Category: (Book)
17 new, starting at $13.95
10 used, starting at $10.93
Computer security specialist Jonathan Davis's daily routine includes monitoring firewall and intrusion detection logs for a large financial services company in Palm Springs, California. The job is mind-numbing until, like some of his fellow employees, he begins compromising the privacy of others--the very thing he was hired to protect--for his own amusement. It isn't long before Davis comes upon a scandalous e-mail from one of Hollywood's hottest stars. A recovering gambling addict swimming in debt, Davis believes his prayers are answered when he sells the star's e-mail to a gossip magazine for a hefty sum. With his debts paid off, he intends to put the indiscretion behind him--but the magazine wants more and will go to any lengths to get it. As if that isn't enough to keep him up at night, Davis becomes privy to a sinister plot to murder the very celebrity whose secrets he has been selling. With his love life in turmoil, his career in the balance, and his very life on the line, Davis must summon more than his technical expertise to save his girlfriend, her daughter, and Hollywood s elite. Mark Stone's Behind the Screen is a technological thriller that will make anyone think twice before hitting Send.
Behind the Screen: Hacking HollywoodReviewed by Thomas F, 2008-10-26
I bought this book after hearing the author speak on a radio
program. I enjoyed it; the story was fast paced and had me
captivated throughout. I don't know much about the computer world
but I liked getting a glimpse of it since the main character is an
Internet expert. This is a good read for when you are in the mood
for something light but entertaining.
Possibly the worst novel I've ever read.Reviewed by K. Anderson, 2008-10-23
A very patchy read in which the first act/third is completely
directionless with no plot. Use the search inside Amazon feature
for the first page if you want to read one of the most awkward main
character introductions ever in literature. I should have tossed
the book when I read that first page.
The novel seems to be an outlet for the author to live out his
fantasies (which he probably dreamed of while sitting at his
computer desk job). These fantasies include being propositioned by
two attractive ladies for a threesome and flirting with a high
school girl while dating her mom.
The author does have knowledge in the area of computer security,
but doesn't even know that the I-10 runs east and west or much
worse, doesn't have any knowledge if simple character and story
development.
Should have never wasted my money and time on this terrible book.
Would give it zero stars, if Amazon would let me.
Hot times at DesertFinancialReviewed by Stephen Northcutt, 2008-10-08
This is a techno-fiction work and is Mark's first novel. It is a
blend of sex scenes, some quite innocent, lots of kissing and some
getting a bit on the extreme side such as Ray and Travel Chick at
the Bellagio in Vegas. It is a little bit too steamy for me since I
normally do my reading on the plane, I fly about 20 hours every
three weeks.
There is a nice information security technology weave, in fact, it
is the first time I recall reading a fictional work talking about
take a class from the SANS Institute. They also mention the CISSP.
I particularly enjoyed the numerous examples of using intrusion
detection type technology to monitor the email use of employees at
DesertFinancial.
Having been in the monitoring business for much of my life, I
thought that part was well done. Also, if a reader should learn one
thing from reading the book it is that just about everything you do
on a computer can easily become public knowledge.
The protagonist is Johnathan Davis, who is called John throughout
the book. There is drama, and it builds nicely leading to a murder
plot. And of course. since this is a novel, I cannot tell you the
ending. It is great to see a book with an information security
focus and I hope Mark keeps writing. If this had been done as a
adult comic book, it would have been five stars with the right
illustrator.
Tips for the future:
- Keep working on character development. Mark, before you write
your next book, do some character sketches to really help your
characters come to life. You are consistent with your characters,
that is great. But I found myself unable to visualize them. Now
granted a lot of the communication is by email ( great work on the
email ), phone, and instant message, but it helps me to know the
hair color, the style of dress, what they smell like and
such.
- Engineer your ending. At SANS we say, know your intro and your
outro, before opening your mouth. The intro worked, certainly gets
the reader's attention and even though we leave the two abruptly,
you weave them in later. However, the book seems to climax before
the climax. If sex is a big part of things save Tara and John's
consummation for later and then make use of all the pent up desire
you have been building, my guess is that would be the time to get
graphic.
- Consider writing a short story, if it is educational and not too
steamy we could even help you publish it.
Bottom line, fun read, looking forward to your next novel; keep
pounding on that keyboard.
The Steamy Side of Your IT DepartmentReviewed by Rachel Friedman, 2008-05-29
Mark Stone's new book "Behind the Screen: Hacking Hollywood" is for
every one of us who has eavesdropped on the couple in line beside
us at Starbucks.
The juicy tidbits of gossip main character Jonathan Davis gathers
at his new job of monitoring company e-mails may make an adult
business owner blush. Half of the readers will wonder what kind of
people write steamy stuff on their company correspondence....the
other half will wonder if their IT guy read the thank you note they
sent to their girlfriend after that most unusual evening.
Stone could rely on the titillating aspects of a career that pays
you to peek into co-workers inner most communications, but he
proves to be a better storyteller than that. Sure, Davis hooks up
with a couple co-eds at an IT function, scores dates with bondage
e-mail senders from his office and trades MSN messages with a
17-year-old, but Stone does a masterful job of humanizing his "I.T.
Romeo" before his escapades get out of hand.
Early in the book Stone sets up his main character to be more than
just a hot computer geek. John Davis is trying to run away from his
past and create a new future.
"John, 34-years-old, is a recovering gambling addict. He has not
gambled at all in over a year. His evenings as an overly active
participant at the card tables of Morongo Casino in Cabazon are
behind him. He is proud of himself, but is heavily in debt."
Only a writer like Stone could make a blackmailing tabloid writer
non-cliché. He uses his gift to bring the reader along on a wild
fantasy escapade. The difference in this novel is you want to
believe. Stone does a masterful job of entertaining while
storytelling. He throws enough truth of computers, relationships,
coffee shops and coincidences to carry off the far-fetched.
At times "Behind the Screen" reads more like a Hollywood screenplay
than a novel. The twists and turns of each chapter are colorful,
creative and continually ask you to believe the nearly
unbelievable. A teenage girl who happens to know how to pick locks
just as the skill is needed? An overworked boss who doesn't mind a
mouthy, long-break taking new employee? Bank branches filled with
some of the most outrageously hot to type employees? All these
unusual coincidences are in the novel, but with Stone's incredible
skill all come off as both believable and entertaining.
"Behind the Screen" is not for the prudish, but it is a fast-paced
and fun read for anyone who has ever sent a personal e-mail at
work.
© 2010 BreathOfFreshInk.com. Powered by the DevHub Website Builder
