Reaper (novel)

Last updated
Reaper
Reaper bookcover.jpg
Author Ben Mezrich
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreThriller
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date
1998
Pages342
ISBN 9780060187514
OCLC 36301480
Preceded byThreshold 
Followed byFertile Ground 

Reaper is a novel by American writer Ben Mezrich, published in 1998; it was his second novel. It deals with a "computer virus" that is hidden inside of the Telecon corporation's systems. The virus begins to go on a mad killing spree by wiping out people at their computer screens. Thus, eventually becoming a threat to every person linked up to the Telecon system. The book was eventually turned into a TV movie starring Janine Turner and Antonio Sabato, Jr., called Fatal Error .

Contents

Plot summary

A group of lawyers are meeting to take down Telecon corporations when suddenly they are all hit with a rhinovirus that the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) classifies as "CaV". At the same time, our protagonist Nick Barnes is in the back of an ambulance trying to save a woman who suffered a car accident. After a high-speed operation, the woman is saved by having the blood drained from a bruise on her chest.

After barely saving her life, Nick and his fellow EMT Charles both make it to the hospital. Nick faces suspension from the dangerous tactic taken to save the woman's life. After leaving the hospital, they come across an office building with a janitor with a battered face. He was the only survivor of the outbreak in the office building. After treating him, Nick and a few police officers at the scene move up to the lawyers office to see nine horribly calcified bodies.

Minutes later, the USAMRIID turns the area into a quarantine zone and lets Nick and the other officers off easily because they know that the virus could not affect them. Samantha Craig, the leader of the operation, dismisses Nick after he tries to discover what is going on. After time passes, Nick tries to break into the quarantine area only to be held up by a group of armed soldiers. He is taken back to Boston General Hospital and is suspended for breaking protocol.

Samantha learns that Nick's wife Jennifer was a victim of AIDS and was killed in a car wreck that nearly took Nick's right hand. She also knows that he has a degree in microbiology. Samantha too has lost family; her brother Jeffery had died. While the two go into the investigation to discover what causes the disease, they begin to contradict their previous research after discovering the function of CaV.

While this happens, president Marcus Teal of Telecon is preparing to activate his fiber optic system that had outdone Microsoft and other computer companies in the "Big Turn On". A controversy erupts between the employees because some are winding up dead and the lead programmer Melora Parkridge begins to plan her revenge on the world after what technology had done to the entire civilization. She creates Reaper to destroy all technologies in the world after the Big Turn On. The virus is capable of burning computers away, but she is unaware that the virus has become self-aware and is killing humans by electrocuting them at the keyboards on PCs or using CaV as a weapon.

After a woman is killed by CaV in Washington, Nick begins to believe that computers are killing people. His belief is extended after joining an autopsy to learn that the virus attacks the brain and tells it to calcify all the cells. What terrifies him the most is the fact that the virus has only affected the people with the beta test run on the Telecon system. This starts the conspiracy that the killer is a computer virus that produces a subliminal light pattern that causes the brain to react.

After getting photos of the Washington infection, they go to Telecon to speak to Marcus Teal about the virus and learn a good bit about fiber optics. He denies their claims and files harassment. Nick is fired, and then Samantha is thrown off the case of tracking down CaV. A friend of Samantha's decides to help her out by funding her search illegally. Eventually they get too deep into the system by sending in Samantha's ex-boyfriend. Nick ends up getting into a gunfight after gunmen take out Samantha's ex-boyfriend.

Samantha and Nick are on their own, so they decide to break into the system themselves in order to find information about the employees. They learn about the backdoor code that is a code for the military to use. Reaper itself has been using the backdoor code to slip into the test run. After getting enough information, they observe the data and go after a woman who was married to one of the programmers. They go in deeper and eventually Melora discovers them. After that, everybody around them who helps is getting killed or injured by an antagonist. After getting deeper in, a man named Ned Dickerson is also a victim of Reaper by helping it. Reaper is now capable of using light patterns such as those of CaV to control people to do linear tasks. Since it is evolving, this task is weak now.

