The Children's Game by Max Karpov
Arcade Publishing: 3/13/18
eBook review copy; 384 pages
ISBN-13:
9781510734814
The Children's Game by Max Karpov is a highly recommended
geo-political thriller, both timely and insightful, involving a Russian
cyberattack on America.
Intelligence has learned that a cyberattack is imminent - perhaps
already started. The attack is code-named the "Children’s
Game," which is a chess strategy that results in a checkmate in four
moves. The attack itself has been in the making for a long time and was
the plan of
Andrei Turov, a Russian billionaire and former FBS officer. He
recruited operative Ivan Delkoff to organize the "game." In it public
opinion will be manipulated by informants spreading misinformation and
fake news about a breaking news event, which will be followed by
hackers and a cyberattack. This propaganda attack, via Russian hacker
"science farms," will allow the Kremlin to take advantage of the freedom
our republic gives the media and citizens, and use it to twist the
truth in an effort to destroy us while restoring Russia's greatness.
Success is not a forgone conclusion, because the USA has a team to
counteract the attack. Christopher Niles is called back to work on the
case immediately. Niles, a former CIA intelligence officer, is on
vacation in Greece with Anna Carpenter, a US senator and his
significant other, when he is called away to talk to an informant in
London. He ends up returning back to work from retirement Niles joins
forces with Jon, his journalist half-brother who is also a special
forces operative, and Anna, who has her own inside connections in the
intelligence community, in order to uncover Turov's plot.
This is a well-written, fast paced, and timely thriller that explores
the relationship between the USA and Russia. I would point out to casual
readers that The Children's Game is really for fans of geo-political espionage thrillers. Karpov (a
pseudonym for James Lilliefors) spent years researching US-Russian
relationships while writing this thriller, and the research and
attention to details shines through. What is especially relevant
and chillingly plausible is the whole concept of using a cyberattack to
spread misinformation and fake news. Hello... During this time as the
media twists things to suit their agenda already, how carefully do
people check facts before spreading misinformation? How often do you
pass on a meme or quick blurb before checking the validity of the
information? If you are honest, not much... not
much at all. And how susceptible are we to a similar attack of fake news
happening and running out of control. Frighteningly, alarmingly close.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Arcade Publishing.
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