Book Review: The Last Firewall by William Hertling

High Marks for Action in a Somewhat Overused Plot

There are technothrillers that chill you with a look at near-future technology gone wrong.  And there are ones that rock you with action that’s both real, near-term, and perhaps out there a bit.  The Last Firewall is solidly in the camp of the latter.

Catherine (Cat) Matthews is an everyday student (in a near-future world) with everyday concerns, such as boyfriends, and only a few quirks.  For one, she can see people’s data streams in netspace and sever them.  But when she’s pushed into a life or death situation, she discovers capabilities she didn’t know she had, starting her on a collision course with an Artificial Intelligence with designs on the world.  That course is littered with bodies and battles, waged with everything from today’s bullets to tomorrow’s massive cyberattacks.  Catherine is supported (and opposed) by a cast of interesting characters – other AIs, robots, the creators of Artificial Intelligence, human-AI hybrids.  Other than a couple of the villains, there’s hardly a human you’d recognize.  But all the same, they feel more real than you might expect, adding to the book’s appeal.

There are a few downsides.  For one, romantic inclinations in the heat of battle seem a bit out of place.  Cat discovering new capabilities just in the nick of time also gets a bit overused.  And the basic plot – an evil AI taking over the world is somewhat trite.  That said, The Last Firewall does that theme just about as well as any of them, blending an array of current and possible future network technology.

So, if you’re looking for a thought-provoking story on AIs and human coexisting in the future, you’re probably in the wrong place.  But if you’re seeking an action-packed battle to the end between a super heroine still learning her powers and an evil AI, The Last Firewall is for you.