Zero Day

A Jeff Aiken Novel

By: Mark Russinovich

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

A technothriller for the malware and Stuxnet era

An airliner’s controls abruptly fail mid-flight over the Atlantic. An oil tanker runs aground in Japan when its navigational system suddenly stops dead. Hospitals everywhere have to abandon their computer databases when patients die after being administered incorrect dosages of their medicine. In the Midwest, a nuclear power plant nearly becomes the next Chernobyl when its cooling systems malfunction.

At first, these random computer failures seem like unrelated events. But Jeff Aiken, a former government analyst who quit in disgust after witnessing the gross errors that led up to 9/11, thinks otherwise. Jeff fears a more serious cyber terrorism attack targeting the United States computer infrastructure is already under way. And as other menacing computer malfunctions pop up around the world, some with deadly results, he realizes that there isn’t much time if he hopes to prevent an international catastrophe.

Written by a global authority on cyber security, Zero Day presents a chilling “what if” scenario that, in a world completely reliant on technology, is more than possible today - it’s a cataclysmic disaster just waiting to happen.

©2011 Mark Russinovich (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Save The World? Um, OK… Thrillers Do Dat!

Will this intrepid group realize the world's threatened? Will they discover a motive? An antidote? The method? Will they survive? Will the world? Will an inexorable clock run out first? Has this story ever been told before? Hey? How many stories are there, right?

So okay you can sort of guess where this is all going, but… but… Russinovich writes it well enough, and Johnny Heller reads it well enough. And I'll forget it all tomorrow, but right now… Hey, it was fun. Tense. VERY cinematic and… worth the price. Sure… enjoy it. And maybe this world populated ONLY by knock-out-beautiful women and full-on-hunk men won't be saved by the end… Maybe…

I'll buy another Russinovich, which is a good review…. Right?

Be afraid, be very afraid

What made the experience of listening to Zero Day the most enjoyable?

Talking computereze. Some parts were a bit technical but for one who spent their career in IT, it was enjoyable and hit home, HARD. This may be fiction but if you know about computer security and the issues facing global Internet connection, then this book is really non-fiction and reminds you what a scary world it is when you connect it together electronically. The Internet is anything but safe and this book drives that message home with a sledge hammer. Good guys and bad, a lone person or massive government agencies of nearly every description want information or to do harm or both, be it financial, military or any other kind that is kept in systems that are hooked to the Internet (and sometimes not) and not be detected . This book centers on Internet-centric crime that focuses on those persons and institutions that create these weapons of computer code and those that work to oppose them.

The size of Internet crime is beyond the publics' wildest imagination. If you have a PC and have anti-virus software then you have the first step in understanding that the virus that infects your PC is minuscule compared to what is out there to do harm undetected, let alone unexpected. This book is disturbing in the ability to tie recent 'in the news' real world computer crime to how it can affect us in every aspect of our daily lives.

You would do well to check the Wiki-pedia entry for the author. He knows of which he writes. This makes the book all the more scary and credible. Hate to say enjoyable unless the definition of enjoyable includes discomfort. Again, I see this as a fiction story wrapped in non-fiction. If you read it, you will grasp what I mean. If you want to be shaken at the core for your naivete about the dark side of the Internet you need to read this book. If you already know the score, this ties together the enormity of the issues. If you are technical no problem but if you are technically challenged then this will be a very hard read. But if you use the Internet, avoid this book at your own peril. Am so glad I retired before Internet crime exploded. Sad because the Internet has opened Pandora's box to the world.

Oh, there is a love story and a couple instances of gratuitous sex. If that offends..get over it.

What other book might you compare Zero Day to and why?

The author's other book: Trojan Horse. The sequel to Zero Day. If the first book didn't make an impression, then Trojan Horse will...or should. Both books really could be combined and that bothers me not at all.

What about Johnny Heller’s performance did you like?

At first, nothing. But got over it. Johnny is a bit laid back and with this story that is not a bad thing. Some of the impressions of foreign bad persons are a bit over the top but sometimes a little dramatic reading brings the book to life. Mostly what I liked was the ability to concentrate on the story, not the reading. For me, essential. A solid four stars.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. This book was very hard to pause. One session well over four hours. Again, fully appreciated all aspects of the story. One into which I could sink my inner geek.

Might get the tech stuff right...but not the story

Would you try another book from Mark Russinovich and/or Johnny Heller?

I might as well try book 2...hoping for something better

What do you think your next listen will be?

Today

What three words best describe Johnny Heller’s performance?

Same. Character. Voices

Was Zero Day worth the listening time?

Not sure why it was determined to say every part of the code in the book to the reader. Mr. Heller must have thought "this is ridiculous" Alot of characters came into the story. The voice narration never changed up much. Everything was about the Russians in the beginning. For instance..."Hey, who stole that bread!?" "Must be the Russians!" This book got boring fast.

Any additional comments?

Why does every nerd book have sex? Felt like the author was projecting something. Some parts of the book made no sense. It made no sense to the point I am going to listen to book 2 just to get the taste out of my mouth.

Listened to this for the second time.

This is a wonderful fast pace book for road trips. The story gives a lot to think about.

Zero Day ,not a zero

What did you love best about Zero Day?

The way computer hackers were intertwined

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

A very interesting and steady listen

Which scene was your favorite?

all about the same

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Awful performance

The narrator mispronounces the word 'malware' which will become grating as this is a book about cyber-terrorists using malware.

great book

Great book. Will definitely follow through any subsequent titles! This was the first book in the series

Went the wrong way

I feel like the really interesting part of this idea, all the problems that follow on a failure of the digital world and computerized systems, was glazed over in favor of how viruses work and a poorly written ethno-political motivation of digital attack.

wake up call

Would you listen to Zero Day again? Why?

the action is thrilling - the threat is real

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

details were up to date and correct

It's okay

It's an interesting subject and the premise is plausible but I found it a little long for the story to unravel. The ending was not as dramatic as it could / should be and this left me a little flat at the end.