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{{short description|2018 novel by Sam Boush}}
{{infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name =All Systems Down
Line 10 ⟶ 11:
| language = English
| series =
| genre =[[Techno-thriller]]
| publisher = Lakewater Press
| release_date = February 8, 2018
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| pages = 284 pages
| isbn = 978-0-9944512-7-9
}}{{Long plot|date=June 2023}}
}}
'''''All Systems Down''''' is a 2018 [[techno-thriller]] novel by American writer [[Sam Boush]]. The novel deals with a [[Cyberwarfarecyberwarfare]] attack on Western countries, focusing on three groups of characters in the [[United States]].▼
 
▲'''''All Systems Down''''' is a 2018 novel by American writer Sam Boush. The novel deals with a [[Cyberwarfare]] attack on Western countries, focusing on three groups of characters in the [[United States]].
 
==Plot==
''All Systems Down'' begins with a [[North Korea|North Korean]]n [[Cyberwarfare|cyberattack]] that destroys infrastructure across Western nations, including banks, dams, and the power grid. Russia invades Eastern Europe while China and North Korea invade several US-allied nations in Asia.
 
The book focuses on one character in particular, Brendan Chogan, an out-of-work parking enforcement officer. While interviewing for a security guard position, Brendan recognizes danger when a [[computer virus]] strikes [[Portland, Oregon]], destroying internet access across the city. This is just the beginning of the attacks. Soon, the country descends into further chaos when citizens nationwide lose their [[Mobile_phoneMobile phone|cellular service]] and [[electricity]]. Traffic backs up as vehicles are hacked. Local water systems collapse as generators fail.
 
Meanwhile, hacker Xandra Strandlien’sStrandlien's boss at U.S. Cyber Command sends her to Oregon. Intelligence on Chinese-RussianChinese–Russian joint military exercises has led to a fear of a post-cyberattack armed invasion, and the Oregon Coast, which has no military bases nearby, is a potential target.
 
As Brendan and his wife, Vailea, struggle to secure their home and [[stockpile]] food and water, the city descends into chaos. It is there they meet up with refugees[[refugee]]s, whose storylines converge on Portland. These characters include Kelly and Orion, a pair of [[Aviator|pilots]] whose [[Super Hornet]] gave out over the [[Pacific Ocean]], and Annalore and Ireana, campers forced to cross the [[Oregon Coast Range|Coastal mountain range]] with their children. Both sets of refugees witnessed first-hand the invasion on the Oregon Coast — an armada of Chinese and Russian ships that have slammed into the shore near [[Tillamook, Oregon|Tillamook]].
 
At the same time, Xandra has flown across the country with a civilian pilot, Lorenzo, and his daughter Carmen. Each of the several groups havehas faced enormous challenges with the collapse of modern technology, fleeing and fighting as necessary, to finally converge at the home of Brendan and Vailea. There they concoct a plan not just to survive the cyber war, but to hit back against the enemy.▼
At the same time, [[hacker]] Xandra Strandlien’s boss at [[U.S. Cyber Command]] sends her to [[Oregon]]. Intelligence on [[Sino-Russian_relations_since_1991|Chinese-Russian joint military exercises]] points to an armed invasion, with one potential target being the Oregon Coast area, which lacks nearby military bases.
 
Kelly and Orion had spotted a Russian submarine in the [[Willamette River]], which leads Xandra to reformulate some of the code the North Koreans used to dismantle the [[US Navy]]. Brendan, Xandra, Kelly —, and to Lorenzo’s dismay, Carmen — jump out of Lorenzo’sLorenzo's plane and into the river, adjacent to the [[submarine]].▼
As Brendan and Vailea struggle to secure their home and [[stockpile]] food and water, the city descends into chaos. It’s there they meet up with [[refugee|refugees]], whose storylines converge on Portland. These characters include Kelly and Orion, a pair of [[Aviator|pilots]] whose [[Super Hornet]] gave out over the [[Pacific Ocean]], and Annalore and Ireana, campers forced to cross the [[Oregon_Coast_Range|Coastal mountain range]] with their children. Both sets of refugees witnessed first-hand the invasion on the Oregon Coast — an armada of Chinese and Russian ships that have slammed into the shore near [[Tillamook, Oregon|Tillamook]].
▲At the same time, Xandra has flown across the country with a civilian pilot, Lorenzo, and his daughter Carmen. Each of the several groups have faced enormous challenges with the collapse of modern technology, fleeing and fighting as necessary, to finally converge at the home of Brendan and Vailea.
 
When Xandra is shot, she gives Brendan a [[thumb drive]] with the code, and with Kelly’sKelly's help they sneak onto the submarine and upload the [[malware]] to the Russian [[Naval_fleetNaval fleet|intrafleet]] computer. The code does more damage than they could have hoped for. Not only does it disable the Russian submarine, but it also spreads across the [[Naval fleet|armada]].▼
It’s here they concoct a plan not just to survive the cyber war, but to hit back against the enemy.
 
