once unpublished novel of his titled Cordova's Girl, self-published in 2018 via Kindle but was actually penned and prepped for the printers back while he was waiting for Pocket Books to release this book. There is no such thing as a flat character in the worlds of Chet Day. For instance, Tunnel Rat had the moniker derived from his wartime "specialty"; digging tunnels in Vietnam on search-and-destroy missions, made worse that he is selected on account of his diminutive size, ultimately leading to him developing an eating disorder as a way to ensure he won't be sent underground again. A concern shared by some, not necessarily concerning The Hacker but other dated science fiction, is that the text usually refers to technological advances that have been far surpassed, ostensibly making their vision of a future obsolete. But The Hacker doesn't face that problem as one can easily translate the themes found within to our current social media culture—one only has to take the functionality of modern message boards/forums and project those capabilities overtop an ink-black command interface. At its core, The Hacker is a speculative fiction novel about the dangers of anonymity, and by extension, what would become known as "trolling" and "doxing," only steeped for long durations of time in science similar to that found in films like Brainstorm (1983) but mutated further into a riveting and dangerous thriller with dollops of wild and punchy science-fiction/horror elements. That's my thing with Chet Day's writing; I come for the promise of horror but stay for the literary composition. The Hacker is much more than a wire-racked paperback packet of ketchup; it's an effortlessly engaging science fiction horror/thriller that feels simultaneously dangerous and unpredictable but done Chet's way—a total mindscrew, written with a loving pen, but an unrelenting hand guiding it.
September 7, 2018
Outdated, antiquated book about the early days of the home computer and I loved every moment of it. First I have to say for a horror novel, there was not a lot of bloodshed. The good point is that this book builds at a nice steady pace. It always makes you want to know more. What's going to happen next. There really was no wasted space in this.
This all centers around a BBS, a bulletin board system called "the surgeons" an elite group that enters the ICU to "war" among themselves. The controller of this BBS tricks the users to give up their real names and addresses. There is a problem though, The Succubus, a genius enters and causes havoc in the group. The group of outcasts and misfits have to come out of their shells to defeat this crazed nut case. Very nice.
This all centers around a BBS, a bulletin board system called "the surgeons" an elite group that enters the ICU to "war" among themselves. The controller of this BBS tricks the users to give up their real names and addresses. There is a problem though, The Succubus, a genius enters and causes havoc in the group. The group of outcasts and misfits have to come out of their shells to defeat this crazed nut case. Very nice.
December 9, 2014
I remember my first computer, came with a 14.4 modem and had maybe 20 MB of memory. Thats MB not GB. Many of us had similar machines and remember calling BBS systems and dot matrix printers. Not the good old days in terms of computers , but in the terms of this thriller, its classic.
Chet Day is the author of one of my favorite genre books, Halo, and I was surprised I had never heard of this one before. The plot follows the denizens of a BBS called The Surgery, and a new player who bends the game, and the players to his will.
The book is very dated but in terms of a period piece its on point and brings back memories. The story is well constructed and the characters are three dimensional once they step out of their BBS personas into the real world. But we find out the real world, can be too much of a dangerous place.
Chet Day is the author of one of my favorite genre books, Halo, and I was surprised I had never heard of this one before. The plot follows the denizens of a BBS called The Surgery, and a new player who bends the game, and the players to his will.
The book is very dated but in terms of a period piece its on point and brings back memories. The story is well constructed and the characters are three dimensional once they step out of their BBS personas into the real world. But we find out the real world, can be too much of a dangerous place.
July 15, 2025
Title: From Despair to Hope — How I Recovered $255,000 Lost to a Forex Scam
Earlier this year, I made what I thought was a smart financial move — investing $3,500 into an online forex trading platform that appeared highly professional and convincing. At first, everything seemed perfect. My initial deposit started growing rapidly. I watched my account balance rise to an incredible $155,000 in what felt like no time.
