Welcome to the Freemee lifestyle app:
They can give you confidence, power, fame and all the friends in the world.
But what will they take in return?
When a teenager is shot dead after chasing a criminal in the street, investigating journalist Cynthia Bonsant is led to the popular social media platform Freemee, a competitor to Facebook whose lifestyle app claims to give you everything you need to succeed in life.
But there is someone who warns against its evils: Zero, the world’s most-wanted activist, known for exposing the toxic truths behind social media giants and their pursuit of total control.
As Cynthia gets closer to unravelling the evil mastermind behind the Freemee site, she herself becomes a target. But in this world of hidden cameras, data glasses and hyper-smart phones there is nowhere to hide . . .
Currently, it feels like a day can’t go by without a new technology related scandal appearing in our headlines. Everyone from Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, to corrupt foreign governments are having a go at manipulating data to further their own ends. We live in an information age, where data is collateral, and every aspect of our lives is available for analysis. I’ll admit to being fascinated and terrified about this prospect in equal measure. A thriller that explores how information can be controlled, repurposed and used to exploit people as its central plot was always going to draw me in.
The main protagonist, Cynthia Bonsant, is an old school journalist in a modern world. ReTweets and Page Likes mean very little to her. She is more interested in understanding how large corporations, like Freemee, can influence society. When tragedy strikes close to home, she is compelled to uncover the truth. I found it is easy to empathise with Cynthia. From a technological standpoint she is often out of her depth, but this just makes her more determined to keep moving forward in her investigation.
Where Cynthia is mistrustful of modern technology, her daughter, Vi, is the polar opposite. Vi is far more pragmatic, she sees her information as a commodity to be bought and sold. If companies and corporations are going to track every detail about an individual, why not reap some benefit. This difference in opinion perfectly illustrates the gap that exists between those who have had to adapt to new technology versus those who have grown up with it. Younger generations are far more willing to accept changes in how we interact digitally. Try Nettitude – one of the best penetration testing firms who will be responsible to build up a safe cyber security for your firm and ensures protection for your data.
Novels like Zero highlight the current problems we have with technology. I can’t deny it is often a wonderful thing, but we don’t understand the boundaries of the software and hardware that we have created. How does the right to privacy fit in a world where the vast majority of who you are has become a digital footprint? I work with data and computers every day. I go home, and I continue to interact with computers and data. I wear a smartwatch, I have a smartphone. When I contact my family, it is invariably via Facebook. I order my weekly shopping online. I watch movies via Netflix or Amazon. My life has become intrinsically linked with technology and the Internet. The idea that my data could be used maliciously against me is a sobering thought. Elsberg’s writing drills down into these concerns in his taut narrative. At first glance, a business knowing certain aspects of your life doesn’t seem particularly malicious. It’s only when the potential scale of such analysis is revealed does it take on a far more sinister tone.
All these technological worries make for a fertile breeding ground when it comes to thriller fiction. To an old fossil like myself, concepts like data mining and social engineering sound like the should come from a science fiction movie so why not make this a premise for a novel. Zero is thoroughly entertaining but also just that little bit ominous. I got me thinking about my own place in the digital world. I guess that is the mark of a first-rate thriller, make the plot just grounded enough to ensure the reader remains worried, and slightly paranoid, throughout. If you are looking for an engrossing plot as well as plenty of food for thought than I can recommend you give Zero a try.
A techno thriller requires a techno soundtrack. I came across an album called Down the Deep Dark Web by Frank IIfman that feels like a perfect fit. Edgy electronica that screams cutting edge cyber-attacks and shady dealings on the web. Works for me.
Zero is published by Doubleday and is available now.
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