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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?

Very much so! It’s late in the book when the hit a slight hiccup from America. Even that is solved easily and they remain pretty much anonymous. Even if the other side couldn’t get at them to slow them down they would have threatened something. I thought that this book was just surface level across the board. It touched on many things but didn’t fully develop plots in those areas which I think made it lacking.

SolemUmbra wrote: ↑03 Jul 2019, 14:17 Very much so! It’s late in the book when the hit a slight hiccup from America. Even that is solved easily and they remain pretty much anonymous. Even if the other side couldn’t get at them to slow them down they would have threatened something. I thought that this book was just surface level across the board. It touched on many things but didn’t fully develop plots in those areas which I think made it lacking.

I completely agree. Even the storylines with Cynthia and her love interests never really developed. It was like they were there one chapter and gone the next.

What kind of conflict/difficulty do you think the author should have included to both keep the pace of the book while making it more realistic?

I agree with you but to be totally honest with you that happened so late in a book and I was already annoyed with it so I really don't care about cyberwar. I just wanted to be over with it. But now thinking about it it does sounds simplistic.

It sounded easy but you would have the education and computer and the other equipment to be able to do the work of a cyber war. So I really disagree that it would be easy even if the book made it look easy.

It sounded easy but you would have the education and have a computer and the other equipment to be able to do the work of a cyber war. So I really disagree that it would be easy even if the book made it look easy.

ChaosofaMadHatter wrote: ↑05 Jul 2019, 18:12 What kind of conflict/difficulty do you think the author should have included to both keep the pace of the book while making it more realistic?

They could have been hacked by the opposing side and had to combat them. Maybe even had threats made to them, or have them make mistakes and cause more damage than good at times. There are many ways that conflict could have been added.

I thought that the CyberWar was not only too easy, but reflected an imperfect understanding of the complex politics and labels associated with the Middle East conflict. The term "terrorist" was thrown around very casually, and only specified two different groups operating in the Middle East; ISIS and Al Qaeda. Even when the author mentioned their names, it was like she didn't understand how they operated, especially in relation to Iran. I just find it hard to believe two college students, no matter how smart or gifted they are, could pull off short-circuiting all of Iran's "top-secret" computer systems. Maybe I misunderstood, but what was the point of the these computer systems? Also, why were they all in the same place?

a-b-c- wrote: ↑07 Jul 2019, 11:56 It sounded easy but you would have the education and computer and the other equipment to be able to do the work of a cyber war. So I really disagree that it would be easy even if the book made it look easy.

I definitely think it wouldn't be easy. I certainly wouldn't have a clue how to hack into anything I think the book made it look too easy and it should have been more realistic.

I completely agree, there's lots of buildup that I keep expecting there to be something huge happening. But I think, as I've said on other threads, that part of this is due to a honest lack of understanding of technology and how a cyber war would actually be waged as opposed to a conscious choice by the author.

The book surely made it sound too easy; however, I think a lot of technology know-how is needed to plan and execute a cyber war. Maybe the author should have researched a little more before she wrote these parts of the book?

Although the cyber war was my favorite part of the book I agree it was made to sound too easy. At least I hope it's not that easy! I think more research into it should have been done by the author. Unless you are a major computer whiz cyberwar would be some tough stuff to write about!

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?

I completely agree. I kept waiting for the big event, the drama, the suspense and it just never came. I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest.

Samy Lax wrote: ↑08 Jul 2019, 01:26 The book surely made it sound too easy; however, I think a lot of technology know-how is needed to plan and execute a cyber war. Maybe the author should have researched a little more before she wrote these parts of the book?

I think a little research would have gone a long way. Good point! Now putting all the technical language into something easily read, that might be a challenge.