Melora is now ready to complete her plan by releasing Reaper into the main computer of Telecon, unaware of its ability to use CaV or control people. The day of the Big Turn On, Marcus Teal is held hostage by Melora during the half-hour before the Big Turn On. Nick and Samantha have already entered the building to stop the oncoming disaster. While trying to shut down the computer, Ned shows up in a trance state with a rifle. He begins to shoot at Nick and Samantha. They begin a chase through the crowd because Ned shoots Teal and takes the key card needed to shut down the computer and quarantine the virus. They eventually find Ned, kill him in front of thousands, and finally stop the Big Turn On. Barely saving the world, Microsoft takes over the project and then they end up becoming the leaders of the system. Nick and Samantha end up getting married. Nick ends up starting his computer, only to receive a blue screen —hinting that they had failed to stop Reaper.

Critical reception

The novel received mixed to negative reviews. Kirkus Reviews gave a mixed review, writing "The story moves along quite briskly...But its characters are cardboard and its denouement, which features...some of the hoariest dialogue this side of 1950s monster movies, is also a letdown." [1] Publishers Weekly gave a negative review, writing "Reaper quickly loses steam under pedestrian prose and a barrage of characters cloned from other medical thrillers...turning the pages becomes a major effort." [2] Melissa Rockicki, writing for Library Journal, gave a negative review, writing "Reaper never rings true because of its unbelievable characters and impossible situations." [3]

Related Research Articles

The Legacy Virus is a fictional plague appearing in American comic books featuring the X-Men published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in an eponymous storyline in Marvel Comics titles, from 1993 to 2001, during which it swept through the mutant population of the Marvel Universe, killing hundreds, as well as mutating so that it affected non-mutant humans as well.

<i>Outbreak</i> (film) 1995 film directed by Wolfgang Petersen

Outbreak is a 1995 American medical disaster film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by Laurence Dworet and Robert Roy Pool. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland, and co-stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey and Patrick Dempsey.

<i>The Hot Zone</i> 1995 nonfiction book by Richard Preston

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story is a best-selling 1994 nonfiction thriller by Richard Preston about the origins and incidents involving viral hemorrhagic fevers, particularly ebolaviruses and marburgviruses. The basis of the book was Preston's 1992 New Yorker article "Crisis in the Hot Zone".

<i>The Demon in the Freezer</i> 2002 nonfiction book by Richard Preston

The Demon in the Freezer is a 2002 nonfiction book on the biological weapon agents smallpox and anthrax and how the American government develops defensive measures against them. It was written by journalist Richard Preston, also author of the best-selling book The Hot Zone (1994), about ebolavirus outbreaks in Africa and Reston, Virginia and the U.S. government's response to them.

<i>Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark</i> 2003 video game

Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark is an expansion pack for the role-playing video game Neverwinter Nights produced by BioWare and published by Atari. The follow-up to the Shadows of Undrentide expansion, Hordes of the Underdark adds a campaign, prestige classes, and other features. The Windows version also includes new scripting options for the Aurora toolkit.

<i>The Dead Girl</i> 2006 film by Karen Moncrieff

The Dead Girl is a 2006 American drama thriller film written and directed by Karen Moncrieff, starring Brittany Murphy, Toni Collette, Rose Byrne and Marcia Gay Harden. The film was nominated for several 2007 Independent Spirit Awards including Best Feature and Best Director. It is the story of a young woman's death and the people linked to her murder. It also features Mary Beth Hurt, Kerry Washington, James Franco, Giovanni Ribisi, Josh Brolin, Mary Steenburgen and Piper Laurie. The film was premiered at the AFI Film Festival, and was given a limited US theatrical release on 29 December 2006. It was generally well received. It only ran for two weeks in US first-run theaters, and earned nearly all its revenue from overseas release.

<i>Forbidden Knowledge</i> 1991 novel by Stephen R. Donaldson

Forbidden Knowledge is a science fiction novel by American writer Stephen R. Donaldson, the second book of The Gap Cycle series.

<i>17 Again</i> (film) 2009 American film by Burr Steers

17 Again is a 2009 American teen fantasy comedy film directed by Burr Steers. It stars Matthew Perry, Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, and Michelle Trachtenberg, with Melora Hardin and Sterling Knight in supporting roles. The film follows a 37-year-old man named Mike (Perry) who becomes his 17-year-old self (Efron) after a chance accident.

