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John Hampel

Autor(a) de Glass House 51

3 Works 23 Membros 3 Reviews

Obras de John Hampel

Glass House 51 (2001) 12 cópias
Viva Panama: A New Sea-Level Canal (1996) 1 exemplar(es)

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When John Hampel wrote Glass House 51 his goal was an updated version of 1984. What makes his take on the future so chilling now, is the current controversy on exactly how much personal information the government is collecting on all of us. In Glass House 51 the giant banking corporation AlphaBanc is collecting, storing, and using all kinds of information about their employees - and many other citizens. Richard Clayborne is an employee on the fast track to the inner echelon of AlphaBanc. But what exactly are the plans these power-hungry men (and woman) have and does Richard really want to be a part of these plans? And have they revealed their true reasons for wanting to catch the Gnome, a coding genius?

I had to chuckle at Hampel's description of the programmers AlphaBanc seeks:
“But seriously, it is the ones who fail to show up for the interviews, those who favor long hair down to their shoulders—or are shaved completely bald—and wear the same wretched plaid lumberjack shirt for weeks on end because they are positively glued to their workstations, those are the ones we seek out.” (Location 1277-1279)

Take note of the following quote:
“Well then the world we live in now is totally crazy—and really frightening,” said Clayborne. “Is that the trade-off today? Personal freedom, the right to privacy, sacrificed for our fight against terrorism?”
“Right now it is. I have to admit that even I was kind of freaked out about the, uh, incredible surveillance technology out there, but now,” the Epenguin yawned, “I guess I’m just resigned to it..." (Location 1708-1711)

The absolute most chilling thing about Glass House 51 and AlphaBanc is the news while reading it. The collection of information on average citizens, the targeting of certain citizens, the complicity of technology companies in granting access to collect information, the new game system requiring a camera which is potentially always watching and listening ... Good golly! It is well on it's way to the new 1984 in John Hampel's Glass House 51. That's maybe all I want to say because this book review is probably already being flagged for my mention of this surveillance.

highly recommended

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Bzff Books via Netgalley for review purposes.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
SheTreadsSoftly | outras 2 resenhas | Mar 21, 2016 |
The novel, current with today’s headlines, concerns about individual privacy, government agencies persecuting political factions, provides a fictional, futuristic story of how our concerns may very well be justified. Naturally, there is license so that we can have a gripping as well as thought provoking story, at least I hope it is license and not the current state. The plot consists of computerized data collection from everyone run by a mega-bank for profit which, in turn, is run by amoral people. So all Google needs to do to fulfill the author’s premise is to become a bank! I believe that this is not only an entertaining read but one that can be considered as seriously as Orwell’s work as an expression of concern for our future. Recommend it highly.… (mais)
 
Marcado
dmclane | outras 2 resenhas | Jun 14, 2013 |
GLASS HOUSE 51 is modern Big Brother, apocalyptic science fiction thriller. Not only can the reader see todays technology thriving throughout the story, but also a few things that are around the bend, just not publicly seen at this time. It offers us a different take on apocalyptic times foretold in the Bible with the mark, by integrating modern barcodes and an implant which allows for mind control by the Alphabanc executives. Best of all, the glass house is a twist the reader doesn't see coming.
In the story, Alphabanc is the huge corporation attempting to control the world with plans for a grand unification in todays world. The people running Alphabanc have created a computerised system, nicnamed "the Beast", which has access to everything a person does via his computer trail and what they can't find on the computerised highway, they can dig up via cameras posted throughout society, as well as in the persons home. From the information gathered, the executives running Alphabanc have plans to control the world and keep themselves at the top.
Although the story was a little slow in the beginning, it picks up and before you know it you're at the epiloge wondering where the time went. It leaves the reader thinking that maybe, just maybe all this technology in our daily lives does more harm than good, especially when it is in the hands of the wrong people.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
Teritree001971 | outras 2 resenhas | May 4, 2013 |

Estatísticas

Obras
3
Membros
23
Popularidade
#537,598
Avaliação
½ 4.3
Resenhas
3
ISBNs
5