The Hacks of Life.
Perry Busby. Buzz Word Publishing: Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 2018.
Author Perry Busby in his novel, The Hacks of Life, transports the reader back to the year 1993. His character, Phil Jacobson, a young, African American programmer lands a prized position at a computer company, Intellect Technology, Inc. (ITI).
While Phil copes with being one of the few minority members assigned to a top-level position, he finds evidence that his job is part of a horrific cover-up. In addition, ITI is heading into an incredible deal with WorldNet Labs to acquire the first internet browser. This contract clearly could be one of the most game-changing technology events of the century.
As the story progresses Phil discovers scandals that threaten to kill the deal. His father, Wes, is a private detective, and Wes has given him training that helps him to uncover the truth about the ITI Company and the WorldNet contract. The information that Phil and one his hacker friends discover reveals some unsavory secrets and affiliations at the center of the business. The founder of the company, they learn, has connections with a secret society called CLANS. The CLANS organization’s background involves tenants that would destroy any possibilities of a legal deal.
All these troubles surround this man, who is supposed to be helping to plan his own wedding within the next few weeks. Busby propels his character into many twists of plot and disturbing challenges in this mystery developing in the earliest history of the Worldwide Web.
The author informs the reader that even the greatest opportunities and experiences of success can carry overwhelming drawbacks.
While I often felt overwhelmed by the enormous number of characters (more than eighteen) that author, Perry Busby, introduces in his novel, I managed to focus on Phil Jacobson and his immediate family and associates. However, it was frequently hard to follow all the subplots.
Busby creates excellent dialogue which keeps the narrative moving and gives the reader many questions to consider. In an early conversation with his father Phil voices concerns:
“Then they offered me a job in a department that I don’t think existed when I interviewed. In fact, none of the people I interviewed with that day work in my department. Now, there’s this guy saying that ITI hired African Americans for meaningless positions to cover up their bogus minority employment numbers. I’ve been at ITI for six months, which is within the timeframe NoMoBoesky says they ran the cover-up. Does that sound so ridiculous now?”
I found that these conversations between the main characters move the narrative along at a rapid and engaging pace. Hacks of Life rates as a well-written story of troubles members of minority populations may experience in careers. It also interestingly chronicles some of the earliest changes in computer technology.
–Margaret Howard Trammell