The Boost

Publisher Marketing: A fast-paced technothriller set in the near future, written by a technology expertRalf is a software prodigy. He works in the US government office that updates the software in the population's boosts networked supercomputers contained in a chip implanted within the brains of 99 percent of the world s population. Invented by Chinese researchers in 2032, the boost is credited with leading humanity to its most significant cognitive leap since the discovery of fire. Days before a national upgrade, Ralf notices that the update includes an open surveillance gate meaning that Americans, who had negotiated high levels of privacy with the Chinese manufacturers, will now be subjected to the invasive Chinese standard. Ralf attempts to hack the boost, but is caught by agents working for Washington s preeminent lobbyist. His boost is ripped from his head, and Ralf barely escapes with his life. Pursued by the lobbyist s mercenary cadre, Ralf flees to the US Mexico border, where there are others like him wild humans on the fringes of society, unenhanced by technology. It s a frightening and backward world controlled by powerful drug lords. Ralf s only hope is to somehow work with these wild bosses of the analog world in hopes of winning back freedom in the digital one." Review Citations: Booklist 04/15/2014 pg. 22 (EAN 9781466810686, Other) Publishers Weekly 03/10/2014 (EAN 9780765334374, Hardcover) Library Journal 04/15/2014 pg. 59 (EAN 9780765334374, Hardcover) Booklist 04/15/2014 pg. 22 (EAN 9780765334374, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2014 (EAN 9780765334374, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Baker, Stephen Stephen Baker was a senior technology writer for ten years at BusinessWeek, where he covered the data economy, the growth of wireless technology and cloud computing. His first nonfiction book, The Numerati, previewed the age of Big Data. He followed that with Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything, the story of IBM s Jeopardy-playing computer, Watson. Here he delved into artificial intelligence and how machines would change the way humans think and interact. In his journalism career, Baker worked in New York, Paris, Mexico City, and along the U. S. Mexico border. In addition to BusinessWeek, he has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin and earned a master s in science from Columbia University s Graduate School of Journalism. He and his family live in Montclair, New Jersey. Contributor Bio:  Doersch, David For over 25 years, David Doersch has delighted audiences with various roles on stage, film, and recordings. Mr. Doersch's has worked some of the most prestigious theatres in America, including the Guthrie Theatre, The Dallas Theatre Center, The American Players Theatre, and The Virginia Stage Company. He has recorded dozens of cases for Audio Case Files, worked in film and TV, and has toured as a musician.