In North Korea and in [[China]], the hacking units are celebrating their victory. But even as they’re holding [[Military_parade|victory parades]],when the lights in their cities go suddenly dark. The code they built to destroy the imperialists has slipped its orbit and come home to them. Blackoutsblackouts cascade across the region.▼
▲Kelly and Orion had spotted a Russian submarine in the [[Willamette River]], which leads Xandra to reformulate some of the code the North Koreans used to dismantle the [[US Navy]]. Brendan, Xandra, Kelly — and to Lorenzo’s dismay, Carmen — jump out of Lorenzo’s plane and into the river, adjacent to the [[submarine]].
 
▲When Xandra is shot, she gives Brendan a [[thumb drive]] with the code, and with Kelly’s help they sneak onto the submarine and upload the [[malware]] to the Russian [[Naval_fleet|intrafleet]] computer. The code does more damage than they could have hoped for. Not only does it disable the Russian submarine, but it also spreads across the [[Naval fleet|armada]].
 
▲In North Korea and in [[China]], the hacking units are celebrating their victory. But even as they’re holding [[Military_parade|victory parades]], the lights in their cities go suddenly dark. The code they built to destroy the imperialists has slipped its orbit and come home to them. Blackouts cascade across the region.
The [[cyber war]] isn’t over.
 
==Reception==
The book was well received by most critics, including [[Kirkus Reviews]] which called it "a tightly plotted tale" ,<ref name=Kirkus>{{cite web|author=Kirkus Reviews |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sam-boush/all-systems-down/ |title=Fiction review: All Systems Down |publisher=Kirkus|date=2018-01-22 }}</ref>, and the [[Bend Bulletin]] which declared "The threats and situations … could almost be ripped from recent news headlines."<ref name=Bulletin>{{cite web|author=Kim Himstreet |url=http://www.bendbulletin.com/entertainment/6030849-151/fact-meets-fiction-in-new-cyberwar-thriller |title=Fact meets fiction in new cyberwar thriller |publisher=The Bend Bulletin |date=2018-03-01 }}</ref>
 
Positive reviews also came from [[The Good Men Project]], <ref name=GoodMen>{{cite web|author=Jay Snook |url=https://goodmenproject.com/arts/all-systems-down-cyber-terrorism-jsnk/ |title='All Systems Down' Shows how Crippling Cyber Terrorism can be |publisher=The Good Men Project |date=2018-02-07 |accessdate=2018-05-26}}</ref> [[Suspense Magazine]], and [[Mystery Suspense Reviews]] <ref name=MysterySuspense>{{cite web|author=Merryci |url=http://www.mysterysuspensereviews.com/systems-sam-boush/ |title=All Systems Down, by Sam Boush |publisher=Mystery Suspense Reviews |date=2018-01-22 |accessdate=2018-05-26}}</ref>▼
 
 
▲Positive reviews also came from [[The Good Men Project]], <ref name=GoodMen>{{cite webnews|author=Jay Snook |url=https://goodmenproject.com/arts/all-systems-down-cyber-terrorism-jsnk/ |title='All Systems Down' Shows how Crippling Cyber Terrorism can be |publishernewspaper=The Good Men Project |date=2018-02-07 |accessdate=2018-05-26}}</ref> [[Suspense Magazine]], and [[Mystery Suspense Reviews]] .<ref name=MysterySuspense>{{cite web|author=Merryci |url=http://www.mysterysuspensereviews.com/systems-sam-boush/ |title=All Systems Down, by Sam Boush |publisher=Mystery Suspense Reviews |date=2018-01-22 |accessdate=2018-05-26}}</ref>
 
==Background==
In 2019, Lakewater Press announced it was going out of business<ref name=Lakewater>{{cite web |author=Lakewater |url=http://www.lakewaterpress.com/ |title=We Are Closing Down |date=2019-11-22 |accessdate=2020-01-29 |archive-date=2020-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130033736/http://lakewaterpress.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and would not be publishing the sequel, ''All Threats Within''.
 
==References==
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==External links==
* {{official website|http://boushbooks.com/}}
*[http://cyberwarbooks.com/reviews/ Author Official Website]
*[http://lakewaterpress.com/index.php/our-books/all-systems-down-by-sam-boush/ Publisher's Book Webpage]
 
[[Category:2018 American novels]]
[[Category:American2018 science fictionfantasy novels]]
[[Category:2018 science fiction novels]]
[[Category:American thriller novels]]
[[Category:American post-apocalyptic novels]]
[[Category:Novels set in Portland, Oregon]]
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