Review: Netwars - The Code by M. Sean Coleman

Netwars - The Codeby M. Sean Coleman
Bastei Entertainment
JKSCommunications

Looking for a contemporary thriller with an SF feel? Look no further.

In this first episode of six, the author takes us aboard a plane where the pilot, Antony Price--a CEO of security software--is rich and peddles child porn. He receives the following message in flight:

"You will never know me, but I will be the death of you.
I saw what you did -- I see everything you do.
I heard what you said -- I know your secrets.
I know where you went -- I follow you everywhere.
You are not above scrutiny -- I scrutise everything.
You are not above the law -- I am the law.
Don't ask for forgiveness, nor pardon, nor grace.
Just understand this: If you cannot live by the Code, you must die by the Code.

Strider."

The flight goes down after the chilling if slightly long-winded mysterious sentence is decreed.

Mitchell, aka Strider, is the cyberpunk vigilante of  the world, wielding his own brand of justice to society's secret criminals. Coleman grips us by the throat from the first page. The chararcterization and breadth (that intangible quality that the extends beyond the novel's borders) is not this work's forte. Expect a sharp delineation between good guys and bad. But then thrillers aren't especially known for their characters.

The author promises an in-depth look at cyber security as it is today with information available at his website.