Excited by the apparent success, I decided to trust the process and added more funds. As time passed, I invested an additional $100,000, encouraged by what seemed to be a thriving portfolio. However, the moment I tried to withdraw my profits, things began to unravel.
The platform stalled my withdrawal attempts with vague excuses and eventually demanded more payments — so-called "processing fees" and "security clearances." That was when the harsh reality hit me: I had fallen victim to a meticulously orchestrated scam.
The pain of losing over $250,000 was unbearable. Sleepless nights, overwhelming regret, and a deep sense of betrayal followed. I was ashamed to speak about it, thinking no one could help. But fate had one more surprise in store — and this time, it was a good one.
During a desperate online search for recovery options, I came across Cloudstrike Cyber Security. Skeptical but with nothing left to lose, I reached out to them via their contact email: [Cloudstrikecyber@gmail.com]
From the very first interaction, they were professional, empathetic, and direct. They listened to my story, analyzed the platform I had been scammed by, and explained the recovery process step-by-step. I was shocked by how much they already knew about these types of fraud rings. Over the course of several weeks, they worked tirelessly — tracking digital footprints, leveraging blockchain forensics, and using advanced cyber investigation tools.
Against all odds, Cloudstrike Cyber Security recovered 95% of my lost funds. That’s right — they brought back over $240,000 that I thought was gone forever.
To anyone out there going through something similar: you are not alone. Scammers are getting smarter, but so are the people fighting them. I highly recommend Cloudstrike Cyber Security to anyone who has been a victim of a crypto or forex scam. They gave me back not just my money, but my peace of mind.
You can contact them at [Cloudstrikecyber@gmail.com]
WhatsApp:+1 (260) 408-3923
Earlier this year, I made what I thought was a smart financial move — investing $3,500 into an online forex trading platform that appeared highly professional and convincing. At first, everything seemed perfect. My initial deposit started growing rapidly. I watched my account balance rise to an incredible $155,000 in what felt like no time.
Excited by the apparent success, I decided to trust the process and added more funds. As time passed, I invested an additional $100,000, encouraged by what seemed to be a thriving portfolio. However, the moment I tried to withdraw my profits, things began to unravel.
The platform stalled my withdrawal attempts with vague excuses and eventually demanded more payments — so-called "processing fees" and "security clearances." That was when the harsh reality hit me: I had fallen victim to a meticulously orchestrated scam.
The pain of losing over $250,000 was unbearable. Sleepless nights, overwhelming regret, and a deep sense of betrayal followed. I was ashamed to speak about it, thinking no one could help. But fate had one more surprise in store — and this time, it was a good one.
During a desperate online search for recovery options, I came across Cloudstrike Cyber Security. Skeptical but with nothing left to lose, I reached out to them via their contact email: [Cloudstrikecyber@gmail.com]
From the very first interaction, they were professional, empathetic, and direct. They listened to my story, analyzed the platform I had been scammed by, and explained the recovery process step-by-step. I was shocked by how much they already knew about these types of fraud rings. Over the course of several weeks, they worked tirelessly — tracking digital footprints, leveraging blockchain forensics, and using advanced cyber investigation tools.
Against all odds, Cloudstrike Cyber Security recovered 95% of my lost funds. That’s right — they brought back over $240,000 that I thought was gone forever.
To anyone out there going through something similar: you are not alone. Scammers are getting smarter, but so are the people fighting them. I highly recommend Cloudstrike Cyber Security to anyone who has been a victim of a crypto or forex scam. They gave me back not just my money, but my peace of mind.
You can contact them at [Cloudstrikecyber@gmail.com]
WhatsApp:+1 (260) 408-3923
January 1, 2025
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How I got scammed and lost all my retirement funds, I can say it feels really bad to be a victim of those scammers that have no remorse for their actions. It’s important to report any scam incidents to the appropriate authorities but unfortunately most law enforcement agencies finds it difficult to help in the recovery process, it was so difficult to move on and almost committing suicide.
