Chuck Wendig needs little introduction, he’s an admitted pen-monkey and lives and breathes story and the written word. In Zer0es, Chuck takes a look at a world Twenty Minutes into the Future and a group of hackers who are corralled by NSA Agent Hollis Cooper to do the NSA’s dirty work. They are Chance Dalton, picked up just as he was being beaten up by the football players he exposed as rapists; Aleena Kattan, DeAndre Mitchell, Wade Earthman, an old school hacker, and perhaps one of the most annoying characters I can recall encountering in SFF, Reagan Stolper. The hackers, who dub themselves zer0es, are brought to The Lodge to infiltrate America’s enemies, it is either that or serve time in prison so the choice is pretty easy. As the plot rolls along the zer0es form an odd bond, a second family almost. Working more closely together, something more frightening than they imagined becomes apparent.
I’ve read only a fraction of Chuck’s prodigious output so I had some expectations – well drawn characters, great plotting, with a solid through line of sinister throughout. On those counts, I was not disappointed. Because Zer0es is essentially an SF thriller, it is difficult to speak too much on the plot without damaging others reading experiences. The novel begins by introducing each character through their apprehension by Agent Cooper; here Chuck did a great job of making each of these characters unique and provided a solid foundation for their participation in the plot/story and later character development. Building on the solid base built for the characters, Wendig does a great job of revealing more depth to the characters, the backstory that led them to come together. He also mixes them up very nicely as they get to know each other and their pasts are revealed to each other (voluntarily or otherwise). As such, their bonds strengthen with these revelations and their common goal becomes more plausibly attainable and even Reagan comes to be a more endearing member of the group.
As the plot develops, dividing lines begin to crop up. A wild-card hacker named Shane Graves enters the fray, his only goal seems to be to cause chaos. He makes for a good antagonist to Chase. As our heroes continue working for the NSA, they come to realize thirteen prominent scientific and theoretical figures have gone missing, one of whom has strong connections to our group of zer0es, and are thought to be dead. Once our band of misfits realize the dark currents floating under their already problematic situation, they band together even more tightly to confront the source of those dark currents, an NSA “program” with the name Typhon. Wendig pulls you in with the familiar hacker-thriller (hell, just look at most of televised drama procedurals, there’s one “hacker” turned government team player on each ensemble cast or the show Person of Interest) only to rip away that security with something horrific.
The novel ends with both closure and a seed for a potential next volume. I’ve come to enjoy the characters even Reagan whose annoyances became less so with the plot’s forward movement, how they interact, and with Chuck’s great storytelling skills, I’m definitely aboard for the more stories featuring any of these characters – even Reagan.
Recommended
© 2015 Rob H. Bedford
Hardcover, August 2015, 432 Pages
ISBN 978-0-062-35155-5
http://terribleminds.com/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/08/09/zer0es-all-the-news-in-the-lead-up-to-launch/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Harper Voyager
