BKKOCNSP.RVW   950802
 
"The Ko Conspiracy", Riall W. Nolan, 1995, 0-440-21250-2, U$4.99/C$6.50
%A   Riall W. Nolan
%C   1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
%D   1995
%G   0-440-21250-2
%I   Dell Publishing
%O   U$4.99/C$6.50 212-765-6500
%P   344
%T   "The Ko Conspiracy"
 
The plotting is pretty standard.  Boy has girl, boy gets into something bigger
than he knows, girl gets killed, boy meets girl2, boy's boss turns out to be
working for the bad guys, bad guys manage to convince every police force in the
world that boy is guilty of everything from murder to jaywalking, boy and girl2
save the world.  However, unless you perfer outwitting British lady mystery
writers, Nolan makes a reasonably entertaining journey of it.
 
Nolan also knows the technology pretty well.  The centerpiece of the book is a
missile guidance system based on artificial intelligence.  The problems of the
software involved in the Strategic Defense Initiative, the learning
capabilities of neural nets, the paradoxes of AI research, and a variation on
expert systems are all portrayed quite realistically.  And, for once, don't all
get mixed up together.
 
But he still messed up about viruses, trojans and logic bombs.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995  BKKOCNSP.RVW   950802

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