The Altherian Code is a suspense-thriller that pits freelance software developer Alex Stone against a corrupt technology company and a shadowy international organization. Even among software developers, Alex has an unusual talent: He builds enormous, complex databases and designs search algorithms that allow scientists to analyze the data.
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His latest assignment is with a German pharmaceuticals company that specializes in genetic engineering. The company's database is capable of storing the genetic code of all human-beings on the planet; Alex's job is to design a search algorithm that efficiently locates people with particular genes. The company is secretive about exactly how the information it possess will be used, which is fine with Alex until he stumbles across his girlfriend's name highlighted in the database.
The pharmaceutical company is pleased with Alex's work, but that won't stop them from killing him once the project is finished. Why would Hilder Krieg, CEO of a successful company, commit such an atrocious act? Because he's also the ringleader of Das Rat des Neuen Reiches, a shadowy organization whose conspiracy to commit mass murder on a global scale is intimately related to the pharmaceutical company's genetic code project. At first glance Alex seems to be the stereotypical nerdy programmer, but fortunately, as
the novel progresses, author Mike Johnson adds depth to the character. Sure he's shy and bumbling around women, but he's also daring and adventurous. He skydives in his spare
time and can rappel down the side of a building like he was trained for the SWAT team. He's also not afraid to follow his hunches and morals, even when it means risking his own neck.
Unfortunately, the villains in The Altherian Code are not nearly as intriguing. They speak in the abbreviated, egomania-laden patois that international bad guys have been using
since James Bond first tangled with Dr. No. They are flat and lined up like so many dominoes for Alex and his friends to knock down.
As Alex begins to realize the extent of the conspiracy, he discovers hidden enemies and allies, alike. Although a bit slow at times, the story eventually accelerates, zipping across the globe from California to Berlin, Lebanon, Brazil, and Russia, to reach its explosive conclusion. The Altherian Code is a well-imagined tale of modern technology in the service of evil men who harbor ancient hatreds.
The review of this Book prepared by eyal
