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    Joe is Online
    Joe is Online
    Joe is Online
    Ebook461 pages6 hours

    Joe is Online

    By Chris Wimpress

    4/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A speculative fiction novel told entirely through emails, blogs, text messages and diary entries.

    Once Joe is online the world begins to change, and not for the better.

    The story weaves between Joe's gradual transition from a disturbed and lonely teenager to the orchestrator of an online cult, and the efforts of Penny Hunt, a cyberterrorism expert, to track him down and stop him.

    Spanning continents and decades, in 'Joe is Online' you'll meet a nefarious internet psychic, a evangelical tele-atheist and glimpse a world which seems just around the corner.

    Praise for 'Joe is Online' -

    "As Joe's crimes escalate, his and Penelope's paths cross in cyberspace. When the timeline of "Joe is Online" progresses into the future, we enter the realm of speculative fiction, as Wimpress builds on the themes of cyberspace, cults, and terrorism, theorizing what the future might hold were someone to combine the worst of each of these areas." (Big Al's Books and Pals)

    "The threads gradually join up, linking various characters over a long period of time, drawing them into the exact moment where Joe Brady's world must either explode, or be shut down." (Reader's Favourite)

    "This novel does a thing of beauty; my read of it at least left me ruffled, but strangely happy. Through all the pain, the doubt, the anticipation, the fear and dread here and there, the sadness and the relief, I was constantly reminded of the most precious of rules: each coin has two sides, and there are no absolutes." (Butterfly-ometer Books)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChris Wimpress
    Release dateMar 8, 2011
    ISBN9781458123220
    Joe is Online
    Author

    Chris Wimpress

    Chris Wimpress was born in Northampton in 1977. He read English at Edinburgh University and on graduating worked as a journalist for BBC news, including stints on the Today programme and at the BBC’s political department at Westminster. He currently lives in east London. Joe is Online is his first novel, Weeks in Naviras his second. www.chriswimpress.uk

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    Reviews for Joe is Online

