Zero Day

A Jeff Aiken Novel

By: Mark Russinovich

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

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

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.

Well researched, except ...

I found this to be an interesting book. The information about computers and the internet was spot-on, the details about how viruses work seems correct, the characters were well drawn and interesting and the descriptions of what might happen were all computers in the US and Western Europe to suddenly fail both realistic and frightening.

The steps the characters took to try to determine what viruses were at work, what they did and what steps would be needed to stop them all seemed reasonable in light of the computer dependent world we live in today. While there were a few too many coincidences for my liking nothing was completely out of the realm of possibility. My complaints are minor. The books seemed a bit too preachy for my taste, there was a bit too much in the way of technical information for those familiar with the way software works, parts of the book do not lend themselves to narration (the narration of assembler code really does not work. That needs to be seen to be understood) and the author needed to do a bit more research on traveling to Russia. The main characters buy an airline ticket, get their passports and just go. But, of course, US citizens cannot just travel to Russia, they need a visa and that takes special paperwork and time.

Other than those minor items I found the book reasonably interesting without too many glaring issues. All things considered it is a decent (although not great) book about a frightening possibility.

Awesome sci-fi

Really really nice story line and fast pace. One of the best sci-fi books I have listened to so far.

Interesting but flawed

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Russinovich gives us a glimpse into the world of computer hackers and cyber terrorists. But the view is a bit shallow and the world is populated with stereotypes. My primary concern is that Arabs and Muslims are presented in a manner that invites fear of the "enemy within" and will help feed the appetites of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigots. At a time when such bigotry is on the rise (witness the subway murder of a Muslim-looking man in New York City after a vicious anti-Muslim ad campaign was launched), we need less fear mongering.

On the other hand, the intirgue is well constructed and has enough technical material to interest the geeks among us. If it inspires people to increase their own cyber security -- and maintain proper backups -- then it can be deemed a success.

Was only OK. Not suspenseful or terribly creative.

i really liked the idea of the book, but there was something missing. i was hoping to re-live the awesomeness of "daemon" and "Freedom ™" as they are similar in concept, but "Zero Day" didn't seem to have good characters or depth. It's doubtful that i'll listen to the sequel, "Trojan".

Computer Security Thriller

Would you listen to Zero Day again? Why?

Probably. I'd want to share this with friends and family, and if we were on a road trip, this would be one of my first choices to bring. It's not only a good tale, but also stresses the importance of updating your PC to curtail malicious attacks.

What did you like best about this story?

The tech talk throughout the book is spot on. With the author's pedigree, it's no surprise, but to hear is spelled out is both eye-opening and frightening.

What does Johnny Heller bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Mr. Heller brings an almost news headline feel to the story that stresses the urgency of the subject matter.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Having never really listened to a End of Times / "ripped from the headlines" audiobook before, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the book. I also was reinspired to update all aspects of my PC, for fear of infection from malicious software.

Any additional comments?

Two qualms with this book:
1. While most tech terms are defined when brought up, the reading of "code" was too much. The first time was nearly 5 minutes, and there are a few other code readings later in the book. It may be great for a programmer, but not for the average reader.

2. Too many chapters. This book has nearly 80 chapters, most not even 10 minutes long. Hopefully in the next book, Russinovich condenses the chapters a bit.

Great novel for techies!

Great plot and thorough detail without tedium. This story will make you think, is the US really safe from cyber war?