For What It's Worth


Thursday, June 18, 2015

Review: Silence of the Six by E.C. Meyers


22595496What is the silence of six, and what are you going to do about it?”

These are the last words uttered by 17-year-old Max Stein’s best friend, Evan: Just moments after hacking into the live-streaming Presidential debate at their high school, he kills himself.

Haunted by the image of Evan’s death, Max’s entire world turns upside down as he suddenly finds himself the target of a corporate-government witch-hunt. Fearing for his life and fighting to prove his own innocence, Max goes on the run with no one to trust and too many unanswered questions.

Max must dust off his own hacking skills and maneuver the dangerous labyrinth of underground hacktivist networks, ever-shifting alliances, and virtual identities — all while hoping to find the truth behind the “Silence of Six” before it’s too late. ~ Goodreads

Source: Copy provided by the publisher via BEA



I was so intrigued by the premise of teenage hackers involved in a government conspiracy and cover up, on the run to save their lives.

I guess the premise was more interesting than the delivery for me. And oddly enough it was the very thing that first intrigued me – the hacking – that ended up boring me.

There was so much hacking terminology and fictional company names thrown around that I kind of glazed over. I really think that’s just me though. The Silence of the Six had a very fast pace and interesting characters. They just weren’t enough to overcome my complete lack of understanding/boredom when it came to the hacking. The book had a very technical feel to it. But if you like that – then this is the book for you!

Our MC, Max, tries to decipher code, open hidden files, crack passwords and it just felt…boring in print. I think this would maybe be more interesting to me on film.

Things picked up around the 140 page mark when he meets a girl named Penny. And while I found Max interesting – I found Penny and her sister whip smart and fascinating. But it wasn’t really about them.

This was really a case of It’s not you , it’s me. The Silence of the Six is probably a better fit for people who like more thriller type stories with technical speak than I do. Also, very little to no romance – just a tiny hint of interest. I know that’s rare in YA these days for the people who are looking for books that aren’t romance focused.

18 comments:

  1. I am not a thriller gal, but good that they are around

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  2. Quote:
    "Our MC, Max, tries to decipher code, open hidden files, crack passwords and it just felt…boring in print. I think this would maybe be more interesting to me on film."
    I see what you mean. I don't mind descriptions of technology, but this one sounds a bit tedious. On the other hand, the "very little to no romance" thing appeals to me :).

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    1. Hehe - I kind of added the very little romance line just for you :-) I knew you would appreciate that. It's VERY little. No kissing - just a maybe I like her kind of thing.

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  3. Fascinated by the whole hacking into computers thing I'll be sure to keep a look out for this though I'm a little worried that the technical talk might go over my head.

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    1. It was more that it got boring for me than not understanding it if that makes sense. Interesting premise though.

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  4. Hmm, interesting premise but thrillers aren't always my first pick

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    1. Yeah I'm not a fan of thrillers either so I think this book wasn't a great fit for me.

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  5. ah I hate when it's you and not them books. Glad to hear that it picked up :)

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    1. It was - fine. I don't regret reading it or think it's awful but I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped to.

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  6. Hmmm...sounds like this one might be on the cusp...I might love it or I might be a bit bored too...

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    1. The reviews on Goodreads are pretty mixed so if it's a subject that interests you - I would give it a shot.

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  7. Hm... this looks like too much detail spoiling the soup. Or some other sentence that makes more sense. ;) I think I would feel the same as you do and I bet it would make a better show than book. Brilly review!

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  8. It's weird but on Goodreads very technical people didn't like it because they thought it was dumbed down (for people like me lol) but non tech people thought it was too much.

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  9. Eh, this isn't for me. I'd rather watch this thing onscreen than read it.

    P.S. Sorry, I might have missed your how to Train your Dragon tweet. I'm rarely on the Twitter main feed and I've also been sick these past couple of days. Dehydration, fever, retching, the works! Still on the mend. I've heard of that too, I'm excited for that one as well. Netflix is fast becoming this giant! I hope they don't hack up their prices.

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  10. Oh that did sound like a great set up. It's too bad they let the technical aspects of it overshadow the story.

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  11. I've seen this one around before, the cover just gives me the creeps! The hacking concept sounds really different in books, but its a shame you couldn't fully enjoy the book. <3 Benish | Feminist Reflections

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  12. Thanks for this review. I was interested b/c everyone wanted it at BEA, but I wasn't interested in the premise so I didn't get it.

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