<i>Being Human</i> (North American TV series) 2011 supernatural drama television series

Being Human is a supernatural drama television series, based on the BBC series of the same name. It followed the same premise as the original, and starred Sam Huntington, Sam Witwer and Meaghan Rath as a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost, respectively, who live together as roommates.

<i>Digital: A Love Story</i> 2010 indie visual novel

Digital: A Love Story is a visual novel by video game designer Christine Love, released for free in February 2010. The game's story is linear, with the player's actions unable to significantly change the course of the plot. Set "five minutes into the future of 1988", Digital tells the story of the protagonist's online relationship with a girl and their attempts to solve a mystery surrounding the deaths of several artificial intelligences. The game is presented entirely through the interface of a 1980s computer with online bulletin board system posts and messages from other characters; the protagonist's own messages are implied but never shown. The game was received positively, with critics especially praising the game's writing and plot, and it was noted in lists of the best indie games of 2010.

<i>Moon Over Manifest</i> 2010 childrens novel by Clare Vanderpool

Moon Over Manifest is a 2010 children's novel written by American Clare Vanderpool. The book was awarded the 2011 Newbery Medal for excellence in children's literature, the Spur Award for best Western juvenile fiction, and was named a Kansas Notable Book. The story follows a young and adventurous girl named Abilene who is sent to Manifest, Kansas by her father in the summer of 1936. The author's note at the end of the book states the fictional town of Manifest, Kansas, is based on the real town of Frontenac, Kansas.

<i>Cyberbully</i> (2011 film) 2011 television film directed by Charles Binamé

Cyberbully is a teen drama television film that premiered on ABC Family on July 17, 2011. The channel collaborated with Seventeen magazine to make the film, stating that they hoped it would "delete digital drama" in a press release. The film tells the story of a teenage girl who is bullied online. The film was released on DVD on February 7, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Greene</span> Fictional character

Maggie Rhee is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead, portrayed by Lauren Cohan in the television adaptation of the same name.

<i>Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me</i> (Johnston novel) 1994 young adult novel by Julie Johnston

Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me is a young adult novel written by Julie Johnston and published in 1994 by Lester in Toronto. The book was awarded the Governor General's Award for Text in Children's Literature in 1994, the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award in 1995, and the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award, also in 1995.

"Of Mouse and Man" is the 9th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 1, which premiered on January 20, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by supervising producer Alan DiFiore and co-executive producer Dan E. Fesman, and was directed by Omar Madha.

"Kitty" is the twenty-first episode of the fourteenth season in the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The episode aired on April 30, 2014 on CBS. "Kitty" introduced FBI Agent Avery Ryan from the spin-off CSI: Cyber which this episode served as the backdoor pilot of the series. Despite being credited Jorja Fox and Jon Wellner who portray Sara Sidle and Henry Andrews do not appear in this episode.

<i>Mayhem</i> (film) 2017 American film

Mayhem is a 2017 American action horror film directed by Joe Lynch and written by Matias Caruso. The film was released at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2017, and The Sales art and poster was released at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2017. It was released in US cinemas and on VOD and digital HD on November 10, 2017, through RLJE Films.

<i>The Overstory</i> 2018 novel by Richard Powers

The Overstory is a novel by Richard Powers published in 2018 by W. W. Norton & Company. It is Powers' twelfth novel. The book is about nine Americans whose unique life experiences with trees bring them together to address the destruction of forests. Powers was inspired to write the work while teaching at Stanford University, after he encountered giant redwood trees for the first time.

<i>The Dreamers</i> (novel) Novel by Karen Thompson Walker

The Dreamers is a science-fiction novel by the American writer Karen Thompson Walker, published on January 15, 2019, by Random House. Walker's second novel details an ominous sleeping virus that sweeps over the fictional town, Santa Lora, in Southern California. The story follows a group of college students and families, and explores their experiences with everlasting sleep and heightened dreams.

References

  1. ↑ "REAPER | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews . 1 December 1997. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  2. ↑ "Reaper by Ben Mezrich". Publishers Weekly . 2 February 1998. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  3. ↑ Rockicki, Melissa (1 January 1998). "Reaper". Library Journal . 123 (1): 143.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.