Synapse

The book is a quick read. It dumbs down many of the complex cyber security concepts into an accessible manner, with diagrams and charts. Anyone would get it regardless of their familiarity with the matter. I liked how the author incorporated details about Asian culture and religious harmony in a great, tasteful way, especially with the interaction between the friends.

The author gave an unnecessary backstory for a side character, I felt that could have been avoided. Coming to the story itself, it’s kind of weak. The fast pace feels alright at the start, but by the end, it feels like everything resolved too quickly. Plus, the story is too simple to be really engaging. I feel like if they raised the stakes up and the made the novel a little longer and fleshed out, it would have been much better. So overall, it falls flat and can only serve as a quick, simplified PSA about the scope of new age cyber crimes, something which is a little more for fun and warm to read than an article.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing the advance copy for review.