The Dark Net

By James R. Riordon

At any given moment, 5% of the Internet is hidden from view - that's the Dark Net. It's a haven for criminals, spies, and nefarious hackers. For Max Caine it's also a death trap, where reality and the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1430311266
• ISBN13: 9781430311263
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Wow! Intelligent and creative

I purchased two of The Dark Net for 2 teenage boys for Christmas - then couldn't put it down myself. It is a rare talent to be able to combine a soaring imagination with such down to earth hard facts. You can tell Riordon knows his stuff - this is no "I just understand the basics that someone gave me" stuff; we're talking true geek speak!

The Dark Net

This thriller is clever, action packed and well written. The author brings us into a world that could easily overwhelm. He write so clearly that it is easy to see the characters and to follow them. It is story which is relayed very well. Good job!!

warning, do not take this book when traveling to visit family

I brought this book with me on a trip to visit family over the holidays and could NOT put it down (to the detriment of quality family-time). But man, that was the best trip I had in a while. I read the whole thing like I was dying of thirst and couldn't suck down fluids fast enough. The story centers around Max, a realistic character caught in a futuristic scenario of what the internet might be like one day (virtual worlds where instead of checking your email, you step into a room, sit down and have your exquisitely-programmed virtual assistant recite email contents). It unfolds into an enchantingly complex and imaginitive plot. Character development is fantastic and you can see the scenes in your head as they develop. Several times I found myself simultaneously breathing heavy with anxiety during the fast-paced adventure scenes and also laughing at character descriptions. For example: "As Max watched with wide-eyed terror, the laundry pile began to seethe. The sound hadn't come from the bathroom after all. The pile rose up in a pillar of dirty socks, shirts, and towels, and took on a vaguely humanoid form." This pile of dirty clothes abducts Max, along with some couch creature, and throws him into the dark recesses of the internet. The two monsters then pause for a hilarious and unlikely debate about Captain Kirk & Spock. It is impossible to tell what will happen next; this unpredictability makes for an incredibly engaging read. The last time I liked a book this much, I went out and bought everything else the author wrote (Augusten Burroughs). I am only sorry that there are no other books to buy just yet and only hope the author is putting his brilliant mind hard to work on another novel for his insatiable fans. The cover design is simplistic but don't judge the contents by that -- the story itself is rich and complex. Anyone who is into the internet (especially computer geeks) will especially find this a compelling read.

Review of The Dark Net

This was really a great book. I like science fiction books a lot and this book was better than most. I would love to see a sequel or even a movie made of this book. I liked when Max went on the run from the internet people. If Mr. Riordon has written other books, I really would like to read them. I would recommend this book to other teens.

A good book is one I like to read

Not many real science fiction books are written anymore. The Dark Net isn't just your romance-clothed-in-shiny-steel-with-laser-guns book, or your Klingon-speaking-gotta-read-the-series science fiction novel. This is a _good book_. Remember Ender's Game? 1984? Fahrenheit 541? The Dark Net is that kind of book, one that you can read over and over again and find something new, something meaningful. That's not to say The Dark Net is a serious treatise on the state of the world. But it's worth reading if you like to read. Riordon has written an adventure in the internet, a science-based story, a pulp thriller that gives the reader something to think about. The story winds through ordinary life, the virtual world-to-come, the isolated portions of the internet, and a weird farm in the Pennsylvania hills. (Actually, I could totally dig the Freedom Club if they weren't sofa king Ayn Rand about it.) This book may never be on the syllabus of any Lit Crit classes (though I could write "The Significance of the Color Green in Riordon's The Dark Net" or "Penguins and Boats: Lost and Found in the Void of Riordon's The Dark Net"). But heck, that's probably what they said about Dickens too. Riordon's novel, originally published on a blog, is like Dickens' serialized newspaper novels, and the format of the life-as-it-happens writing method makes the story's plot a lot like real life. Max's end isn't obvious from the beginning. Sometimes he winds up in places he never could have anticipated. But I enjoyed being there with him (well, sometimes it was really sad.) And that's what I like to see in a book. Shogun, Clan of the Cave Bear, Harry Potter: they're not literature or anything but they sure are great to read.