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Alice Chang by Robert Gilberg

Alice Chang

by Robert Gilberg

Pub Date: Aug. 9th, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5347-7479-7
Publisher: CreateSpace

In this debut thriller, an engineer investigates a plane crash only to discover a global conspiracy to hack digital satellite television systems that may involve a woman from his past. 

It’s 1993 in San Diego. Steve Barton is a semiretired engineer who left his job at Video Secure, a leader in digital satellite TV technology, upon growing frustrated that the company was at the mercy of a ruthless management team looking for a quick payout. A wealthy divorcé who spends his days driving his collection of vintage cars, writing angry letters to the editor, and occasionally piloting small planes, Steve’s quiet life is thrown upside down when he witnesses a plane crash into a mysterious compound in the remote area of Fernbrook, California. Upon investigating the mishap, Steve discovers evidence of a high-level—and illegal—operation to hack into digital satellite TV systems. He also discovers that Alice Chang, a former Video Secure colleague who disappeared abruptly, may have been involved. Steve longs to know what happened to Alice, an intriguing and sharply intelligent woman who, for him, remains the one who got away. He channels his energy into investigating the crash and the leads left behind at the scene, including an encrypted message that may or may not be from Alice. The more he uncovers about the scheme and Alice’s role in it, the more danger he finds himself in. Gilberg is fluent in early ’90s technobabble, though less tech-savvy readers may find it hard to understand. Fortunately, the action and romance that the author weaves around his complicated conspiracy is enjoyable enough that readers should be enthralled even if they don’t entirely comprehend what’s happening on the hacking side. It helps that Steve, Alice, and their scene-stealing friend, Jim Schmidt, a “not-so-reformed ex-hippy with a Ph.D. in computer science from UCSD,” are all incredibly distinct characters with enough personality quirks to be realistic without veering into caricature. They ground the more sensational side of the story in reality.

A fast-paced technology tale with enough international intrigue and luxurious details to rival a James Bond adventure.