Going Zero by Anthony McCarten

Going Zero by Anthony McCarten – 304 pages

ARC from Harper Books for an honest review

Book Blurb:

Going Zero by Anthony McCarten: The CIA in partnership with Silicon Valley wunderkind Cy Baxter have created the ultimate surveillance program known as FUSION. Ten Americans have been carefully selected to Beta test the groundbreaking system. At the appointed hour, each of the ten will have two hours to “Go Zero”—to turn their cellphones off, cut ties with friends and family, and use any means possible to disappear. They will then have 30 days to evade detection and elude the highly sophisticated Capture Teams tasked to find them using the most cutting-edge technology. The goal is to see if it is possible to successfully go “off the grid” and escape detection. Among the contestants is an unassuming Boston librarian named Kaitlyn Day. She’s been chosen as the gimme, the easy target expected to be found first. Her talents at this particular game are far more effective than all the security experts suspect, and her reasons for playing far more personal than anyone can imagine.

My Review: 4 stars

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Going Zero by Anthony McCarten was a techno-thriller that was filled with suspense and some surprising twists along the way. If you’re a long-time follower of Good Book Fairy, you’ll know that this is not my typical genre but something about having a “seemingly” quiet librarian in it piqued my interest.

Technology is basically everywhere and has become something that most of the world is reliant on. It gets smarter and smarter and, in my opinion, scarier and scarier. This book focuses on this idea when a technology giant offers a three-million-dollar cash prize for any of the ten participants if they can stay hidden (Go-Zero) for a full thirty days. What a concept!

As this book progressed, I was amazed at the ways in which the participants were found. Kaitlyn, the librarian had some ulterior reasons for being in this challenge. Her story was surprising and I liked her as a character.

This would be a fascinating book to discuss as it taps into topics such as data privacy, governmental power, and the extreme reach in which technology can reach. Overall, this was a thought-provoking and quick read.