A lot of the characters felt like teenagers to me. There definitely needed to be more of an explanation behind the technology to make it sound more realistic.kristib44 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2019, 08:29 It seems to me like the author was writing without the necessary research on the topic she was writing about. If you're going to try to write highly technical information, we need more than 'long strings of numbers' and baffled witnesses. Someone needs to know what they're doing and show it rather than having a lot of exposition and lay-explanation that is unbelievable at best. I didn't feel like I was reading about experts, I felt like I was reading about teenage hackers that didn't want to explain their doings to their parents. And it WAS too easy, and too pat - he managed to shut down just one computer and that's the end? It was most unsatisfactory to not have a highly technical result rather than some guy messaging his girlfriend that somehow saved the Iranian computers.
Was the CyberWar too easy?
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Re: Was the CyberWar too easy?
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Could it be that no one is paying attention or is truly just an underdeveloped or poorly researched topic?Letora wrote: ↑03 Jul 2019, 08:14 As I am reading through the book, it seems like whenever the cyberwar is brought up, there isn't any conflict. They take down websites, change language, break encryptions, but nothing has been happening to them! Being over halfway through the book I find it hard to believe that everything is going off perfectly and there has been no connection to Cynthia and her brother. Does anyone else feel this way?
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Unfortunately a lot of books like this don't delve too far into the intricacies of this kind of work. A lot of people don't know what goes into these occupations. Plus, when you're trying to keep a book feeling concise and wrapped up things are usually going to go the protagonist's way.
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Exactly what I was thinking. While it's true we obviously aren't going to be clued in to every tactic used by professionals in this field, there are plenty of documentaries and first hand accounts available from people who've done this work.
Having a cool idea for a book is one thing, but researching to make it feel real with just the right amount of plausability and detail is another entirely.
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just because Cynthia works for the government does not mean that the reader should root for her in that battle. Tim and Garth for presidents 2k19, since they're supergeniuses.
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I didn't even think of the timeline, but you're right, a few days and the world was saved. Conflict is the backbone of any interesting read, and this one was definitely lacking in that department.Tomah wrote: ↑21 Jul 2019, 08:51 That's a good point. The lack of research on the technologies written about in the novel is obvious enough even to people vaguely familiar with them, but honestly, most popular fiction featuring "hackers" borders on fantasy anyway. Even though the "Cyber War" in the title would lead me to expect the author to know what she's talking about, I could at least try looking past that if the "creative liberties" made for a better story. They don't, largely because there no risks or challenges. Just get yourself a special room, create some social media accounts, and now you can begin taking down terrorists with a few clicks and keystrokes. There, you just saved the world in a couple days! More than just unrealistic, it feels unearned and underwhelming.
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I would have loved to see more Tim and Garth. They did have the best personalities out of all the characters, but we didn't get to see them all that much outside of the war room.teddyj wrote: ↑24 Jul 2019, 00:29 The cyber war bit was my favorite part, too - even though nothing made sense, i really liked for Tim and Garth and Glenn to have the spotlight. they seemed to have personalities and voices that stayed the same throughout the book, unlike the title characters. their humor was pretty cheesy but it seemed to fit them. i sorta started to root for them just because of that, even though the stakes weren't high...there actually were none, basically. nothing ever really set them back, or ever set any of them back. Cynthia, the main character, didn't really seem to have any interest in the cyber war even though she helped to start it. didn't SHE have all the experience? how does Glenn even have all of this complicated tech, being just a Private Investigator? why are all of these people so smart, yet so young?
just because Cynthia works for the government does not mean that the reader should root for her in that battle. Tim and Garth for presidents 2k19, since they're supergeniuses.
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Yeah that's a good point! Cynthia, Sky and Dan were in all kinds of places throughout the novel, and we saw them in their apartments and got insight into personal details. it's sad how the most interesting characters actually were the ones that only stayed in one room and talked about only one thing!Letora wrote: ↑24 Jul 2019, 08:26I would have loved to see more Tim and Garth. They did have the best personalities out of all the characters, but we didn't get to see them all that much outside of the war room.teddyj wrote: ↑24 Jul 2019, 00:29 The cyber war bit was my favorite part, too - even though nothing made sense, i really liked for Tim and Garth and Glenn to have the spotlight. they seemed to have personalities and voices that stayed the same throughout the book, unlike the title characters. their humor was pretty cheesy but it seemed to fit them. i sorta started to root for them just because of that, even though the stakes weren't high...there actually were none, basically. nothing ever really set them back, or ever set any of them back. Cynthia, the main character, didn't really seem to have any interest in the cyber war even though she helped to start it. didn't SHE have all the experience? how does Glenn even have all of this complicated tech, being just a Private Investigator? why are all of these people so smart, yet so young?
just because Cynthia works for the government does not mean that the reader should root for her in that battle. Tim and Garth for presidents 2k19, since they're supergeniuses.
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