Dick Thornby is not Hollywood’s idea of a spy. In his rough and tumble job there are no tailored Italian suits, no bimbos eager to please, and no massive underground fortresses built by evil overlords seeking world domination—just an endless series of sinister threats to the safety and security of the billions of mundane citizens of the planet. Sure, Dick’s tough and he knows a few tricks to help … tricks to help him get out of a tight spot, even if his boss accuses him of over-reliance on explosives. But he’s also got a mortgage, a wife upset by his frequent absences on “business” trips, and an increasingly alienated teen-age son who spends way too much time playing in gaming worlds on the computer.
When a mission to bust up an arms exchange in New Zealand goes spectacularly bad, Dick is thrown into a maze of conflict involving Hong Kong arms dealers, cyber-criminals, Chinese government goons, and even militant Maoris. When a young computer expert back at the Philadelphia headquarters for The Subsidiary, an international espionage agency created in the aftermath of 9/11, discovers that the bad guys are involved in a vast conspiracy. Dick is forced to partner with the espionage neophyte to battle evil on multiple fronts, leading to a final confrontation that incorporates real-world conspiracy theories and cutting-edge technology.
In the end, Dick can save his partner, save his marriage, save his son, or save the world, but he can’t do it all.
Says Game Knight Reviews: “This is a spy novel that intersects with the world of MMORPGs and combines a set of topics I haven’t seen before. It is a bit of The DaVinci Code with some James Bond and a modern virtual reality spin. We are not talking Lawnmower Man here. Bingle gets it right, making it more Second Life than true interactive virtual reality.”
Available in trade paperback, ebook, and audiobook versions.
Want to continue the action? Look for Wet Work, the next adventure in the Dick Thornby Thriller series by Writer on Demand TM, Donald J. Bingle.
more
Dick Thornby is the modern day, working man’s James Bond. This was a captivating, suspenseful, fast-paced read that I could not devour quickly enough.
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
Received as a review copy, this is an honest review. Trying to protect the world from malicious organizations has cost Dick his marriage and a bond with his son Seth. When a mission to prevent an arms deal in New Zealand go awry, Dick is drawn into a dangerous world of deadly criminals seeking power. But it’s no longer the world that Dick has to protect but that of Seth as well. Highly recommended thrill ride.
it was amazing
Thoroughly enjoyable, fast paced story, well narrated to hold your interest. A good deal of character development in a relatively short timeframe, and a great twists and turns storyline that spans the globe – virtually.
My highest recommendation – 5 stars!!
Rick is a spy. Not the smooth and sophisticated spy seen in movies. He’s a gritty, do what it takes kind of spy. His wife thinks he has a (literally) crappy job and nags because he’s never home.
His world’s collide when his son accidentally gets in trouble with cyber criminals and it all blows up.
I liked the way the author let me see how Dick’s thoughts flowed, really get into his head, so to speak.
This book was a marvelous surprise. It has far more depth to the story than I expected after reading the description. The opening makes you think it might be a different kind of story than it is, and you don’t know everything that’s going on until close to the end. It really was fantastic. This is now my favorite spy story ever. All the action is there, but so much more as well. I received a free review copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. A lot of information I did not know about what is going on in the cyber world, the gaming industry, and the alternative currency field. The story follows agents delving into the cyber world and danger is not far behind. I would recommend.
This had some twits and turns. The story was a stretch but it was fun to read.
Well written.
Lots of intrigue and kept me from putting it down! The surprise ending was great!
From the summary, it sounded like this one would be right up my alley. I’m not sure what it was, but i just couldn’t get into this story. It was a challenge for me to get to the end.
The narration, by Bruce Pilkenton, was well done. The pace was varied to enhance the changes in level of action.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.
This is a difficult review for me. This book should be everything I love. An intersection of Spycraft and gaming, a not-so-perfect agent, combined into a mystery/suspense/thriller novel. In some respects, I enjoyed Bruce Pilkerton’s narration. He has a wide variety of voices, accents, and emotions. Yet, somehow, I really struggled to get into the story and Pilkerton’s portrayal of the characters. I found myself constantly starting and stopping and having to remind myself to go back to it.
At about the 50% mark, I opted to just read it myself and things vastly improved. Bingle definitely has a talent at bringing together a huge cast of diverse characters and what initially seemed like unrelated events into a compelling thriller. It crossed a lot of genres – but in a way that I personally enjoyed. As a gamer myself, the MMORPG aspect was enjoyable and it was a treat to experience Dick’s uncertainty in that world.
This isn’t a cliffhanger, but Bingle does leave some loose ends in secondary storylines. I’m looking forward to reading Wet Work.
Narration:
I really think that this was an issue of the specific combination of this narrator with this story not working for me. I would be willing to listen to Pilkerton again, probably in a different genre.
I own the ebook, but did receive a free copy of this audiobook from Story Origin and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
I was lost early in the book until I realized action was taking place in two different worlds. Avatars in the virtual world represented people in the real world, and you don’t get a menu for the mapping. The characters are all well-developed, though not all are likeable. The style of writing makes for quick reading while still providing good imagery. While the story is all about the violence and action, the main thrust is on the relationship between Thornby and his family. Not every issue is resolved in the book, but a promising door remains open. The narrative follows different characters at different times, and the virtual world and real world are not necessarily in alignment. The action scenes are well depicted, and the dialogue between characters is very realistic. This is one of those stories where you get to the end and say “Wow! What did I just read.”
Net Impact, the first book in the Dick Thornby series by the author is an attempt to try to be too many things to too many people. I don’t think a book can be a good action/thriller and a good GameLit/LitRPG at the same time, and I’m afraid that the author tried too hard to make this happen. I think the book started well, with the protagonist breaking up an arms exchange in New Zealand, but then I get lost. We get a glimpse of his marital troubles and as the blurb says “a maze of conflict” that eventually leads Dick to the Subsidiary.
It seemed to me at this point the storyline tried to be too much and I think I found myself listening to GameLit which isn’t bad, but the juvenile, 12-year-old-boy humor about male sexual organs immediately takes this book out of the class of the Da Vinci Code.
I don’t think the genre mash-up worked for me, but having received an audio version, I would say the narration was very good. Thanks to the author and StoryOrigins for the review copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving this review.