Action and Adventure August -Brian Falkner Brainjack

I chose to read this book as part of Action and Adventure August but it is a really good link to Speculative September.  NZ author Brian Falkner has written a thought provoking and action packed story about what might happen if we let computers/the internet link to our brains.  He also makes a comment on the impact of gaming and the risks associated with the data that we have in the public domain (in the cloud).  Perhaps it resonated more with me because I am currently involved in building a cybersafety website and because of the recent publicity surrounding the hacking of an IT guru’s accounts  http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/mat-honan-data-recovery/all/ and how his digital life was basically erased.

Here is the blurb about the book from Falkner’s website

America’s Second Civil War . . .

Another terrifying sci-fi page-turner from the author of The Tomorrow Code!

Las Vegas is gone—destroyed in a terrorist attack. Black Hawk helicopters patrol the skies over New York City. And immersive online gaming is the most dangerous street drug around. In this dystopic near-future, technology has leapt forward once again, and neuro-headsets have replaced computer keyboards. Just slip on a headset, and it’s the Internet at the speed of thought.

For teen hacker Sam Wilson, a headset is a must. But as he becomes familiar with the new technology, he has a terrifying realization. If anything on his computer is vulnerable to a hack, what happens when his mind is linked to the system? Could consciousness itself be hijacked? Before he realizes what’s happened, Sam’s incursion against the world’s largest telecommunications company leads him to the heart of the nation’s cyberdefense network and brings him face to face with a terrifying and unforeseen threat.

http://www.brianfalkner.com/book_detail.asp?bk_id=5  (retrieved 28/8/12)