The Doomsday Virus

A techno-thriller classic!

This breathtaking novel, set against the backdrop of the software world and the Internet, takes you on a thrill ride from Massachusetts to California. Marty Gladstone and TJ Gatwick are two powerful software entrepreneurs in a race to be first to market with a new operating system. The influential Silicon Valley journalist, Erin Keliher, can make or break either product. But her loyalty shifts as she gets involved with one of the two men.

Then everything goes haywire: Erin becomes the reluctant conduit for a brilliant yet warped computer hacker named Doomsday who has created a virus that is virtually unstoppable. The FBI tries to track Doomsday down to no avail. Finally, the Feds urgently appeal to Marty and TJ to put aside their differences and work together to thwart the efforts of this notorious cyberterrorist... before the Doomsday Virus takes down the country's entire financial infrastructure.

Fast paced and exciting... technologically sophisticated... sexy... a fascinating inside look at the world of computer hackers... good characters and a heck of a good story!

Published in 2003, this sizzling novel predicted cyberterrorism and seems shockingly real. THE DOOMSDAY VIRUS was a finalist in the 2004 Book of the Year Awards sponsored by ForeWord magazine, which reviews independent and small press books.

Read excerpts from this review!

Even though I would describe myself as somewhat of a computer novice, Barry Silverstein¹s novel The Doomsday Virus captured my attention, thrilled and chilled me, and made me a whole lot smarter about the potentially devastating problem of computer viruses that could literally wipe out our computer-dependent financial, communications and intelligence infrastructures.

This is one solid thriller, a real page-turner that had me up until the wee hours waiting to see what happened next. I loved the technology stuff, even being the simple layperson I am, and really became emotionally invested in the battle between the two software giants and their race to create the perfect virus protection software. But what really grabbed me was Silverstein's clever use of framing his story against true historical events, including many infamous computer viruses of the past ten years such as Melissa, Pandora, and Code Red.

This book has it all; tension, technology, romance, thrills, rivalry, a great ending that leaves everything wide open for a sequel, and characters you can get behind and either love or hate. The Doomsday Virus may be fiction, but it is about a clear and present danger we all face every single time we turn on our computer. That's what chilled me to the bone most of all.

© 2003 by Marie D. Jones for Curled Up With a Good Book
Reviewed by Curled Up With a Good Book, Oct. 2003 (www.curledup.com)