Book review: The Big If


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Author:Mark Costello
Reading Level (Conceptual):For grown-ups
Reading Level (Vocabulary):For grown-ups
Genre:Fiction
Year of publication:2003

Authors of novels like to think that they create civilizations using words alone. And so do computer programmers.

In The Big If, secret service people guarding the Vice President of the United States do the same. Could it be that everyone does this to survive. (Except maybe not everyone is self-aware enough to know they are doing it.)


The recursion is dizzying. This involving novel draws us in to all three worlds:
  • The video game eco-system being developed by a computer software company
  • The terrifying and possibly self-igniting "scenarios" that a team of government security agents must build in order to do their jobs.
  • The world of real estate agents, families, politicians, insurance adjusters, a world built of words that is surprising in its realism.

If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Big If, The

This entry was posted on Monday, February 27th, 2006 at 6:51 pm and is filed under Computers in society, Conceptual: for grown ups, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: Grown up. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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