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      Ok, the first thing that I will say about this is, after reading it I profusely hugged my computer. I shuddered and experienced cold sweats while reading, and this is the reason: cyberterrorism. I think my fragile mind wouldn’t make it through another story on this topic, at least not in the near future, it’s almost too frightening to even think about.The novel is written in a very original and, dare I say, charming way. While reading it I got hit several times by a strange wave of guilt, like just by reading I was this semi-potent cyberterrorist myself, reading personal files and snooping into conversations and privy to personal information about the characters themselves. This read was an emotional roller-coaster, and by the end of it I feel sort of dazed.Before actually starting to read, I wasn’t sure a sequence of emails, blogs, chatroom logs, websites and diary entries would actually blend well enough to tell me a story; they don’t blend well, they blend marvelously. One thing I will say about this novel, it will incite and require true intellectual commitment – it’s not the sort of read you want to do while lazing about and looking for a pass-time. The topic itself, the way you’re introduced to the characters, the mixed feelings you’ll surely have about them, they’ll all keep you on the edge of your seat from start to end. And when the ride is over, you just might feel, as I do, that you’re crystal clear but so deeply unsure about it all. Is Joe really the bad guy? Is Penelope really one of the ‘good guys’? Is there such a thing?The plot spans over a considerable amount of time, without clogging your arteries with minute, meaningless details of the characters’ life every step of the way. No easy stereotype-pass to mapping out the characters here, you’ll just have to accept and embrace them with their faults and their beauties, or you’ll be horrified by them perhaps, but they won’t make it easy for you one way or the other; I know Penelope, sadly I know potential Joe-s as well, I feel like tomorrow morning I just might run into them at the coffee shop or maybe later this week at the store. This sense of presence is both marvelous and utterly disturbing, for me at least; the realization that any number of potential Joe-s are out there is something I am sure I’ll ponder on for quite a while, and I don’t just mean the potential cyberterrorist, but the victim, the neglected and abused child, the uncared for brilliant mind. Another issue that plagued me throughout reading the novel is my own startling dependency on my computer, on my files, on the illusion of my virtual privacy. It poked at me relentlessly, leaving me truly terrorized once Joe’s plot set into motion.For me, this novel does a thing of beauty; my read of it at least left me ruffled, but strangely happy. Through all the pain, the doubt, the anticipation, the fear and dread here and there, the sadness and the relief, I was constantly reminded of the most precious of rules: each coin has two sides, and there are no absolutes. No-one is completely right and no-one is completely wrong, there are always many, many sides that need to be known and heartily considered before making up your mind on any topic, any subject, no matter how uncomfortable or indeed terrorizing it may be.I feel this work is one of real substance, delivering delicious chunks of food for thought. It is special, quite special, and I am truly happy that I have had the chance to read it. It’s original, refreshing, strong, of substance and character, and quite simply put, I love it!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Could one man bring down world governments by hacking into the global computer systems? Could one man wreak havoc by persuading hundreds of people to blow themselves up and commit carnage for no apparent reason? Maybe. Could this one man have begun his reign of terror from a young age by being a precocious yet ungovernable schoolboy with deep resentments and abiding hatreds, and a phenomenal gift with computers? Perhaps. Joseph Brady is not a normal 11-year-old. The brightest kid in his school, he is also the worst-behaved. Placed in isolation in the art room at lunchtimes, it doesn't take Joe long to work out how to use the art room computer. In 1997 Joe finds a way of getting the art room computer online. The safety of the world is in the palm of his hand. Twenty years later, Joe orchestrates highly co-ordinated terrorist attacks, beginning in the online world, but very quickly spreading into the offline world. Nobody can trace their source until a quiet, shy professor in terrorism called Penelope Hunt discovers a link to Joe. She finds herself sucked into a world-threatening conspiracy. With only a radical tele-atheist to help her, Penny decides to shut down Joe's activities, placing her own life in grave danger in the process.In an unusual literary device, this story is told entirely through emails, blogs, chat room logs, websites and diary entries. Although I found the first part of the novel slow because of this format, the threads gradually join up, linking various characters over a long period of time, drawing them into the exact moment where Joe Brady’s world must either explode, or be shut down. The computer-style narration is interesting in that the reader is privy to a far more intimate portrait of each character than normal. The author puts the reader right into each character’s head, and ‘reads’ their minds. The idea behind the plot is frightening: in a world where global connections run through the heart of society, it is impossible to live under the radar, and anyone with a knack for computers can become a terrorist. With a surprise ending, this exciting story will keep cyber fans captivated.
    • 4/5
      Article first published as Book Review:Joe is Online by Chris Wimpress on Blogcritics.A novel written solely using e-mails, journal entries, IM and other computer-generated conversations, Joe is Online by Chris Wimpress, is a scary bit of work dealing with the machinations and use of the internet. In this case, the internet is used to create both drama and hysteria using messages to targeted groups of people by working on their own insecurities.With computer technology, we follow the lives of Joe Brady and Penelope Hunt as they make their way through school and life. Set in England and Scotland, both individuals’ live entirely different lives, with the everyday drama of existence sending them spiraling in two total separate directions.Unaware of each other, nevertheless they will play an important part in the final showdown of the terror perpetrated in the name of the Intercession.Joe’s lot in life is formed by the interplay at his school as well as the abuse suffered at the hands of his stepfather. Always the odd one out, he is smarter than most of those around him and as such, is also a figure of ridicule by the bullies in the school system. Due to his penchant for trouble and the constant bullying, he is allowed to miss recess and use the library computer. This begins his lifelong love of the intranet and his deep distrust of the world around him. This becomes worse when his stepfather sexually abuses him. With only one friend, he withdraws even further into himself, and manages to disappear from all existence at the age of 13 years. Using his skills with the internet, he sets himself up with a credit card to begin selling porn. He then uses those funds to pay off the card and after careful continuation is able to disappear and hide in London, living off the largesse that he has discovered.Yet there is a darkness in Joe, a need to punish that will not go away. He uses the internet to build a terrorist organization, preying on those who have nothing to lose. Many have lost loved ones and their lives are shattered. He uses a con woman, a medium to both bilk them of money and to guide them to his organization, the Intercession. The true work of the Intercession is unknown by its members, and Joe bides his time over the years building a trust and deepening his terrorist activities, waiting to spring his trap and punish those he feels responsible of the evil of the world.Penelope Hunt too is an extremely intelligent person and while she also has problems with her family, she finds herself also drawn to terrorism but as a foil, a counterpart to the evil it brings. She is on a path that will bring her into the shadow of Joe’s organization. As she realizes the stakes and her friends are methodically murdered, she only now realizes the power wielded by this one man. His footprint is so deep and planted for so long even the government finds it hard to believe he is real. Can Penelope find the answers and stop the continued madness from spreading. There is only one other group in the know of what Joe is capable of. Can she find them in time? Is this new group what they seem or are they just another terrorist cell? The use of the computer medium is well done and set in such a way that it appears almost in story form. It is set in a timeline of correspondence that takes you along the tortured path of Joe and his decline into the madness that begins to consume. You follow Penelope as she lives and learns to deal with life’s lessons and the direction she takes to become who she is. It is an intricate and uneasy story that begins to develop and it holds you enthralled. Like watching drama unfold by peeking into the private lives of others, it creates a form of voyeurism, reading the secrets of the lives of the people involved. Uncomfortable and yet intriguing, the continuation of the work keeps you both interested and appalled. Reading the private correspondence seems almost sinful.If you enjoy technology and suspense, this story will titillate your pleasure. It is both different and unique but carries all of the drama of a thriller. Wimpress has written a fascinating story of the dark decline created by the unsavory nurture of a young student. It is a story of extremes and yet with realism that makes you wonder. This would be a great book for a reading group, creating a discussion on the merits of care and nurture.This book was received as a free download from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.

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    Joe is Online - Chris Wimpress

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