- Paperback: 289 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey Books (18 July 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345485025
- ISBN-13: 978-0345485021
- Product Dimensions: 15.5 x 2 x 23.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,673,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
In the time it takes to read this sentence, Echelon will intercept more than 70,000 phone calls, e-mails, and faxes.
Operated by the National Security Agency, Echelon is the most pervasive global eavesdropping network in history. Today, Echelon will capture three billion electronic communications.
Imagine what it will do tomorrow.
In the near future, war is unknown, conflict has vanished, and life is picture-perfect. Or so it seems. Once merely a surveillance net, Echelon has severed its ties with the United States to become the covert power shaping world affairs. It manipulates the data flow at will, snuffs out dissent, and controls information–and thus the world–with an iron fist. But after years of silent dominance, Echelon stands on the brink of collapse.
Honed, armed, and bioengineered to the hilt, Ryan Laing, a veteran Echelon operator, is thrust into a dark conspiracy to overthrow Echelon and draw the world into new violence and chaos. With his handler, Sarah Peters, a neo-punk hacker out of Scotland, Laing embarks on a desperate race through the halls of power and across the globe–from the flooded beachfront of Venice, California, to a murderous jungle in Southeast Asia–to find out who in Echelon is playing God . . . and what greater hell will soon be unleashed.
Operated by the National Security Agency, Echelon is the most pervasive global eavesdropping network in history. Today, Echelon will capture three billion electronic communications.
Imagine what it will do tomorrow.
In the near future, war is unknown, conflict has vanished, and life is picture-perfect. Or so it seems. Once merely a surveillance net, Echelon has severed its ties with the United States to become the covert power shaping world affairs. It manipulates the data flow at will, snuffs out dissent, and controls information–and thus the world–with an iron fist. But after years of silent dominance, Echelon stands on the brink of collapse.
Honed, armed, and bioengineered to the hilt, Ryan Laing, a veteran Echelon operator, is thrust into a dark conspiracy to overthrow Echelon and draw the world into new violence and chaos. With his handler, Sarah Peters, a neo-punk hacker out of Scotland, Laing embarks on a desperate race through the halls of power and across the globe–from the flooded beachfront of Venice, California, to a murderous jungle in Southeast Asia–to find out who in Echelon is playing God . . . and what greater hell will soon be unleashed.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
starts off with an interesting premise (NSA-type organisation monitors *everything*, rogue agents, shiny tech etc), and started well. Really well.
Then it all seemed to fall apart a bit - the last third was dull in places, badly written in others (switching character viewpoints from paragraph to paragraph on occasion) with a huh? ending that came so far out of left-field, it was practically in the parking lot.
Still, it was fun (mostly) while it lasted. Pick it up if you like shiny tech.
Then it all seemed to fall apart a bit - the last third was dull in places, badly written in others (switching character viewpoints from paragraph to paragraph on occasion) with a huh? ending that came so far out of left-field, it was practically in the parking lot.
Still, it was fun (mostly) while it lasted. Pick it up if you like shiny tech.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
I.E.BookLover
20 July 2006
Format:Paperback
If you are looking for a really good summer page-turner, this is your book. I bought it to take on vacation, but I ended up reading the whole thing before I even left. It is a good mix of adventure, science, science fiction, and suspense, with a bit of steamy romance thrown in. It is definitely cinematic, as the editorial review states. The book also could serve as a timely dialogue on government snooping into the lives of citizens - but it doesn't force any kind of politics down your throat. A good, fun read.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Very decent Sci-Fi Cyberpunk-esq novel!
21 Mar 2007
Format:Paperback
I picked this up at a bookstore on a whim as the title sounded interesting. Turned out to be a little bit different than what I thought. I was expecting this to be more of a current X-Files and got something a little more futuristic. Not that this is a bad thing. Just expect more future tech than current tech.
I thought the book read decently but was not completely smooth. I found sections where some of the action and descriptions got a little bit "muddy". It didn't stop me from finishing the book but I did find that I noticed it. Then again, from the authors description, this is his first novel. Heck, I wish my first novel was this good... :)
I thought the book read decently but was not completely smooth. I found sections where some of the action and descriptions got a little bit "muddy". It didn't stop me from finishing the book but I did find that I noticed it. Then again, from the authors description, this is his first novel. Heck, I wish my first novel was this good... :)
Solid book but struggles to be more than average
26 Sep 2011
Format:Paperback
Echelon is one of those novels that is quite fun while you're reading it and then instantly forgotten once you've finished. It's not bad for what it is - all high-octane, densely plotted stuff packed with boat chases, shootouts, conspiracy and subterfuge for those who like that sort of thing. The problem is, there isn't enough here to make the novel stand out on its own two feet as something unique. It's all very Neuromancer crossed with James Bond without being as good as either. In fact, Conviser's depictions of 'the flow' aren't nearly as convincing as Gibson's portrayal of a digital world and that was written well over twenty years ago before such things as the internet even existed!
You would think that a novel filled with this much action would make me care about what's going on to the main characters, but unfortunately beyond all the explosions and fight scenes there is very little at the heart of this book. A lack of core characters makes it obvious away who the real bad guy is. And a lack of subtext and moral questioning about the implications of Laing's actions leaves the book feeling flat and bland. Personally, I think a much better novel could have been achieved if Conviser had spent more time going into the implications of what he shows us. For example, what's it like coming back from the dead? Was there an afterlife? If not, how does that affect someone's take on life? Laing's attitude of constantly going around like a man with a death wish just seems wrong considering he's already died once.
As said, this isn't a bad book. It's a solid example of its genre, well paced and with consistent writing. But more than anything else, it just didn't excite me very much. To be blunt, I found it hard at times to care about what was happening and quickly got bored while reading it despite the rate at which I was turning those pages. That, more than anything else, is the biggest criticism I can level against this book.
You would think that a novel filled with this much action would make me care about what's going on to the main characters, but unfortunately beyond all the explosions and fight scenes there is very little at the heart of this book. A lack of core characters makes it obvious away who the real bad guy is. And a lack of subtext and moral questioning about the implications of Laing's actions leaves the book feeling flat and bland. Personally, I think a much better novel could have been achieved if Conviser had spent more time going into the implications of what he shows us. For example, what's it like coming back from the dead? Was there an afterlife? If not, how does that affect someone's take on life? Laing's attitude of constantly going around like a man with a death wish just seems wrong considering he's already died once.
As said, this isn't a bad book. It's a solid example of its genre, well paced and with consistent writing. But more than anything else, it just didn't excite me very much. To be blunt, I found it hard at times to care about what was happening and quickly got bored while reading it despite the rate at which I was turning those pages. That, more than anything else, is the biggest criticism I can level against this book.
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