Synopsis
The follow up to Invasion of Privacy, Taking up Serpents is another techno-thriller in Ian Sutherland’s Brody Taylor series. It continues the story of Brody, a white hat hacker this time following up on things that happen in the previous novel. Brody is on the hunt to stop a hacking organization that has threatened his life after his past escapades, and stumbles onto clues from a recently deceased friend. Again, Brody is off to solve a mystery while his girlfriend solves more physical crimes that ends up colliding with Brody.
My Reaction
This novel has a lot of the same great beats as the previous novel: realistic use of technology, insight into the life of professional hackers, and absurd drama to drive the story forward. The romance picks up a bit in this novel which is not exactly what I was hoping for. However, the novel balances that out by touching on more diverse topics such as computer forensics and malicious programming.
Recommendation
If you’re looking for a break from the real world stories that haunt our cyber lives, this is a great reprieve. Even if you are not a techy, there is not a lot that would be considered technobabble, but enough to make the well initiated happy.