The Digital Plague

Great adventure. You must read the first book first or this sequel will make no sense.

OK look. I LIKE this guy Somers even though he is a tool of the political-industrial complex preparing us for life in the new world order. I have to admit being a tad upset about this book though. I had planned to read a chapter or two before bedtime to let the book last. So I started off fine. And kept reading. And kept reading "one more chapter..." and then I got about halfway through and decided I had to get some sleep. I turned off the light and found myself unable to sleep until I finished the darn thing. Now I am very tired. Curse you Somers! Anyway, this guy Jeff has created some interesting characters and an interesting world. It reads very well, and most important of all is it is fun! Now, where's the next one? Hmmmmm?

Another excellent Avery Cates adventure. High-octane intensity that doesn't let up until the end. Fantastic!

I found TDP to be an excellent sequel to an already outstanding work. Being able to watch Avery evolve over the course of these two books has been most enjoyable. I think that Jeff employs a near perfect mix of tragedy, action, suspense and even dark humor to make stories that are completely entertaining. He has created a gritty, hard edged cyberpunk future that continues to hold the imagination captive. Never before have I been captured by such a vivid reality in the written word. This book continues Avery's story with an element of revenge and an awesome yet unexpected plot twist that makes for terrific reading. I can't wait to see what's in store for Avery next. As with TEC I recommend this book to anyone who is looking to read a good story by a talented author who has a great future ahead of him. Bravo for a job well done.

"I was going to have to kill a whole lot of people." So starts off Sommers's sequel to The Electric Church putting the reader right back with Avery Cates who again finds himself in the hotseat with the Monks. This time his long-time friend, Kev Gatz has teamed up with techno-geek Ty Keith to infect him with nanobots that multiply at an auspicious rate, destroying the body and killing the host within a few days, later reanimating the body into biological zombie robots. The catch is he is patient zero and though he alone can kill the world, he won't die from the nanobots because of a special code written into the tiny computers. As Cates delves deeper into the mystery, he finds an unlikely source of help in a ghost SSF officer, a new techie, and a Spook telekinetic. Though the King Worm never makes an appearance, Dick Marin saves Cates many times throughout the novel by having his name on a Person of Interest list that forbids any police or military officer to kill him. The plot stretches over 10 days, and during that time Cates is beat up, breaks his leg, gets sick, and realizes he is getting old. Sommers does a good job keeping Cates's pain at the forefront of the story, never letting the reader feel comfortable when identifying with Cates. There are some ironic twists in the plot with more gore and less action and technology than The Electric Church. Overall, it is a good sophomore book. The third book in the series, The Eternal Prison, is due out in 2009.