Betrayal

2099 #2

by John Peel

A doomsday virus has brought computer-dependent New York City to its knees, but Tristan Connor knows how to stop it if he can first stop the virus's creator, Devon--his clone. Original.

Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction

154 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

John Peel is the author of Doctor Who books and comic strips. Notably, he wrote the first original Doctor Who novel, Timewyrm: Genesys, to launch the Virgin New Adventures line. In the early 1990s he was commissioned by Target Books to write novelisations of several key Terry Nation Dalek stories of the 1960s after the rights were finally worked out. He later wrote several more original Daleks novels.

He has the distinction of being one of only three authors credited on a Target novelisation who had not either written a story for the TV series or been a part of the production team (the others were Nigel Robinson and Alison Bingeman).

Outside of Doctor Who, Peel has also written novels for the Star Trek franchise. Under the pseudonym "John Vincent", he wrote novelisations based upon episodes of the 1990s TV series James Bond Jr..

Reviews

[Joe Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A propulsive sequel that picks up right where the first installment of this middle-grade sci-fi series left off, with a doomsday computer virus ravaging all of New York City. It's actually impressive how well author John Peel, writing in the 1990s and imagining a century ahead, manages to nail the vulnerabilities of an interconnected Internet of Things to outside attacks. Autopilots going offline resulting in vehicle crashes, electronic doors locking up, alarms and fire suppression measures failing to operate -- these are real worries we're starting to face today, and they make for gripping fiction from yesteryear.

The plot is more focused now too, and the four main characters are all given interesting goals to pursue. The evil clone who made the virus is attempting to escape from his handlers, the good clone is trying to find him and disable the program, the cop is on the track of the wrong boy and worried about turncoats in her ranks, and the street kid's past crimes finally catch up to her, with the authorities dragging her away from the detective's side to stand trial. It's still a little hokey at times -- the two teen boys, separated at birth and raised apart, have both grown up to be genius coders whose work is so similar that observers mistake one's for the other's -- but between the genre, the era, and the intended audience, I think I can suspend my disbelief enough on that front.

[Content warning for gore.]

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[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tristan who is a clone of a genius named Devon was now being blamed for all the wrongdoings that Devon created. He unleashed a virus in a Manhattan in 2099 and now since he ran away from home because they weren’t his real parents. It is a really good book and it’s great for a quick read.

This book is really interesting but since it is futuristic it shows how everything works now in society pure technology. they have an id chip that connects them to the earth net which gives them everything like social security, money, school, shopping malls, and it controls their house. Since the virus gave them a blackout and took all the internet surrounding manhattan people couldn’t get out of their house and because of that they died at their house and the survivors are in panic. Detective Shimoda was the best in the business for this type of crime but it was clear that only Tristan and Devon are the only who can stop the virus.

I liked this book because I do sports and with all the homework I get this book was perfect for me to read. This is the second book so you could start with the first book but you could just start with this book first if you want to.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Quick action.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to re-read it, but I remember thoroughly enjoying this series.

[Andrew Cornelius · Rating 5 out of 5]

ooooooo