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

An interesting tech-takes-over series.

Zero Day and the 2 following books form a cohesive and frightening potential future look at what could happen in tech should bad guys take over.

However, about half way through the second book it grew stale.

The third book was a yawn.

Hard to recommend the series, but I did enjoy this first book.

Fun & learn a little about computer security

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

The events talked about in the book are happening now!

What did you like best about this story?

The characters are very strong and you care about them.

Which scene was your favorite?

The standoff in the apartment in Russia.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The references to 9/11.

Any additional comments?

Look forward to the next book.

an interesting read for computer geeks

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

I would read another

Would you be willing to try another book from Mark Russinovich? Why or why not?

I would try another. topic interests me

What aspect of Johnny Heller’s performance would you have changed?

liked his performance

Any additional comments?

enjoyed the development and computer knowledge but thought it ended abruptly

Just enough wrong..

The other got just enough wrong to be annoying. Really wanted to like this one.

Please don't read me the code

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

Yes if the friend is a grear-head
No if interested in a fast paced thriller which, by the way, this one could have become

What could Mark Russinovich have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Build the characters better and buld suspence without reading endless code YIKES

What aspect of Johnny Heller’s performance would you have changed?

Good job

Could you see Zero Day being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Never would happed

Well read, but a little thin.

Mark Russinovich (if you don’t know) is a legendary programmer, one of the small number of great programmers, that has contributed tools to the IT community, so vital modern admins, life without them would be much more frustrating.

So I was looking forward to a book that got the tech right, most authors are comically bad at tech, even when it plays a central role in the story.

He does get the tech right, but other areas are thin, there’s not enough attention payed to the mundane, to allow you to really be transported, so it’s a lot like watching a spy movie.

It’s not a bad story, and I enjoyed it, but about 2/3 through I started to wounded when it would end, and I never really felt part of it.

The narration is top flight, super-talent

Technically accurate but pedestrian

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Lose the opening sex scene. It's laughably bad. It's also unrelated to everything that follows. I can only guess that the editor told the author that the book needed more sex, so the author grafted on this clumsy scene.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

A little bit of a letdown. It's hard to explain without revealing too much. Let's just say that I disagree with the author about how many systems would be patched.

What about Johnny Heller’s performance did you like?

It's competent and professional. He only had a few mispronounced words. The problem is, they were technical terms. It's a little jarring, and it suggests that he didn't always understand what he was reading. However, he did pronounce the majority of technical terms correctly, so his occasional mistake is forgivable.
My bigger complaint, and it's the reason I docked him one star, is that his voice is a bit harsh and grating. Not enough to make it difficult to listen to, but just enough that you wish somebody more melodious had this gig.

Do you think Zero Day needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not really. It wasn't compelling enough. It's a dime-a-dozen thriller. The only difference is that this is one of the few that gets the technology correct. We need more of those.

Techno-Thriller

This is an interesting and fun story; narration was well done; quite relevant in this day and age of rapid technological development.

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.