CIA operatives, al- Qaeda terrorists, Neo-Nazis, unscrupulous IT consultants and bumbling bankers are all expertly portrayed in Roland Hughes’ timely novel Infinite Exposure. Hughes, whose previous works have been in the IT field, has taken his intimate knowledge of the computer world and weaved it into a book that takes the reader into a frightening realm of possibilities where nuclear war is just one computer keystroke away.
Infinite Exposure opens in the Middle East with the interrogation of Nedim, a “good Muslim.” Is he a terrorist or are those interrogating him the rebels? The answer comes quickly as the reader is shown the workings of an al-qaeda cell through the words and thoughts of Nedim. The action quickly jumps to those following the terrorists and then hops overseas to America where Kent, a naive director of First Global Bank and his savvy assistant Margaret are being wooed by Big Four Consulting. Along the way, Hughes introduces the Brit, Hans, and Nikolaus, a member of the Reformed Nazi Party, all of whom play important roles in the forthcoming meltdown.
As the plot builds, Big Four Consulting has convinced First Global Bank to ‘off-shore’ all of their IT operations as a cost savings measure. Kent, who is oblivious to anything related to IT, doesn’t understand the ramifications and is only concerned with a possible move to a corner office. Soon, First Global has sold their data centers and outsourced to India, where workers are not vetted by the FBI, SEC, FDIC or other government agencies. With al-Qaeda lurking in the background, what will happen to sensitive data, such as credit card information, that is kept at these centers? Will terrorists be able to extract data to sell, thus making money to buy a cache of weapons and possibly even nuclear waste to build a dirty bomb?
Hughes has written a riveting story that looks at what could happen as more and more US businesses take advantage of cost savings by using off-shore companies to manage much of their data. All too frequently, those with a scientific background tend to use a very concise, analytical style of writing which does not usually lend itself well to novels, but the author overcomes that with a fluid, easy style that builds believable characters and situations. Although there is a fair amount of technical information presented throughout the book, Hughes takes it down to the reader’s level and although it may require the reader to slow down at these sections, it is certainly understandable.
Quill says: A mesmeric look at a possible world-wide terror attack.
