Note: This review is part of the 2016 Summer Reading Diversity Spotlight.
The Silence of Six by E.C. Myers
Release Date: November 5, 2014
Publisher: Adaptive Books
Genre: Young Adult Thriller
ISBN: 978-0996066624
Source: Bought
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“What is the silence of six, and what are you going to do about it?”
These are the last words uttered by 17-year-old Max Stein’s best friend, Evan: Just moments after hacking into the live-streaming Presidential debate at their high school, he kills himself.
Haunted by the image of Evan’s death, Max’s entire world turns upside down as he suddenly finds himself the target of a corporate-government witch-hunt. Fearing for his life and fighting to prove his own innocence, Max goes on the run with no one to trust and too many unanswered questions.
Max must dust off his own hacking skills and maneuver the dangerous labyrinth of underground hacktivist networks, ever-shifting alliances, and virtual identities — all while hoping to find the truth behind the “Silence of Six” before it’s too late.
***
The Silence of Six is the perfect thriller for anyone looking for a good hacker story. After Max’s best friend, Evan kills himself, Max is on a mission to find out why, while he’s on the run from the very people trying to cover Evan’s death up. There’s plenty of edge of your seat chase action, a host of entertaining characters – all distinct and complex, lots of suspense as the mystery of Evan’s death unfolds, and really great imagery as we follow Max on the unwinding path before him.
Once you start reading, I don’t think you’ll want to put this book down until you reach the end. It’s simply that captivating. I really loved the pacing and how easily the story unfolded. I loved that this was somewhat of a political thriller and quite refreshing among the other thrillers that I’ve read in that way.
Max was a really fun main character to follow because he doesn’t have all of the answers and he isn’t your typical hero and he’s reminded of that on much of the journey as he works with hackers better than him. Max was great. As was the diverse group of characters the story includes. The story was great, as was the ending. There were plenty of thought provoking points on society, social media, privacy, and freedom and I loved that the reader is trusted as an intelligent enough reader to both understand what’s happening in the story and come to their own conclusions about the questions raised.
There really is nothing critical I have to say about this story. It works on every level and is really satisfying. What a fun ride! If you need something to read when Mr. Robot goes on hiatus, pick this book up. You’ll be in good company!
The Silence of Six by E.C. Myers is available today.