{4.5\/5} “Large swaths of the global economy were, it now seemed, being remapped onto their T’Rain equivalents so that they could be transacted in a Medieval Armed Combat setting. Demonstrable improvements in productivity were being trumpeted every day on the relevant section of Corporation 9592’s website (by a medieval herald, naturally, and with an actual trumpet).”<\/p>\n
Reamde<\/strong> by Neal Stephenson, published in 2011<\/p>\n Richard is co-owner of a profitable computer game called T’Rain. Everything is going great when his niece’s boyfriend sells stolen credit card numbers to a man working for a Russian mobster. A virus called “Reamde” attacks the man’s computer and the mobster heads to China, with the niece and boyfriend, to kill the hacker who made the virus.<\/p>\n It’s about what happens when you unluckily get involved with Russian mobsters, Chinese hackers, and Muslim jihadists. It’s about using your skills — whether those of a spy, a hacker, a millionaire who used to run drugs over the border, or a regular person — to solve the problems thrown at you.<\/p>\n Despite its length, it’s nonstop action — like a James Clavell novel.<\/p>\n In terms of technothrillers, this is a terrific one. In terms of Stephenson novels, it won’t quite blow you away like the others — but it’s still well worth reading.<\/p>\n