by John A. Autero
You watch the TV news every night and think you know what’s going on… think again.
Three friends stumble upon information that describes an underwater excavation site and refinery that processes a newly discovered source of energy. Who built the site? What is the fuel used for? What happened on December 26, 2004? The friends are determined to reveal the truth about their findings to the public and realize that just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s right.
“The Scorpion is a Techno-Thriller on steroids!”
My Take:
Who knew digging in the dump could thrust you into the middle of the biggest government cover-up in the USA's history? When Bruce and his two friends find an unmarked computer server drive while reclaiming electronics equipment for their day job, they decide to keep it to store music and movies on. But the top secret government data already on the drive isn't the kind of information you can just ignore.
When the drive contacts the NSA, government agents come running to reclaim the data and anyone who has seen it. But the three friends aren't going down without a fight. What ensues is an edge-of-the-seat race against time to expose the disaster and cover-up with the help of an underground conspiracy-exposing podcaster known only as the Folsom Street Avenger.
Content:
Drug Content:
PG - The three friends make it a weekly habit to visit a local bar. One plays designated driver while the others get a bit wasted. The effects of a hangover are described in some detail. Some drugs are used to obtain the truth, Illegal street drugs don't show up in the book.
Violence:
PG - A sniper is used at one point to take out a target. His expertise is described at some length, as well as some of his past activities. NSA agents discuss eliminating people rather blandly. An agent considers the pros and cons of several methods of killing an unarmed target. No gratuitous violence.
Language:
R - There's a significant amount of cussing in this book, from the first page, where the F-bomb is dropped quite a few times, to late in the book. The first few pages are actually the worst, and if you don't have a problem there, the rest of the book is much better.
Adult Content:
PG - I don't really recall any adult content in the book, and actually few females show up in the work, other than moms and aunts.
Christian content:
Ah, pretty much nada. The aunt(?) seems to have a level of faith, and gives some good advice, but there's no scripture that I remember in the novel, and while the central message seems to be one of exposing truth, it's driving force is the public's right to know rather than any moral accountability.
Final analysis:
The Scorpion is a well-written, fast-paced techno-thriller, with believable characters and high stakes on both sides of the fence. I was put off a bit by the language, and the missed opportunity to drive the story's main message by the need for a moral accountability in government, but in retrospect the story stood well on its own, with even room for a fast-paced sequel? Five Stars!
About the Author:
John A. Autero is an indie author of techno-thriller adventure novels. An engineer by education, John employs a technical style of writing that combines existing technologies with those that are yet to be developed. John enjoys anything sci-fi, automotive, heavy metal and ballistic. Always a fan of government conspiracies and black-ops, stories like "The Terminator" and "The X-Files" are always on his list of favorites. John was born in the United States and has spent his entire life there, where he happily lives with his wife and pets.
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