During a good weekend, I was listening to a broadcast that explained how scam victims can use https://w w w. webgenierecovery. com, to get their money back. After contacting the provided information for advice, I received a response within a short period of time and was asked to provide all pertinent legal documents and information regarding the scam process, all payments slips, and other relevant documents. I can say that it feels really bad to be a victim of those scammers who have no remorse for their actions. It's important to report any scam incidents to the appropriate authorities, but regrettably, most law enforcement agencies find it difficult to assist in the recovery process.I declared that I would not keep this information to myself but will instead divulge it to the public in order to help all scam victims. This is a significant victory over this online scammers. Contact email: https://w w w. webgenierecovery. com, +1 (918) 809-0113 on WhatsApp; @webgenierecovery on Telegram; webgenierecoverys@protonmail.me OR webgenierecovery@outlook.com
February 11, 2025
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If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, don’t lose hope. CoinCollectExperts proved to me that recovery is possible with the right expertise and determination. I highly recommend their services to anyone who has lost their crypto.
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That’s when I came across CoinCollectExperts. At first, I was skeptical. I had heard that recovering lost crypto was nearly impossible, but after reading positive reviews about their success in tracking and reclaiming stolen funds, I decided to give them a shot.
From the moment I reached out, their team was professional, knowledgeable, and reassuring. They walked me through the process, analyzed the blockchain transactions, and traced my stolen BTC. I was amazed by their level of expertise and the tools they used to track down my lost funds.
After weeks of investigation and legal coordination, I received the news I had been praying for—my Bitcoin had been successfully recovered! I couldn’t believe it. What seemed impossible had become a reality, thanks to CoinCollectExperts.
If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, don’t lose hope. CoinCollectExperts proved to me that recovery is possible with the right expertise and determination. I highly recommend their services to anyone who has lost their crypto.
More information about CoinCollectExperts
Email: CoinCollectExperts@mail.com
WhatsApp: +1 (360) 485-5804
Telegram: t.me/COINCOLLECTEXPERTS
Thank you, CoinCollectExperts, for bringing my BTC back!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2025
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For anyone who has fallen victim to one of the bitcoin binary investment scams that are currently ongoing, I highly recommend CLOUDSTRIKE CYBERSECURITY COMPANY . I was a victim of it, and I felt embarrassed about losing 421,250 EUROS to these scammers posing as binary and FX traders. Before I discovered CLOUDSTRIKE CYBERSECURITY COMPANY online, who specialize in retrieving cryptocurrency funds from these scammers, my family had nearly abandoned me and I was going to lose everything. Within 72 hours, this unique team of highly skilled tech specialists was able to get my money back. I'm very happy that this group exists, and I'm spreading the word to anyone who might benefit from their assistance in getting their money or investment coins back. You can get in touch with them through their personal email: CLOUDSTRIKECYBER@GMAIL.COM
WhatsApp: +1(260)408-3923
March 30, 2022
After reading HALO, a book that I placed on my favorites shelf, I was enticed to read this. It predates the voice recognition surge which currently encompasses our everyday lives.
A bunch of computer nerds living in NOLA scramble to find the true identity of a hacker (the succubus), who has infiltrated their message board. It’s not your typical disruptive prank: the tech-savvy succubus also works in a lab that’s behind a top secret interface project that establishes a link between the human brain and computers. So much potential for a ghost in the machine premise like this, but nothing exciting happens. Chet gives all the characters a lot to work with, but in the end, they remain unsightly boring. It’s a book that I should never have completed, but I have so much respect for Chet Day’s Halo that I felt obligated to finish it.
A bunch of computer nerds living in NOLA scramble to find the true identity of a hacker (the succubus), who has infiltrated their message board. It’s not your typical disruptive prank: the tech-savvy succubus also works in a lab that’s behind a top secret interface project that establishes a link between the human brain and computers. So much potential for a ghost in the machine premise like this, but nothing exciting happens. Chet gives all the characters a lot to work with, but in the end, they remain unsightly boring. It’s a book that I should never have completed, but I have so much respect for Chet Day’s Halo that I felt obligated to finish it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews