Kill Switch Audiobook By William Hertling cover art

Kill Switch

Kill Chain Series, Book 2

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Kill Switch

By: William Hertling
Narrated by: Jane Cramer
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Igloo and Angie are the co-founders of a new social network, Tapestry, based on the principles of privacy and data ownership. Two years later, with Tapestry poised to become the world’s largest social network, their rapid growth puts them under government scrutiny.

Tapestry’s privacy and security is so effective that it impedes the government’s ability to monitor routine communications. Fearing Tapestry will spread to encompass the whole of the Internet, threatening America’s surveillance abilities around the globe, the government swoops in to stop Angie and company - by any means possible.

Under the constant threat of exposure - of Angie’s criminal past, of Igloo’s secret life in the underground kink scene, and of their actions to subvert a FISA court order - they must hatch a plan to ensure the success of Tapestry no matter what pressures the government brings to bear.

Not knowing whom to trust, or if they can even trust each other, Igloo and Angie must risk everything in the ultimate battle for control of the Internet.

©2018 William Hertling (P)2018 William Hertling Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Technothrillers Thriller & Suspense
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Great second book. Great suspense, well written and well performed. But too much sex, bondage and kinky play. Could have done with less.

Too much kinky going on

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I enjoyed the story the performance and the series in general, but this second book is just way too PC for me.

too much LGBTQ.. p.c. bs.

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As a technology professional I love just enough real technology be plausible I.e the mention of BGP. This book had me on the edge of my seat for most of the book. Have to admit I am not a big fan of the BDSM but I think it help with the development of the overall storyline.
Also I went back and listened to Kill Process before diving into this been.

Love Angie

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The first half of the book has a significantly different vibe than the clever fast passed cyberpunk thriller you may be expecting. In the second half it becomes clear why the author chose to explore the human relationship angle. Great book overall and possibly the authors best and most relevant work so far.

Different but great

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Enjoyed the continuation of the story but I was truly confused about so much time being spent on Igloo's personal life. No judgement at all as personal lives are just that. Where Angie's personal life defined her and her decisions, Igloo's was simply a diversion and served to muddy the story.

Not sure if this is the last we'll see of Angie...or Igloo...I hope there is more.

Great follow up story but...

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I thoroughly enjoyed the story and pacing set out in this book. The technological ideas expressed seem plausible and the related ideas expressed are factual and true in my humble opinion...enjoy a good cyber romp through the eyes of a very compelling novelist who gets IT.

Great story and technical acumen...

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I loved this story as much as the other Hertling books. It is especially thrilling to have a kinky heroine to admire.

excellent series

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If I wanted porn, I'd go watch porn. I don't know why books/tv shows/movies can't have a great plot void of graphic, skin-slapping sex anymore, but there's nothing worse than being blindsided by it (e.g. Having your mother and granny watching said show/movie with you, or in the car with you, supposedly listening to the sequel of a "highly-acclaimed tech thriller.").

This book begins with a long, drawn-out introduction into Igloo's secret BDSM life. Hertling could've easily covered that world without going into 30-min long segments of descriptive detail, but apparently, he's fallen susceptible to the wave of influence that thinks they need sex to hold our attention.

I listened to those hours of Igloo's soap opera at just a little under the highest speed where I could keep an ear out for anything pertinent to the actual plot line. Rest assured, you can safely skip it and miss nothing! The only thing slightly expositional is when Igloo remembers the first time she and her girlfriend "did a scene." Again, if you want to jump ahead you won't miss a thing.

The story only picks up a bit when Angie re-enters, but unfortunately it's short-lived, as this book focuses more on Igloo and her relationship drama. Once Angie becomes more involved near the middle, things are finally into a good technological swing. While the tech in this story isn't presented in the well-crafted manner of "Kill Process" -- Hertling probably used-up all of his prowess contending with E.L. James -- it is there, even if only blurted out by characters in passing or as a solution with little to no further explanation. I think the tech in this book would be tough for non-software/network types to follow; perhaps that's why he embraced the explicit sex angle.

Regardless of its foibles, it's still a pretty good story and kept me wondering how the characters would surmount the different obstacles they faced. I'm definitely looking forward to his next Kill Chain novel, but hope he gets refocused on the tech. Again, there's plenty of porn already out here, but he's currently all we have in the tech thriller arena (since Russinovich doesn't seem to be releasing anymore novels).

Good Except for the First Few Hours of 50 Shades

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Loved the book, performance and story. But my god why do producers not check pronunciation? At least 600 times (give or take) the narrator says FEE-sa for FISA warrants (F-EYE-sa). Nails on chalkboard.

Great book two in series

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I saw this book when I decided to revisit Kill Process and the Avagadro Series in light of current events and an interview with the author and Glenn Beck.
I enjoyed the previous books a great deal, but the cringe level in this one was too much.
I did something I have never done before, and shudder to admit. I skipped forward through the SM stuff after it was introduced as a theme. I understand the utility of it. Igloo becomes a more fleshed out character, and it gives her something to hide, some non-plot. consequence. The moral hang ups of the team seem tacked on, and the transgressiveness loses its power after a few paragraphs.
There are other, more important themes that got shorted by highlighting the pomp of what would be a vanilla aspect of any modern thinker.
imagine if all that energy has gone into the explication of Nathan 9's motivation and transition to the sighted world. that seems far richer to me.
It was fine, a bit heavy handed in some ways, and totally missing the mark in others. Could have used more nuance with the political stuff, since the overweening government in question was decidedly liberal, and the hackers presented in the story would have been at least marginally conflicted.

Well, that's that

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