Jack Henderson Circumference of Darkness

Circumference of Darkness

Jack Henderson

Bantam, July 2007, $23.00, 514 pp.

ISBN: 0553805150

John Fagan is held in awe in the hacker underground for the misdeed he accomplished in cyberspace. He lives like a hermit in New York City that is right out of a Star Wars movie with a talking intelligent computer called Kate. Jeannie Reese was a math and computer prodigy who was hired by the government to create a surveillance program that would eliminate extraneous data and put security risk information in a logical order

She initiates IRIN shortly after 9/11 and meets John in cyberspace where he is the first one to defeat her in a game of chess. He feels guilty because he was in an IRC chat in the 1990's and talked about a blueprint to bring the U.S. to its knees. Someone intercepted and partially initiated that plan. She would like to talk to him but she is kicked out of her job by the power that be who want to control IRIN and he is kidnapped by those loyal to Edward Latrell, a survivalist militiaman who played a part in 9/11 and demands John's expertise to break the U.S. and rebuild it in his image. John finally agrees to stop Latrell killing the innocents in the camp but is rescued by one of Jeannie's people. They meet up in Las Vegas seeking to find a way to stop the doomsday scenario from happening but John built something he doesn't know how to dismantle.

In his debut, Jack Henderson acts like a veteran thriller writer with strong plotting, solid three dimensional characterizations (especially the lead misfits) and exciting action adventure scenarios that grip readers from the onset. CIRCUMFERENCE OF DARKNESS is one of the best the thrillers to come along in years. The two protagonists are social misfits trying to save the world that neither feels comfortable in. Readers will admire and their courage and perseverance.

Harriet Klausner